Private Equity

Energy Private Equity partners Chris Bennett and Omar Samji and associate Sarah George recently hosted a webcast for The Texas Lawbook titled “Navigating the Void of Pore Space Regulation,” in which they discuss the opportunities and challenges in the evolving CCUS space and the impact of regulatory uncertainty on these projects. Chris, Omar and Sarah also authored the accompanying Texas Lawbook article, “Mapping the Regulatory Landscape for CCUS in Texas,” which can be viewed here.

Key takeaways include:

• The Inflation Reduction Act, investor focus on ESG and other recent incentives have spurred rapid increases in carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (“CCUS”) activity since 2021.
• Significant M&A activity has also occurred in the CCUS space during this period, in particular in 2023.
• Despite this increase in activity, project development and deals, many of the legal and regulatory issues surrounding CCUS projects are still developing.
• EPA Class VI Permits for injection and sequestration of CO2 are currently serving as a bottleneck slowing down many of these CCUS projects, but several states are working towards primacy to help accelerate the issuance of these permits.

Watch the webcast here.