Equinor invests in one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in the US - Upstream Online

Equinor invests in one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in the US | Upstream Online

Equinor has purchased a stake in one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in the US.

The Scandinavian oil and gas major acquired its 25 percent share in Bayou Bend CCS project in Texas from Carbonvert, the company said on Monday.

Grete Tveit, Senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor, said: “Entering Bayou Bend strengthens our low carbon solutions portfolio and supports our ambition to mature and develop 15-30 million tonnes of equity CO2 transport and storage capacity per year by 2035.

“Our experience from developing carbon storage projects can help advance decarbonization efforts in one of the largest industrial corridors in the US.”

The Bayou Bend project is located along the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas. It encompasses about 100,000 gross acres onshore in Chambers and Jefferson Counties in Texas, and more than 40,000 gross acres offshore Beaumont and Port Arthur, with a total of gross potential storage resources of more than one billion metric tons.

Bayou Bend is a joint venture between Chevron, Talos Energy and Equinor. Chevron is the operator with 50 percent interest, and Talos holds a 25 percent slice.

Chris Powers, CCUS vice president at Chevron New Energies, said: “Delivering lower carbon solutions to harder-to-abate industries is fundamental to Chevron New Energies’ mission, and as a Southeast Texas native, I know how vital these industries are to our local communities and their economies."

The project’s location near major industrial corridors in the Houston, Port Arthur area will provide a potential decarbonization option for industries such as refining, cement, steel, chemicals, and manufacturing.

Industrial emissions in the Texas Gulf Coast region are estimated to be approximately 100 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

Robin Fielder, executive vice president – Low Carbon Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer of Talos, aid significant progress is being made in developing Bayou Bend, which is expected to be a premier regional carbon storage hub solution for Texas’ largest industrial region.

Equinor’s flagship CSS investment is the Northern Lights project, which is seen as astandard bearer for the maturing of the industry in Northern Europe.

The project, a venture with Shell and TotalEnergies, is presently working towards a final investment decision, chief financial officer Torgrim Reitan said during Equinor’s second quarter conference call in July.

While Equinor has been hugely profitable this year overall, its renewables business posted a loss in both the first and second quarters of 2023.

European CCS projects, including Northern Lights, are backed by funding from the European Union. In the US financing for such initiatives are covered by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

In total the administration has pledged $369 billion toward industries involved in “energy security and climate change".

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