MGSC Nearing Completion After 17 Years of Research, One Million Tonnes of CO2 Stored
The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) is nearing completion after 17 years of productive research on CCUS in the Illinois Basin. The Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP), the MGSC Phase III project, successfully stored one million tonnes of CO2 in a deep saline reservoir at an industrial site owned by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Decatur, Illinois. Three phases of project activities have been underway since 2007, the pre-injection period (2007-2011), injection period (2011-2014), and post-injection monitoring period (2014-2021). IBDP also provided monitoring for an industrial-scale CCS project, the Illinois Industrial Sources CCS Project led by Archer Daniels Midland, which is currently injecting CO2 at the site. These two projects hold the first Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI storage permits for CCS. The IBDP comes to an end with the completion of the MGSC in April of 2021. Decommissioning activities are currently underway and IBDP ended environmental monitoring through the Monitoring Verification and Accounting (MVA) program earlier this spring. The activities and monitoring equipment are being transitioned to the Illinois Industrial Sources CCS project for continued use.
The MGSC would like to thank all of our many partners, colleagues, and friends who have contributed to the success of this partnership through the years. The U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory has provided the MGSC with significant opportunity and funding to accomplish these goals as part of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships. It is our privilege to continue this work through new partnerships and by joining forces with the MRCSP and Battelle in the new MRCI partnership.