Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Members of Congress joined a unique group of industry executives, state officials, technical experts, and NGOs to kick off the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (The EOR Initiative) on Capitol Hill.

After the event, Congressman Conaway said, “Necessity drives innovation and the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative is behind the innovation that fully utilizes our resources, and decreases our dependence on foreign oil.”

The EOR Initiative includes key leaders from business, states, and NGOs that are coming together to tackle a key piece of America’s overall energy security challenge: increasing the supply of domestic oil through enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (CO₂-EOR).

Conaway continued, “Further, the EOR provides much-needed jobs, is environmentally friendly and does not require any large government subsidies to operate, thereby easing fiscal burdens on the government. Overall, I applaud EOR’s efforts and the positive impact the initiative will have on the country.”

EOR Initiative Background Note

In CO₂-EOR, carbon dioxide is injected into oil wells to help draw more oil to the surface, while the carbon dioxide remains sequestered underground in deep geologic formations.  Expanding CO₂-EOR will increase domestic production from already developed oil fields, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating economic opportunities.

The more than 30-member group will develop recommendations for federal and state policymakers on how to ramp up CO₂-EOR. The slate of recommendations is expected to be released in early 2012.

The EOR Initiative is being facilitated by the Great Plains Institute and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.  The EOR Initiative participant list and additional background materials will be provided at the briefing.

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