ExxonMobil Creates Low Carbon Unit
US major ExxonMobil has set up a low-carbon technology subsidiary to focus initially on carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects at home and abroad, it said February 1. It has over 20 projects in its sights including several in northwest Europe and the Middle East.
It has a $3bn budget out to 2025 and its plans overseas include involvement in the Porthos project in the Netherlands, the Acorn project in Scotland and the Ras Laffan industrial centre in Qatar.
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The business will be led by Joe Blommaert, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry with leadership roles in technology advancement, product marketing, and operations. He is also now a vice president of ExxonMobil.
CCS is one of the few technologies that could enable some industry sectors to decarbonise, including the refining, chemicals, cement and steel sectors, it said. Blue hydrogen coupled with CCS is another area that ExxoMobil said it was focusing on.
“With our demonstrated leadership in carbon capture and emissions reduction technologies, ExxonMobil is committed to meeting the demand for affordable energy while reducing emissions and managing the risks of climate change,” said CEO Darren Woods. “We are focused on proprietary projects and commercial partnerships that will have a demonstrably positive impact on our own emissions as well as those from the industrial, power generation and commercial transportation sectors, which together account for 80% of global CO2 emissions.”
Its CCS capacity in the US, Australia and Qatar totals about 9mn metric tons/year. The company has an equity share in about one-fifth of global CO2 capture capacity and has captured about 40% of all the captured anthropogenic CO2 in the world.
New CCS projects and partnerships under evaluation at home include numerous projects along the US Gulf Coast, including a CCS hub concept in southeast Texas. ExxonMobil has progressed permitting for the expansion of its La Barge CCS facilities, which could enable an additional 1mn mt/yr to be captured. Existing facilities capture about 7mn mt/yr, which is the largest amount of CO2 captured by any industrial facility in the world.