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Pore Texas: Defining the Ownership of Underground Pore Space for Carbon Capture and Sequestration in Texas

2023
Scholarly Work
Tyler Roberts
State Policy/Guidance
Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage → Carbon Capture and Storage
Pore Space Ownership, United States
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Summary/Abstract

Texas is the largest state in the contiguous United States—and thus has the largest potential underground storage space to offset CO2 emissions—but is unable to use it. Texas’s carbon capture and sequestration projects are limited because its courts and legislature have not designated the owner of pore space. This paper argues that Texas should adopt legislation that expressly designates ownership of pore space to the surface owner. Clarifying pore space ownership will make thousands of acres accessible for carbon sequestration in Texas, ultimately boosting our economy and environment by providing jobs, supporting industrial development, decreasing land fragmentation, and eliminating greenwashing.

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