Class VI Permit Applications Plummet by 55%

Applications for injection wells designed to store CO₂ dropped 55% during the first quarter, according to a report by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR).

At the end of March, the 2025 total of filed Class VI applications was four; the average per-quarter total since 2023 is nine.

“This is the fewest applications submitted since the first quarter of 2022,” said Brad Johnston, an EIR analyst, in a news release on May 28.

The firm expects two Class VI applications will be approved during the second quarter and that 14 will be approved by year-end, an increase from five approvals in 2024.

“This is down from our estimate of 40 approvals at the end of 2024, with the decrease mostly attributed to updated approval times from Class VI regulators while they wait on applicants for responses to notices of deficiency and requests for additional information during the review process,” Johnston said.

The report also stated that three Class VI permits were approved during fourth-quarter 2024.

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Oxy Secures Class VI Permits for Stratos DAC Project

On Feb. 18, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection achieved Class VI primacy, and Texas moved into the Proposed Rulemaking Phase (Phase III of IV) in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval process for state primacy.

Additionally, a 2 million metric ton per annum (mtpa) carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Louisiana won a state draft permit; the first such permit granted since Louisiana gained Class VI primacy more than a year ago.

 In Illinois, the EPA issued a draft permit for a 1.5 mtpa CCS project at an ethanol production facility.