Louisiana is positioning itself as the national hub for CO2 sequestration. Class VI permitting timelines, key requirements, and what engineering teams need to prepare before they submit.
Why Class VI Permitting Matters
Carbon capture and sequestration projects live and die on permitting timelines. The EPA’s Class VI Underground Injection Control program governs CO2 injection wells for geologic sequestration, and the permitting process is rigorous, technical, and — if you’re not prepared — slow.
Louisiana’s geology makes it ideal for large-scale sequestration. Deep saline aquifers, well-understood stratigraphy from decades of oil and gas production, and existing CO2 pipeline infrastructure create conditions that simply don’t exist in most other states. But the permitting path still requires careful preparation.
Key Technical Requirements
A complete Class VI permit application includes a site characterization report, a project area of review, well construction details, injection and monitoring program design, testing and monitoring plans, and a post-injection site care plan. Each of these requires genuine engineering work, not just form completion.
The area of review analysis — determining the computational modeling zone around the injection well where CO2 could migrate and potentially impact USDWs — is often the most technically intensive component. It requires site-specific subsurface characterization data, pressure and temperature data, and validated reservoir simulation.
Engineering Timeline Realities
Operators who approach Class VI permitting expecting a six-month process typically encounter a different reality. EPA review alone can take 18 to 24 months after a complete application is submitted. The pre-application phase — site characterization, baseline monitoring, engineering design — can add another 12 to 18 months depending on data availability and complexity.
The practical implication: operators who want to be sequestering CO2 by 2027 need to have engineering work underway now.
What Pelican Does in the Permitting Process
Pelican supports operators through the engineering-intensive portions of Class VI permitting: site characterization review, injection system design, monitoring and verification plan development, and coordination with the project’s geoscience team on reservoir modeling inputs. We do not replace legal counsel or environmental consultants, but we ensure that the engineering side of the permit package is technically sound and defensible.
If you are evaluating a CCUS project in Louisiana and have questions about the engineering path to Class VI permitting, contact the Pelican team.