On November 15, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn outlined plans for a forthcoming $6 million carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) research and storage facility to house the department’s collection of subsurface core samples and drill cuttings from all over Pennsylvania.

Core samples are used to advance government, academic, and private-sector research into the use of Pennsylvania’s subsurface geology, including efforts to address climate change by capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground – known as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

“As we collectively work on ways to address a changing climate it’s important to have the best tools and scientific information at hand to inform those efforts,” Dunn said during a tour of the existing storage area. “The samples available to the public through our Geological Survey are important to a broad range of research by universities, government agencies, and energy companies, so these improvements to our library will help advance carbon capture as well as many other research and decisions that rely on an understanding of geology.”

A core sample is a long narrow piece of rock obtained by drilling with a special tool that lifts out an intact part of the rock. Core samples reveal the physical and chemical nature of the rock.

DCNR’s Geological Survey has developed a repository of rock core and drill cuttings generated through exploration into both oil and gas-bearing and other formations across Pennsylvania. That repository includes both donated samples and those collected by survey geologists.

The library currently has limited space at the Pennsylvania Geological Survey headquarters in Middletown. The current fiscal year Commonwealth of Pennsylvania budget provides $6 million for construction of a new core storage facility.

“The new rock sample library will more than double the department’s current capacity to store, catalog and analyze subsurface rock samples collected throughout the state for focused research on the state’s subsurface geology,” DCNR Bureau of Geological Survey Director Gale Blackmer said.

Blackmer said the department has begun the process of identifying a location and construction contractor for the facility.

The mission of the DCNR Bureau of Geological Survey is to research the state’s geologic resources and topography; map the surface and underground rocks and geologic structures across the state; and make their findings available through publications and outreach.

DCNR has been engaged on the topic of carbon capture utilization and storage for nearly 20 years. During this time, work by the Geological Survey to further understanding of the state’s geologic resources has included:

-- Assessments of numerous underground geologic resources that have potential to serve as reservoirs where carbon dioxide could be safely stored;

-- Case study evaluations of existing oil fields where CO2-enhanced recovery efforts may be employed; and

-- Participation in multi-state coalitions to guide seamless consideration of geologic storage options across state lines and throughout the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

For more information, visit DCNR’s Carbon cCapture, Utilization and Storage webpage.

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(Photo: Dr. Gale C. Blackmer, Director of DCNR's Bureau of Geological Survey.)

Resource Links:

-- PA Environmental Council Comments On Carbon Storage At Sept. 19, 2022 Senate Hearing

-- PA Environmental Council: Carbon Capture, Utilization, Storage In PA: A Story Map [PaEN]

-- DCNR Blog: Carbon Capture A Tool To Address Cause Of Climate Change  [PaEN]

NewsClip:

-- PA Capital-Star: Core Samples Get A New Home To Help DCNR Understand How PA’s Geology Could Support Carbon Capture, Sequestration Efforts

Related Articles:

-- PA Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund Express Concerns About Legislation Requiring DEP To Apply For Injection Well Primary For Carbon Dioxide Storage  [PaEN]

[Posted: November 15, 2022]

11/21/2022