TLD 050 - Permitting CCS Injection Wells: Navigating the Legal and Regulatory Maze with Jerry Walrath & KC McAdam

Date Published:

August 7, 2025

Guests

Jerry Walrath

KC McAdam

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Texas moves closer to primacy for carbon capture and sequestration projects as legal frameworks evolve and landmen navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Our expert guests break down the latest developments in CCS permitting, pore space ownership, and the practical challenges of putting these massive projects together in today's market.

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What You’ll Learn

Current status of Texas primacy for CCS well permitting and expected timeline
How pore space ownership varies between Texas and Louisiana
Why large contiguous properties remain essential for CCS project success
The role of unitization and integration in future CCS development
Pipeline challenges that could make or break project economics
Legal considerations around plume migration and potential tort issues

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Time Stamps

01:00 - Episode & Guest Introductions
03:00 - Primacy in Texas
06:00 - Primacy in Other States
13:00 - Challenges and Considerations in Louisiana
17:00 - CCS in West Virginia and Other States
21:00 - Ownership & Legal Issues in Texas
31:00 - Understanding Carbon Capture Injection Projects
33:00 - Challenges in Securing Agreements for Carbon Capture
34:00 - Cost and Timeline of Carbon Capture Projects
35:00 - Legal Considerations in Carbon Capture
39:00 - Unitization and Integration in Carbon Capture
47:00 - Pipeline Challenges in Carbon Capture

Snippets from the Episode

"The state agency that's been responsible for administering the rules for oil and gas development and has this huge store of knowledge is now going to administer the rules for carbon capture, which is something of an inverse process to oil and gas development."— Jerry Walrath
"One of the biggest things that I find day to day that is consuming my time is you have a lack of regulation, and you have a lot of first-of-kind commercial arrangements because you're joining groups together that have not been joined before into what looks kind of like a traditional oil and gas transaction."— KC McAdam
"In Louisiana, you're gonna flip that on its head - the surface owner owns the pore space, but there may be oil and gas activity, you're gonna want to make sure that you're covering yourself from the other angle."— KC McAdam
"These projects are expensive. They take a very long time to build. You're talking about basically the same sort of cost and timeline to put together a large pipeline or an offshore platform."— KC McAdam
"Every mile of pipe you add, you're adding a huge amount in cost just to build the pipe. And then you're also having to look at getting the agreements in place to actually build that pipe."— KC McAdam

Key Takeaways

Texas Primacy Progress - MOA Signed, But Timeline Uncertain
Pore Space Ownership Varies Significantly by State
Large Contiguous Properties Remain Essential for Early Projects
Unitization Rules Needed for Future CCS Development
Pipeline Economics Can Make or Break Project Viability
Legal Frameworks Still Evolving Around Plume Migration
First-of-Kind Commercial Arrangements Create New Challenges

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