DOE Notice Advances Development of Indiana Gasification's CO2 Pipeline

Transporting CO2 to Gulf States Could Boost U.S. Oil Production by 20 Million Barrels a Year 

ROCKPORT, Ind., June 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Indiana Gasification welcomed today's Federal Register publication by the U.S. Department of Energy of an amended notice of intent (NOI) to include an approximately 440 mile CO2 pipeline in the environmental impact statement (EIS) required for DOE financial backing of IG's state-of-the-art clean fuels facility.  

The DOE publication marks the most recent regulatory development in support of the plant, which will be the cleanest coal-fired facility ever built in the United States. In the last two months, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has filed a proposed clean air permit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and issued a draft Clean Water Act permit.

In the Notice of Intent, the Department of Energy acknowledges that the proposed project with the CO2 pipeline qualifies for financing under the 2008 appropriations act providing authority for industrial gasification activities. Further, the DOE has determined that the project meets two goals of the Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program, encouraging the commercial use of new or significantly improved technology and achieving substantial environmental benefits. 

"This is another significant step forward for the IG facility, a critical component of Indiana's energy future. The amendment to the NOI expands the EIS to the CO2 pipeline, which is now eligible for DOE loan guarantee financing as part of the IG project," said Bill Rosenberg, a partner in Indiana Gasification and former Assistant Administrator for Air for EPA.

More than 5 million tons of liquefied CO2 produced at the plant each year will be compressed, sold and shipped more than 400 miles from Indiana to Tinsley, Miss., where it will connect with existing pipeline infrastructure operated by affiliates of Denbury Resources Inc. for distribution to the Gulf Coast region. The CO2 will be injected into depleted oil wells for enhanced petroleum production.

This enhanced oil recovery effort will produce 10 million to 20 million barrels of oil annually. At $100 per barrel of oil, the domestic oil production created by this facility in Indiana could reduce U.S. imports of foreign oil by up to $2 billion a year.

The IG facility will create more than 1,500 high-paying jobs, including about 1,000 construction jobs, 200 permanent jobs and 300 mining jobs.

Indiana consumers will also benefit. Indiana rate payers are guaranteed savings of at least $100 million over 30 years.

To view DOE's amended notice of intent in the federal register, please visit: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-06-22/pdf/2012-15374.pdf.

SOURCE Indiana Gasification