Frontier Infrastructure Drills Second Well at Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub

Frontier Infrastructure Holdings (Frontier) and the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources (SER) achieved a significant milestone for carbon storage development in the Mountain West: The second deep characterization well (J1-15) was successfully drilled at the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub (SCS Hub). J1-15 reaches a total vertical depth of 18,437 feet and is the deepest Class VI carbon storage well in the United States.

"Successfully drilling and testing a second well on this project has confirmed our preliminary interpretation of the reservoir and is a major step forward to validate the region's storage potential," said Robby Rockey, President and Co-CEO of Frontier. "This deeper well gives us a more complete picture of the subsurface, reinforcing our commitment to building scalable, practical carbon solutions for Wyoming's key industries."

Initially, the J1-15 well was drilled to access the Nugget Sandstone formation, which yielded 147 feet of core. Following the first well’s successful drilling, Frontier extended J1-15 to reach the high-priority Madison Limestone formation and evaluate the hub’s full storage capacity. SER’s Center for Economic Geology Research is leading geological evaluation, collecting core samples, well logs, and water to undergo analysis for reservoir characteristics and seal integrity.

Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub | Image Credit: Frontier

"Securing Class VI permits and executing a drilling program to this depth required meticulous planning and coordination with multiple regulatory bodies," said Alicia Summers, Frontier's Chief Development Officer. "The geological data we're seeing reinforces why we selected this location and validates our technical approach to developing world-class carbon storage infrastructure."

The well’s preliminary data displays geologic similarities to a current acid gas injection site approximately 25 miles north, validating the SCS Hub as a large-scale carbon storage facility to advance commercial-scale carbon sequestration in Wyoming. Frontier’s project falls under the Department of Energy’s CarbonSAFE initiative, which intends to build out commercial carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for industrial CO₂ emitters in the region.

“The project team is particularly optimistic about the Madison Limestone, a formation also utilized in North America's largest CCUS operation located 25 miles to the North of the SCS Hub,” said Rockey. “The analog underscores the Madison's promise as a safe and effective storage reservoir. We've seen what the Madison can deliver through Shute Creek. Now we're applying those learnings here, with results that are very promising.”

In addition to fieldwork, the SCS Hub is working toward regulatory and engineering milestones, with next phases focusing on detailed modeling, permitting, and preparation for eventual injection operations.

Partnership with Baker Hughes

In early March 2025, Baker Hughes agreed to deliver its technologies and resources to Frontier Infrastructure’s large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS), power generation, and data center projects. The partnership aims to accelerate the deployment of CCS projects and power solutions in the United States, satisfying the increased power demand in Wyoming, the Mountain West, and Texas. Baker Hughes expects orders as Frontier projects progress.

To meet the power demand driven by expanding data centers and industrial operations, Frontier Infrastructure is developing 256 MW of gas-fired, behind-the-meter power capacity. Baker Hughes will provide its industrial NovaLT gas turbines to support these power generation applications with reliability, flexibility, efficiency, and lower carbon operation.