US offshore lobby stresses support for energy transition

The US National Ocean Industries Association announced May 17 that the offshore energy sector was taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint by examining CO₂ storage and hydrogen resources.

Erik Milito, the head of the NOIA, said the offshore industry has a critical role to play in the US energy transition.

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“Whether it is the build-out of new offshore wind projects, developing CO₂ storage facilities, finding new ways to produce hydrogen, or optimising logistics and operations to reduce the carbon footprint, the offshore energy industry is at the forefront of energy solutions and emission reductions,” he said.

The US energy sector is working to play catchup with the international community in terms of transitioning to a cleaner future. ExxonMobil in a presentation to investors on April 27 said it believed the emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry could be a significant money maker in the years to come.

The company believes the US could establish a “CCS Innovation Zone” along the Houston Ship Channel and its surrounding industrial areas, potentially to capture all of the CO₂ emissions from the petrochemical, manufacturing and power generation facilities there. The CO₂ would then be piped into geological formations along the Gulf Coast.

The US Department of Energy has estimated that geological formations along the Gulf Coast could sequester as much as 500bn mt of CO₂ – more than 130 years of the country’s total industrial and power generation emissions, based on 2018 emissions.

NOIA said it does support the aims outline in the Paris climate agreement, but stressed it was backing a balanced approach to national policy.

“NOIA supports and encourages the efforts of our members in understanding their emissions impacts, in setting sustainability goals and targets, and in deploying technologies and best practices for emissions reductions,” it said.