Dale Johnson Receives PCOR Partnership Pioneer Award

Dale Johnson, senior vice president and plant manager at Dakota Gasification Company, was awarded the Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Pioneer Award at the PCOR Partnership Annual Meeting August 27 in Bismarck, ND.

The PCOR Partnership - funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Energy Technology Laboratory through its Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Initiative, The North Dakota Industrial Commission and partner organizations - is accelerating the commercial deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS). The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) leads the PCOR Partnership, with support from the University of Wyoming and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"The PCOR Partnership Pioneer Award recognizes the pioneering spirit of people whose individual support, including time, technical expertise, and dedication, advances CCUS," said Kevin Connors, PCOR Partnership Program Manager. "Dale Johnson, along with all the past Pioneer Award recipients, have truly shown their support of the PCOR Partnership's continuing mission toward the advancement of CCUS."

"I was very surprised to receive this award and was shocked when my picture came up on the big screen," Johnson said. "I've had a long relationship with EERC and PCOR. I started working with EERC over 30 years ago when we were working to understand how to optimize coal gasification. They have also provided research for alternative gasifier feedstocks, and alternative products from the plant. In the 2000's, PCOR's mission was to advance the science and public awareness around the value and the options associated with CO₂, which is a huge benefit for the energy industry."

Johnson also acknowledged his gratitude for the team at Dakota Gas.

"Most importantly, I'm incredibly proud of the Dakota Gas team," Johnson said. "Since 2000, we've been early pioneers in delivering CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery, which recently surpassed over 45-million-metric-tons of deliveries to Canada. Dakota Gas continues to be the model for safe operation of the CO₂ pipeline."

Dakota Gas also hit a new milestone the same week Johnson received the PCOR Partnership Pioneer Award. The geologic CO₂ project at Dakota Gas hit 1-million-metric-tons of total injection since the project began in February.