BP shelves Midwest project, Governor Reynolds vetoes bill

The Low Carbon Briefing

June 12, 2025

CHS submits Class VI application to implement CCS at its Patriot Renewable Fuels facility in Henry County, Illinois
- Patriot Renewable Fuels’ ethanol capacity is 130 million gallons a year which CHS could capture up to 390,000 metric tons of CO2 per year
Tenaska’ submits Class VI application for Sugarberry CCS Hub in Hopkins County, Texas
ExxonMobil permits ‘Ursa’ Class V well in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana

On June 9th, the EPA announced its proposed approval of Texas’ request to administer Class VI injection well applications and program
Earlier this year, EPA approved Class VI primacy for West Virginia while committing to expediting review of UIC primacy applications - to date, four states haves received primacy for Class VI wells with three more coming under this administration
There are 18 Class VI projects seeking permitting approval in Texas and over 10 planned projects CarbonStorage.io is tracking
EPA is requesting public comments on the Agency’s proposed approval within 45 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. EPA will hold a virtual public hearing on July 24th

BP has paused Project Crossroads - a planned CCS and Blue Hydrogen project to decarbonize BP’s Whiting Refinery and sequestering the CO2 in Indiana
Project Crossroads was hoping to receive additional funding and be an anchor project within the MachH2 Midwest Hydrogen Hub.
In 2023, BP received $98 million dollars in DOE funding to access and develop carbon transportation and storage opportunities in the Midwest.
- BP proposed that up to 23 million Mt of CO2 per year will be stored in the storage hub. Four characterization wells will be drilled across the project area, which includes Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Each well will focus on characterizing the Upper Mt. Simon Sandstone. For two well locations, an UIC Class VI permit will be prepared and filed. The completed project will consist of multiple CO2 storage facilities linked by more than 100 miles of new pipeline.
BP has applied for 3 drilling permits in Jasper, White, and Benton County - but has not drilled any test wells
BP sites local opposition to carbon transportation and sequestration as key factors in this decision

Governor Kim Reynolds Wednesday vetoed House File 639 pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines in Iowa
- Governor Reynolds agreed landowner protections are important but said the bill went too far, with vague language and sweeping mandates that could block even pipelines built with voluntary easements in addition to warning it threatened Iowa’s biofuels leadership, energy reliability, economic growth, and would discourage business investment
- Governor Reynolds also indicated openness to modify rules on eminent domain, with a focus on transparency, fair compensation, and land restoration—suggesting further legislative refinement rather than sweeping restrictions.
Summit Carbon Solutions plans to sequester CO2 from 32 ethanol facilities within Iowa with producers including Poet, Valero, and smaller independent ethanol companies
House File 639 would have:
- Increased insurance requirements for hazardous liquid pipelines
- Limited carbon pipeline permits to one 25-year term
- Changed the definition of a common carrier for pipelines, making it more difficult for the projects to use eminent domain.

UK government will invest in Shell’s Acorn project in Scotland and Harbour Energy’s Viking project in the Humber
Carbon Clean and MODEC collaborate to accelerate the scale-up of CycloneCC for offshore carbon capture
EPA has proposed repealing climate regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants
China launches hydrogen pilot program to expand production, infrastructure, and end-use applications, focusing on off-grid electrolysers in remote regions and hydrogen blending at fossil fuel power plants
Motor Oil Group opens first hydrogen station in Greece