Research, Technology, and Education for the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Industrial processes such as the production of cement, iron and steel, and petrochemicals, as well as burning fossil fuels (e.g., gas, oil, and coal) has measurably increased CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere. The long-term consequences of increased concentrations of CO2 gas in Earth’s atmosphere will have negative impacts to oceans and climate.
One possible response is to capture CO2 in industrial settings and reinject it into deep geological reservoirs where it will be retained for long periods of time. This process is called geological sequestration, or carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC) seeks to impact global levels of atmospheric CO2 by
- Conducting studies, often focusing on the Gulf of Mexico, in regard to geological storage, retention and monitoring of CO2 in the deep subsurface;
- Educating the public about the process of geological CO2 storage; and
- Enabling the private sector to develop an economically viable industry to store CO2 in the Gulf of Mexico, across the U.S., and globally
Since 1999, the GCCC has been a global leader in research that facilitates a proactive response by energy-related businesses to reduce atmospheric release of CO2. The GCCC has led or is in the process of conducting several major field research projects onshore and offshore to develop effective technologies to monitor retention of CO2 in the subsurface. In addition, the GCCC has led a number of diverse projects including estimation of storage capacity, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening and economic assessments, risk and monitoring of leakage to water and surface resources, assessment of pressure, and whole-system integration.
The GCCC is a multidisciplinary group that includes experts in geology, hydrology, petroleum engineering, chemistry, economics, and computer modeling. For more information about the researchers, post-docs, and students who comprise the Carbon Center, please see our staff page.
Recent News
September 5, 2025: The GCCC held their first group weekly meeting of the semester and officially welcomed our new students, Nargiz Akmurzayeva and Farzana Rahman, in person…click to read
September 1, 2025: Congratulations to the GCCC’s Seyyed Hosseini who is now the Associate Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Environmental Division...click to read
September 1–4, 2025: Dr. Tip Meckel attended the inaugural World CCUS Conference in Bergen, Norway with 300 attendees....click to read
August 27–28, 2025: A GCCC Team including Alex Bump, Sue Hovorka, and Katherine Romanak will attend and present at the “IEAGHG Risk Management & Monitoring Networks Combined Meeting” in the Hague, Netherlands...click to read
August 26–28, 2025: The Gulf Coast Carbon Center's Carlos Uroza and Sean Avitt will present at IMAGE '25 in Houston...click to read
August 25–26, 2025: Thanks to Angela Luciano for participating in Bayou Bend CCS LLC Community Listening Sessions...click to read
August 22, 2025: The Gulf Coast Carbon Center’s PhD student, Melianna Ulfah, provided a virtual presentation to the Indonesian Association of Geophysicists and to the Consulate General of Indonesia in Houston, TX, U.S.A...click to read
August 18, 2025: The GCCC welcomes Katherine Graves as a Research Science Assistant who will be working with Carlos Uroza...click to read
August 16, 2025: The GCCC welcomes Nargiz Akmurzayeva and Farzana Rahman as Graduate Research Assistants and M.S. students with the Energy & Earth Resources (EER) program…click to read
August 15, 2025: Congratulations to Previna Arumugam, Sean Avitt, and Argenis Pelayo Nava for submitting their theses and officially completing their Master’s degrees...click to read
August 4, 2025: The Gulf Coast Carbon Center welcomes Vanessa Nuñez-López as a program manager for the GCCC and the State of Texas Advanced Resource recovery (STARR) programs...click to read
July 31, 2025: The GCCC’s TXLA CMC participated in a Bayou Bend Community Listening Session at the Sabine Pass Community Center...click to read
July 30, 2025: A final RTX undergraduate project by Angie Wangler was presented at the RTX 2025 Poster Symposium with special thanks to GCCC mentors Ramon Gil-Egui and Edwina Owusu-Adjapong...click to read
June 30–July 3, 2025: The GCCC’s Carbon-not Education and Ambassador program hosted two high school teachers, Christy Ross and Kristyn Stovall for a hands on 4-day workshop...click to read
June 30, 2025: Congratulations to Alex Bump, Katherine , and Katherine ; their online course entitled, "Subsurface Skills for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Professional Education Program" is officially available online…click to read
June 26, 2025: As part of TXLA CMC’s Carbon-not Education & Ambassador Program, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center’s Angela Luciano and Sue Hovorka helped support a one-hour webinar focused on bringing carbon capture and storage (CCS) into middle school science classrooms…click to read
June 24, 2025: Sue Hovorka attended the 8th working group for Texas Road Mapping Event at UT’s AT&T Conference Center in Austin, TX hosted by RMI, the Great Plains Institute (GPI), and the Mitchell Foundation…click to read
June 23, 2025: The Bureau of Economic Geology’s Gulf Coast Carbon Center hosted a delegation of 17 people from Taiwan’s government, academia, and industry…click to read
June 16 –19, 2025: Research Professor Tip Meckel attended the 13th Trondheim CCS Conference (TCCS-13) in Norway…click to read
June 11, 2025: The GCCC hosted their 2nd Sponsors' Meeting for the year at the Bureau of Economic Geology's Houston Core Facility…click to read
Click here to view 2025 news and events.
En español: la información de almacenamiento geológico de carbono
The University of Texas at Austin is proud to be associated with BP’s sponsorship of the GCCC, an activity accredited by BP’s Advancing Low Carbon program.
