More Land Leased for Carbon Capture in Western Louisiana

HOUSTON — 1PointFive and Manulife Investment Management have entered into a lease agreement for approximately 27,000 acres of timberland in western Louisiana for a carbon capture and sequestration project.

The agreement provides 1PointFive with access to subsurface pore space and surface rights to develop and operate a carbon sequestration hub, with access to permanently store industrial carbon emissions. 

Two Class VI injection permits, required by the Environmental Protection Agency for geologic sequestration, have already been filed for the site.

According to a press release from 1PointFive, the lease agreement is a pivotal step in the company’s strategic vision to develop carbon capture and sequestration hubs, some of which are expected to be anchored by Direct Air Capture facilities.

Similar to how trees absorb CO₂ for photosynthesis, Direct Air Capture pulls air into its systems and, through a series of chemical reactions, extracts the CO₂.

The difference? Proponents of Direct Air Capture technology say it is expected to capture CO₂ much faster with significantly less land use, and delivers the carbon in a pure, compressed CO₂ form that can then be stored permanently underground.

Captured CO₂, of course, can also be used as a feedstock to produce products such as low-carbon fuels, cement or plastics.

Manulife Investment Management’s acreage offers storage capacity within proximity to point source industrial emitters such as heavy industry and the region’s oil and gas industry, which would otherwise emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. 

“We understand the importance our forests and underlying land play as a natural climate solution in decarbonization,” said Eduardo Hernandez, managing director and global head of Timberland Operations at Manulife Investment Management. 

“We focus on sustainably managing our forests for climate-positive and nature-positive impact, and we are excited to find additional opportunities to continue this work for clients,” Hernandez said.

1PointFive and Manulife Investment Management have said they are continuing to assess other locations and projects throughout the region and country with the potential to add additional acreage for carbon removal and sequestration. 

Dan can be reached at dan@thewellnews.com and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue.