Evaluating offshore carbon storage and infrastructure reuse
The Louisiana Offshore CO₂ Hub Repurposing Infrastructure to Decrease Greenhouse Emissions (Project Lochridge) is establishing the technical and commercial foundation for large-scale offshore carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage in the Gulf of America.
Led by the Southern States Energy Board, Lochridge is the first project in U.S. federal waters under the Department of Energy’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) Phase II program. The project is evaluating approximately 5,000 acres in the South Timbalier Lease Area as a potential storage solution for Louisiana’s industrial corridor, which produces more than 90 million metric tons of CO₂ annually.
Evaluating Offshore Storage
Lochridge is assessing whether offshore geologic formations can safely and permanently store at least 50 million metric tons of captured CO₂ over 30 years. The work combines subsurface modeling, infrastructure assessment, risk evaluation, and commercial planning to inform future development.
The team is also examining opportunities to repurpose existing platforms, pipelines, wells, and other offshore infrastructure for CO₂ transportation and storage. These assessments will help determine where reuse could reduce costs and what additional engineering, risk management, and permitting work would be needed.
Project Progress
The project has advanced from preliminary characterization to detailed assessment of the proposed storage complex. Repsol completed dynamic simulations and sensitivity analyses covering 30 years of injection followed by 50 years of post-injection monitoring. The results indicate that the site could accommodate commercial volumes of CO₂ through a single injection well, including the project’s target of at least 50 million metric tons over 30 years.
The team also completed an offshore storage facility assessment and evaluated twelve development scenarios involving new, existing, and combined infrastructure configurations. The analysis identified injection rate as a primary factor in offshore storage economics, with substantial potential cost reductions as annual injection increases from 2 million to 6 million metric tons.
Current Status & Next Steps
Major risk, permitting-readiness, and commercial assessments are complete. A detailed review of site characterization and permitting readiness identified strengths in the existing technical work and priority data needs for future Outer Continental Shelf permitting.
DOE approved an extension through January 15, 2027, allowing the team to further evaluate pipeline conversion, platform reuse, risks associated with legacy infrastructure, offshore permitting requirements, and the economics of infrastructure reuse. These findings will inform decisions about subsequent site characterization and potential commercial development.
Project Partners
The Board leads Project Lochridge in partnership with Crescent Resource Innovation, Louisiana State University, Natural Resources Worldwide, Repsol E&P USA, and Southern University at Shreveport. Technical work is performed at Southern University and A&M College, with additional support from Advanced Resources International, KBR, and The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology.