Katherine Romanak, a research scientist with the Bureau’s Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC), is leading efforts in a partnership with two Caribbean universities to create a sustainable program for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Trinidad and Tobago. The effort seeks to build an economically viable program to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions while offsetting recent declines in oil and gas production and exports, Trinidad’s largest economic resources. If successful, the partnership will provide a blueprint for similar efforts throughout the region and around the world.
Through The University of Texas at Austin and UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences, the GCCC is partnering with the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the West Indies on the new research effort. In February and April, the universities signed two memoranda of understanding that established plans for organizing scientific meetings and workshops and for sharing facilities, with the objective of deploying CCS technology in Trinidad and Tobago. The initiative was largely facilitated by Romanak in collaboration with Tim Dixon, Program Manager for the IEA Green House Gas Research and Development program (IEAGHG).
The GCCC and Romanak have been key in the development of carbon storage technologies and research efforts worldwide, with major projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Australia, and Japan. Romanak has also played an active role in CCS initiatives through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. To learn more about the collaboration, read the official University of Texas press release.
Trinidad derives nearly 40% of its economy from oil and gas production, though output has fallen in recent years. The new university partnership will work with refineries and other industries to create a new workforce to capture emissions and reduce greenhouse gasses, and to create a blueprint for similar efforts worldwide. Photo: Derrick Midwinter
