ExxonMobil sees "enormous" potential in CCS

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.

“We are uniquely placed to help society meet its net zero ambitions, while capturing enormous future opportunities and delivering value for shareholders for many decades to come,” the US major's CEO Darren Woods said.

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.

In its presentation to investors, the company said demand for CCS, as well as technologies such as hydrogen and biofuels, could create “multi-trillion-dollar markets by 2040.” ExxonMobil releases its report for first quarter 2021 on April 30.