Local oil producer California Resources Corp. announced Tuesday the federal government has selected the company, in partnership with Cal State Bakersfield, for nearly $27 million to accelerate carbon dioxide sequestration in western Kern and then share related information as a way of promoting similar projects.

The initiative, called EHStore, was first disclosed last month by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, which said one of its objectives was to ensure local communities participate in the project's planning and benefit from it directly.