CCS in the State of Alaska – Regulatory Framework and Commercial Selection Criteria for Transoceanic CO2 Imports

Summary Alaska is likely the only US State with the potential to accept large volumes of captured CO2 from other countries, particularly industrialized countries within the Asia-Pacific region. Recently passed legislation has created a regulatory and policy environment that can now be adopted to further a commercial dialogue between emitters and governments in Asia, and commercial sequestration facilities in Alaska, potentially involving leases of state land for this purpose. Furthermore, the state’s access to the Pacific Ocean, diverse geology, geography and infrastructure create a complex array of factors to be considered in selecting a suitable location for storage of imported CO2. This paper characterizes the regulatory framework for CO2 import to Alaska for sequestration, and builds on the geological storage assessments that have been completed and the commercial opportunities being developed to set out a list of commercial screening factors for site selection. Part I of this article provides an introduction to carbon sequestration in Alaska and the subsequent topics in the article. Part II describes the regulatory framework for the import of CO2 for sequestration into Alaska and the operation of sequestration projects within the State. Part III describes commercial screening factors for identifying suitable locations for geologic sequestration sites in Alaska. In Part IV, the authors provide conclusions based on the materials presented.