Montana State partnership receives $66.9M for carbon seq...(ergy. By doing so we will help our nati...)

The $66.9 million from the Department of Energy will pay for a sizeable portion of the $130 million project. The rest of the project's cost will be paid by industry partners, matching funds and other funding sources.

The CO₂ will be donated by Cimarex Energy Company, which is building a helium and natural gas processing plant near the injection site.

Almost three dozen faculty, staff and students from MSU will be involved in aspects of the project ranging from education to project management to geochemistry, said Lindsey Waggoner, outreach coordinator for the partnership.

Founded in 2003, the partnership is one of seven regional partnerships supported by the Department of Energy. In addition to MSU, three national laboratories, half a dozen regional universities and numerous federal agencies, private companies and industrial partners comprise the partnership.

Phase I of the partnership's work involved studying the geology beneath the Big Sky region to determine its suitability and capacity for carbon sequestration and identifying human sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Phase II involves a small-scale injection of CO₂ -- 1,000 metric tons -- into a pilot well near Wallula, Wash. The drilling for that injection is expected to begin in December.

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