Jackson Dome & the NEJD CO2 Pipeline — A Mineral Owner's Reference

Jackson Dome — A Geological Anomaly

Jackson Dome is a Cretaceous-age volcanic uplift in central Mississippi (Rankin County) that traps a massive accumulation of natural CO2. The reservoir is the only natural CO2 source east of the Mississippi River. Discovered in the 1970s and developed for industrial CO2 supply through the 1980s-1990s, Jackson Dome has been the foundation of the southeastern U.S. CO2 EOR industry for over 40 years.

For Mississippi mineral owners, Jackson Dome matters because the Denbury Onshore CO2 EOR floods that produce the most oil in Mississippi are all fed by Jackson Dome CO2 supply.

The NEJD / "Green Pipeline" CO2 Transportation System

Denbury developed the NEJD (Northeast Jackson Dome) CO2 pipeline — also marketed as the "Green Pipeline" — to transport Jackson Dome CO2 to multiple Mississippi (and selected Louisiana / Texas) CO2 EOR target fields. The pipeline system is a critical piece of the southeastern U.S. CO2 EOR infrastructure.

Mississippi fields fed by Jackson Dome CO2 supply via the NEJD / Green Pipeline include:

Heidelberg East & West (Jasper County) — Denbury

Eucutta East (Wayne County) — Denbury

Tinsley (Yazoo County) — historically Denbury, now Highmark Energy Operating

Brookhaven (Lincoln County) — Denbury

Soso (Jasper County) — Denbury

Cranfield (Adams County) — historically Denbury, now Durango Operating; first commercial MS CO2 flood (2008)

Mallalieu (Lincoln County) and Cypress Creek (selected counties) — also Jackson Dome-supplied; below the top-20 oil cutoff

CO2 Supply as the Binding Economic Constraint

For Mississippi CO2 EOR fields, operator-side CO2 supply is the binding economic constraint on EOR economics. The flood's reserve life is limited by (1) total Jackson Dome remaining capacity and (2) operator allocation decisions across competing target fields. Both constraints have material implications for mineral interest valuations:

A field with secure, long-term CO2 allocation has higher mineral interest value

A field at risk of CO2 reallocation away from EOR (e.g. toward sequestration-only operations under 45Q) has lower expected mineral interest value

Post the November 2023 ExxonMobil acquisition of Denbury, allocation decisions sit within ExxonMobil's broader Low Carbon Solutions strategy — adding a layer of strategic uncertainty to Mississippi CO2 flood mineral valuations

If You Own Jackson Dome-Supplied Mineral Interests

Mineral owners on any Jackson Dome-supplied CO2 flood (Heidelberg, Eucutta, Tinsley, Brookhaven, Soso, Cranfield, etc.) should be aware of the CO2 supply scenario risk in their interest's valuation. A current valuation should explicitly account for: (1) the field's expected CO2 allocation under base-case operator strategy, (2) downside scenarios involving CO2 reallocation, and (3) the operator's broader low-carbon-solutions strategy post the Exxon acquisition.

Get a CO2-Aware Mississippi Valuation

Free written valuations that explicitly account for Jackson Dome CO2 supply scenarios.