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KGS Schedules First Meeting on Carbon Sequestration Research

Action by the special legislative session in August included an allocation of $5 million to the Kentucky Geological Survey to explore the potential for enhanced oil and gas recovery using carbon dioxide as well as the capacity for permanent storage of CO2 in deep geologic formations.  Carbon dioxide is considered a “greenhouse gas” responsible for the human contribution to global warming and climate change. It can also be used to force additional oil and natural gas out of depleted wells.

To attract partners to assist in the research on these issues, KGS has invited several hundred potential industry representatives to a meeting in Lexington in early December.  They will receive an overview of enhanced oil and gas recovery and carbon sequestration in Kentucky and will be invited to participate in a public/private consortium to advance the research on these issues.

The consortium will be called the Kentucky Consortium for Carbon Sequestration, or KYCCS.

The meeting of potential industry partners is scheduled for 10:00 a. m. EST, December 7, 2007 at the Embassy Suites hotel, 1801 Newtown Pike, Lexington, Ky.

Staff researchers in the KGS Energy and Minerals Section have been doing carbon sequestration research, and KGS is a member of several multi-state partnerships investigating the potential for long-term storage of CO2 in geologic formations.

The legislation, part of House Bill 1, signed by Gov. Fletcher on August 30, calls for the drilling of deep wells in both the Illinois Basin (west Kentucky) and the Appalachian Basin (east Kentucky) to conduct this research, as well as testing of Devonian shales under Kentucky for their sequestration potential.

For more information, contact Mike Lynch (mike.lynch@uky.edu) or Dave Harris (dcharris@uky.edu)