Odessa, TEXAS (KMID/KPEJ) – Oil and gas producers are facing intense pressure from financial and regulatory agencies to limit their carbon emissions.

While good for the environment, the process of capturing and storing CO2 can pose a financial burden on producers. State Representative Brooks Landgraf recently presented a bill that could lower these costs.

The Executive Director for the Carbon Neutral Coalition explained, “we think that it’s essential to provide state and local tax incentives so that the operators in the Permian Basin have technology in place to capture these emissions.”

John Colyandro went on to say why he believes Landgraf will be successful in pushing this bill.

“Representative Landgraf will be successful because he is taking a really smart approach. We’re doing something that would be beneficial to the environment and we’re doing something that’s incredibly beneficial to the industry.”

If passed, the bill would allow a company that is trying to incorporate carbon capture into their industrial process to first go to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to present the nature of their project and what it will cost. Once the agency agrees with the proposal, the company would then take that letter to the local appraisal district to negotiate the value of the tax exemption.

This bill could have positive impacts on the economy as well. It would ensure that the industry remains viable long into the future while also creating more jobs with the expansion of both carbon capture and storage facilities.