Wyoming has a well-established regulatory framework for using carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery. Those efforts have been under way for nearly four decades.

But when state lawmakers passed a set of bills defining the ownership and regulation of carbon dioxide sequestration, it stepped out as a leader in the country. "Carbon sequestration" refers to the act of taking CO2 that is generated from human activity and storing it underground only for the purpose of not allowing it to enter the atmosphere.

"We are right at heart of carbon sequestration in the nation," said Rep. Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette. "Carbon sequestration and enhanced oil recovery are two of the keys of Wyoming's future economic prosperity."

The bills are essentially designed to bridge Wyoming's current CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery to the eventual permanent storage of CO2 from coal-fired power plants.

Lubnau, who researched and wrote the carbon storage bill, has been invited to five different states in recent months to speak about legal issues regarding carbon sequestration. He's also a keynote speaker at the second annual Wyoming CO2 Conference, which begins today and continues Friday at the Parkway Plaza in Casper.

The conference is a function of the University of Wyoming's Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute. But with greenhouse gases, global warming and the price of oil at the forefront of national and international news, Wyoming's oil industry is finding itself working the customers of Wyoming coal.

"It's turned out to be a very important issue for Wyoming, both for enhanced oil recovery and for carbon sequestration," said Jim Steidtmann, director of the institute.

With the price of oil riding above $125 per barrel, oil producers are eager to get their hands on contract supplies of CO2. At the same time, the electrical utility industry expects it will soon have to find places to sequester CO2 from coal-fired power plants.

Turns out Wyoming's massive fossil fuel resource is matched only by its geological characteristics to store CO2, according to preliminary reports by the Wyoming State Geological Survey.

Steidtmann said Wyoming is a major player on the national scene for CO2 sequestration. That's why this week's CO2 conference will provide a meeting place for entities that will be doing business with one another under a carbon-constrained environment.

"It puts together people who have talked about providing CO2 in the future, or transporting it or using it for enhanced oil recovery, and also some projects planned by us for enhanced oil recovery," Steidtmann said.

Lubnau said there are still legal questions to answer in Wyoming. This year's legislation gave ownership of the pore space where CO2 is stored to the surface owner. However, lawmakers must consider a legal framework for when a surface owner doesn't want to take part in a CO2 sequestration project.

"We don't have any control over whether a carbon-constrained environment happens or not," Lubnau said. "That will be imposed by other states or the federal government. So we can either plan ahead for the changes we see on the horizon, or try to manage from within a crisis."

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com.

NewsTracker

* Last we knew: The University of Wyoming's Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute held the first annual CO2 conference in 2007.

* The latest: The institute will hold the second annual CO2 conference today and Friday at the Parkway Plaza in Casper.

* What's next: Wyoming lawmakers are expected to consider additional measures regarding carbon sequestration, such as landowner cooperation.

Want to learn more?

For more information regarding the CO2 conference, visit http://eori.gg.uwyo.edu/CO2Conf2008.asp or contact Lon Whitman at LWhitma3@uwyo.edu or (307) 760-0577.

* Last we knew: The University of Wyoming's Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute held the first annual CO2 conference in 2007.

* The latest: The institute will hold the second annual CO2 conference today and Friday at the Parkway Plaza in Casper.

* What's next: Wyoming lawmakers are expected to consider additional measures regarding carbon sequestration, such as landowner cooperation.]]->

For more information regarding the CO2 conference, visit http://eori.gg.uwyo.edu/CO2Conf2008.asp or contact Lon Whitman at LWhitma3@uwyo.edu or (307) 760-0577.]]->

Read about the role carbon dioxide plays in Cowboy State oil production in the Wyoming Energy Journal today.]]->