By Shane Smith

On May 20th, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law Senate Bill 269, authored by Rep. Ken Luttrell (R-Ponca City) and Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa). The bill places regulatory control of carbon dioxide sequestration wells into the hands of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and it sets the stage for a carbon capture nightmare in this state.

I find it impossible to believe that anyone considers it even remotely sane to pump liquefied, high-pressure CO2 underground, to be stored there permanently, for all time. Estimates are that the carbon dioxide will remain there for at least 1,000 years, meaning that all of our descendants will inherit the ridiculous burden of monitoring these wells, and if a leak or worse occurs, they’ll bear the brunt. It’s so ludicrous that one waits for the punch line, but this is about to become Oklahoma’s reality.

Senator Rader is quoted in an OK Energy Today article: “‘Senate Bill 269 sets Oklahoma up to lead the nation in the fast-growing carbon capture and sequestration industry, an emerging field that is poised to spur private investment and economic growth in the state ....’” Our green Republicans clearly are just getting started with carbon capture here. Oklahoma will see CO2 pipelines crisscrossing our state, and new Class VI wells opening in every empty underground space they can find, if something isn’t done to stop it.

The 45Q tax credit – tripled under Biden – has transformed carbon capture and sequestration from a bad joke into a gold rush. And, now we bear witness to the spectacle of red state Republican lawmakers becoming rabid supporters of the most destructive of the green energy boondoggles. Why? Because the oil and gas industry supports it. They, the producers of CO2, want to cash in on the government handouts, and if it means buying into the notion that CO2 must be physically removed from our atmosphere, liquefied at 2,000 PSI, and pumped into Class VI wells for permanent storage, then so be it.

Carbon dioxide is deadly in concentrated form. To get an idea of just how dangerous it can be, look at what happened in 1986 at Lake Nyos, in Cameroon. A CO2 “bubble” erupted out of the lake and spread to the surrounding village, killing 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.

If one of the specialized pipelines that is planned for our state ruptures, the odorless gas will rapidly spread and lay heavily near the ground, endangering human and animal alike. Just such a leak occurred in 2020, in Sartartia, Mississippi – sending 45 children and adults to the hospital and rendered gas-powered vehicles useless.

Despite the very real risks and uncertainties, Oklahoma is moving full steam ahead on CO2 sequestration.

Last November, the University of Oklahoma’s Melbourne College of Earth and Energy received an $18.7 million grant to establish the Oklahoma Carbon Hub, which will find suitable underground storage sites in Osage and Kay counties that could potentially store 54 million metric tons of liquefied CO2. Are all future Oklahoma residents really going to be expected to act as stewards of 54 million tons of CO2, for all time? I can’t imagine any Oklahoma voter would want or approve of this, if they knew what it really was. If these wells are built and filled, I can easily imagine future Oklahomans shaking their fists at the idiocy of their ancestors who would allow such a dangerously stupid enterprise to be undertaken.

Why are Oklahoma’s Republican lawmakers so determined to turn our state green? Simply, money. Federal subsidies did this. Carbon capture would be laughed out of the room were it not for the quick millions to be made by pumping CO2 under Oklahoma. No idea is so outlandish that it won’t be dressed in a respectable suit if enough money is involved. Government money has drafted our oil and gas industry into the green agenda and they have jumped on board, principles be damned.

Several urgent points must be made. Oklahoma has a finite amount of underground storage space. Are we really going to let this industry fill it all to the brim with this high-pressure CO2? That’s the future in store for us, if we don’t stop this. The companies set to cash in on these wells will fill up every available space, and then walk away, leaving us holding the bag, and bearing the burden. This is insane, and unacceptable. The question is: how do we stop it, knowing that our vaunted oil and gas industry is behind it?

Shane Smith is a pro-liberty writer based in Norman, Oklahoma. He blogs at: RepublicReborn.com