BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — California Resources Corporation has begun construction on its groundbreaking Carbon TerraVault project in Kern County, marking the state's first major carbon capture and storage initiative designed to help California achieve its climate neutrality goals.
The project aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from power producers and other industries, then safely inject the CO2 underground into former oil reservoirs. This approach allows companies to continue operations while significantly reducing their environmental impact.
"Cement and power producers that have emissions into the air, CRC will come install carbon capture facilities to take the CO2, inject it safely downhole, and then that allows those companies to thrive and stay in business, preserving jobs in the state, making sure that jobs stay in Kern County and they don't get exported to other countries," Francisco Leon, President and CEO of California Resources Corporation said.
The technology leverages California's existing oil infrastructure, with thousands of miles of CO2 pipelines already operating across the country. Chris Gould, managing director for Carbon TerraVault, explained the natural fit for repurposing former oil sites.
"Essentially, what we're doing is putting the carbon back where it originated from. We know it came from there, and we know the reservoir has sealed and kept the hydrocarbons down there for millions of years, and we're essentially taking it and putting it right back where it came from, resealing it. And so the expectation in the permits is that it'll stay there forever," Gould said.
The California Air Resources Board has prioritized the project as part of the state's carbon neutrality strategy. Steve Cliff, the board's executive officer, emphasized the project's alignment with California's decarbonization goals.
"Most of the projects you see are attempting to use that carbon dioxide to inject into the ground to get more oil. That's not something that California wants to see. We're trying to decarbonize, which means use less fossil fuels at the same time that we know we need to get rid of the carbon that we have that powers our society," Cliff said.
Local officials have embraced the initiative. Kern County District Two Supervisor Chris Parlier highlighted the economic benefits for the region.
"It means jobs, it means excitement for our community, and it puts people back to work. It really does. I mean, not only with this, but legislation just passed is really going to be a win-win for Kern County and really the state and for gas prices," Parlier said.
Leon and Gould indicated this project represents the first of many planned carbon capture initiatives throughout the Central Valley in the coming years.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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