Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has great potential for reducing CO2 emissions. A number of major energy and climate bills in Congress propose government support for development of the technology on a large scale.

The technology for CCS is not new – in fact, the petroleum industry has been using it for over thirty years, pumping CO2 into oil fields for enhanced oil recovery. The challenges currently facing the industry are how to implement this on a large scale. Critical issues include estimating the cost of the capture and sequestration, as well as the cost of transmitting large amounts of CO2 by pipeline to the sites where geological sequestration can take place. There are also significant questions over who has jurisdiction and liability for sequestered carbon.

This year’s Platts CCS conference focuses on policy and economics of CCS. Among the key areas are:

• Update on what the Federal government is planning in support of CCS, as part of energy and climate change legislation
• Update on the progress being made at the state level, through feasibility studies, and pioneering legislation on ownership rights for sequestration and the challenges of permitting
• Estimating the amount of CCS that can be deployed in different regions of the country.
• Economics of CCS – realistic view of the costs, time frame, and next steps
• A dialog on the risks and opportunities for carbon capture and sequestration projects, with a focus on case studies and work currently in progress.