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AADE Houston IETG Meeting
When: Jan 15, 2026 @ 1:00 PM
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Attendance of this meeting in entirety could be credited up to 2 professional development hours.
DATE: Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Registration/Check-in begins at 12:45 PM.
Registration/Check-in begins at 12:45 PM.
LOCATION: Norris Conference Center – City Centre: Elm Room, 816 Town & Country Blvd., Suite 210, Houston, TX 77024
COST: Member: Free to attend / Non-member: $15
Non-members have the option to join as a member or renew your membership before registering, then the meeting cost will be free as well as all subsequent DTC meetings for 2026.
Program Topic: “Advancing Carbon Capture: Innovation, Regulation, and Materials"
SPEAKERS:
1. Ted Wooten, Chief Engineer – Oil & Gas Division – Texas Railroad Commission
Presenting:
RRC has spent several years preparing to receive primacy from EPA for the Class VI well programs. The Class VI well program for CO2 sequestration will join a mature Underground Injection Control (UIC) program that already includes Class 2 (Oil & Gas Waste), Class 3 (Brine Mining) and Class 5 (Geothermal).
RRC is already working with an expanded focus on managing the differences and similarities in all UIC programs with existing and new resources. The primary goals, as always, include how to generate the best permit in a reasonable amount of time, while protecting the people of Texas and our valuable natural and mineral resources.
The EPA website contains the following notice of pending primacy for Texas for the Class VI program.
On November 7, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Administrator Lee Zeldin signed the final rule to approve the State of Texas’ request for primary enforcement responsibility of Class VI wells under its current UIC program. On February 20, 2025, Texas submitted to the EPA a program revision application to add Class VI wells to the State's SDWA section 1422 UIC program. On June 17, 2025, the EPA published a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register for public input. The public comment period for the Proposed Rule ended on August 1, 2025, and a virtual public hearing was held on July 24, 2025. After conducting a comprehensive review and considering public comment, the EPA is approving Texas’ primacy application because the EPA has determined that the application meets all applicable requirements for primacy approval under the SDWA 1422.
Ted Wooten’s career in the oilfield began over 40 years ago operating cement and frac equipment for Dowell in Houston, Tx. His career continued through multiple oil and gas focused research and development staff and management positions, including a stint as Asst. Director Department of Petroleum and Geological Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Additional roles included staff engineering and operational management roles with independent and large cap E&P companies as well as living, working, and visiting over 40 countries around the world. All this culminated in executive management roles with both a small cap E&P company and an international oil and gas service company. With a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, and being a registered P.E. in OK / TX, Ted’s technical and management experience led him to his current role supporting the RRC and the State of Texas as Chief Engineer.
2. Travis Baughman, Engineering Advisor: Cement Specialist Worldwide D&C Performance & Systems – Oxy
Presenting: "Ordinary Portland Cement as a Barrier for CCUS Applications: A review of the recent API published Technical Bulletin"
This presentation reviews the findings published by API in Q4 of 2026 titled “Ordinary Portland Cement as a Barrier for CCUS Applications”. The study addresses concerns associated with the suitability of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) as a durable barrier material in environments where direct exposure to CO₂ may occur. The publication which draws on recent studies and industry literature, explores OPC’s chemical resilience, alteration mechanisms and severity, and implications for well construction and abandonment.
Travis Baughman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He has dedicated his career to oil and gas cementing and related technologies.
Travis began his professional journey with Schlumberger, where he held roles in offshore cement engineering, operations management, and served as regional technical authority.
He later joined Cement Solutions Incorporated as engineering lead and ultimately as the general manager of the Houston-based cement consulting and research laboratory.
He currently serves as the Global Cementing Advisor for Occidental Petroleum, based in Houston, Texas.
3. Roy Tachi, Technical Manager, Marketing & Services – JFE Steel America
Presenting: "Advanced Martensitic Stainless Steels for Carbon Capture and Storage"
With recent regulatory advice to utilize duplex stainless steels in lieu of 13Cr in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) applications; this presentation examines the corrosion behavior of 13–17% Cr martensitic stainless steels in CO₂-saturated NaCl solutions containing impurities, simulating CCS environments. Based on ISO 15156 guidelines and experimental results at 24 °C, a framework for material selection using domain maps is proposed to analysis CCS materials where resistance to general corrosion, crevice corrosion, and cracking is critical. While general corrosion rates for modified 13Cr, 15Cr, and 17Cr steels were accepted per established industry thresholds, indicating suitability for CO₂ injection tubing, resistance to crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking was
more notable with Duplex 25Cr and Advanced Martensitic Stainless materials such as 17Cr. The presentation will define the environmental limits of 17Cr, supporting its use in CCS applications as a technical and economical bridge between 13Cr and duplex.
Roy Tachi currently serves as Technical Manager at JFE Steel America. Originally with a background in aerospace, Roy has over 15 years of experience in product manufacturing and material science at JFE’s Japanese facilities. He brings a specialized focus to pipe product services, material corrosion, and manufacturing technology to the US operations.
4. Corey Shircliff, Senior Geologist | Project Manager – Cavern Solutions Inc.
Presenting: "You've received a Class VI Permit - Now What?"
Presenting: "You've received a Class VI Permit - Now What?"
Class VI permitting timelines are a critical part of carbon sequestration project execution in the US. In this presentation, we review successful Class VI permit timelines and discuss commonalities in permits that moved the fastest. We also discuss next steps after a permit is issued and construction timelines that must begin when the permit is issued. Finally, we offer recommendations on regulator engagement and permitting strategies for positioning all other related permits (e.g. USACE, Coastal, Pipeline) for parallel successful approval timelines.
Corey Shircliff, P.G., is a Senior Geologist at Cavern Solutions. Corey provides technical support on injection well projects including Class VI CCS, underground storage projects, salt water disposal wells, and industrial well projects. Prior to working at Cavern Solutions, Corey worked at the Louisiana Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources for ten years, where she led the team applying for Class VI state primacy in Louisiana, building the program for the storage of hydrogen and other non-hydrocarbons, and ultimately serving as the Assistant Director of the Injection and Mining Division. Corey started her career as an operations geologist in the Bakken.
Register Here.
Reservations are required!
Deadline for reservations is Noon, Tuesday, Jan 13.
Location:
Norris Conference Center - CityCentre - Elm Room
816 Town & Country Blvd., Suite 210
Houston, TX 77024
Registration begins at 12:45 PM.
Parking:
The Norris CityCentre facility is located at the corner of intersection of IH-10 West and Beltway 8. The location features plenty of complimentary parking.
IMPORTANT NOTE – For your convenience, we encourage you to park in the garage that is attached to the Norris Centers location (enter the parking garage from Beltway 8). Take the “up” ramp in the middle of the parking garage. You will see signs with the Norris name and logo directing you to the correct floors to park. Please note that a number of parking spaces are reserved for other tenants of the complex and have “reserved” signs identifying these spaces, so please avoid parking in these reserved spots. There is plenty of parking on the roof!
For additional driving directions & a map, check their website at: https://norriscenters.com/houston-citycentre-map/
Contact houston@aade.org for any further questions.
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