The energy industry is transitioning to low-carbon energy fuels and technologies. Undoubtedly, Wyoming, the largest fossil energy producing state within the Rockies, will experience large impacts during the low-carbon energy transition. These impacts, though, could be as positive in the long term for Wyoming. One of the most probable low-carbon energy transitions opportunities is developing a commercial-scale carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) industry, and the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources has positioned itself to be a regional leader in carbon management research and technologies. The CCUS opportunity is supported by the formalization of tax credits, the State receiving primacy to permit carbon injection wells, supportive CCUS legislation, an educated population, and over a decade’s worth of research through case studies. This presentation will introduce the University of Wyoming’s research efforts to advance CCUS with a focus on the challenges surrounding subsurface assessment for project development. This presentation includes work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Numbers DE-FE0029302 and DE-FE0031624.
J. Fred McLaughlin, PhD. P.G. is the Interim Director for the Center for Economic Geology Research within the School of Energy Resources, University of Wyoming. He has many years’ experience working on the geology of Rocky Mountain uplifts and basins with research focusing on the isotopic and petrologic evolution of groundwater and rocks, basinal diagenesis, and geologic reservoir characterization. For the last ten years, McLaughlin has focused on addressing research challenges of transitional energy technologies, most specifically CCUS. McLaughlin received his graduate degrees from the University of Wyoming’s Geology and Geophysics Department.