ADM Celebrates Success of Carbon Storage Project

Joins with Durbin, project partners to mark milestone and look forwardDECATUR, Ill., March 20, 2014 – Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) joined with its partners and others—including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—today to celebrate the success of the Illinois Basin-Decatur carbon capture and storage project.

“We are here today to celebrate a groundbreaking project that is paying important dividends,” said Todd Werpy, ADM vice president, Research. “As of today, we have injected 750,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide—which otherwise would have been released into the atmosphere—safely underground. Just as importantly, we have gathered data that will allow us to move forward with the even more ambitious Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage project, which will have the capability to store a million tons of CO2 every year.”

The celebration was hosted by the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium and its partners, which include ADM, Schlumberger Carbon Services, the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

“The Illinois Basin-Decatur Project shows how carbon capture and storage can play an important role in the development of sustainable energy options for our future,” Durbin said. “The project also demonstrates the potential gains to be realized from close partnerships between universities, the private sector and all levels of government. I congratulate the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, Archer Daniels Midland Company, and all their partners on their significant progress on this project and urge others to follow their lead.”

“The Carbon Storage Project in Decatur and the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium have been leaders in researching the best practices in capturing and storing carbon dioxide safely underground in natural formations,” said Dr. William Shilts, executive director of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois and home of the Illinois State Geological Survey. “Today marks a key milestone in the project, but we have several more to go, and beyond the storage process is the critical data collection to prove the system’s long term viability. We thank Senator Durbin for his long-standing support and commitment to this program and the research to develop long-term energy security.”

The event was held at the National Sequestration Education Center (NSEC) at Richland Community College. The NSEC, which focuses on education and training around the science of sequestration, is supported by Richland and the project partners.

Archer Daniels Midland Company
Media Relations
Jackie Anderson
media@adm.com
217-424-5413