Legal and Regulatory Considerations for Carbon Sequestration Fee Structures

Keith Hall, LSU Mineral Law Center and John P. Laborde Energy Law Center, and Greg Upton Jr., LSU Center for Energy Studies, along with Daniel Keniston, LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business, and Joanna Walker, LSU Center for Energy Studies have co-authored a white paper titled, "Legal and Regulatory Considerations for Carbon Sequestration Fee Structures".

This white paper examines the legal and regulatory issues that arise when developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, with a focus on Louisiana and comparisons to broader U.S. practices. Because CCS requires injecting carbon dioxide deep underground, operators must secure rights to use subsurface pore space—an area of law that is still evolving and differs in key ways from traditional oil and gas activity.

The paper explains why CCS developers need legal rights to pore space, touching on foundational property law concepts like ad coelum and the risk of trespass if injected CO₂ migrates beyond a project boundary. It reviews the types of agreements used to obtain pore space rights (e.g., leases, servitudes) and the compensation models associated with them. It also discusses statutory tools—such as unitization and eminent domain—that may be used when private agreements with all landowners cannot be reached.

Read the white paper here.