Occidental's affiliate plans a 1,200 MtCO2/year CCS project

1PointFive, an affiliate of the US oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum, has leased, through an affiliate, more than 55,000 acres along the Texas Gulf Coast (United States), to develop a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) hub with the capacity to hold approximately 1,200 MtCO2. The company has already drilled a stratigraphic test well and subsurface assessment to characterise the sites ability to securely store CO2 and expects to apply for two Class VI permits in 2023. The Bluebonnet Hub is located in Chambers, Liberty and Jefferson counties near refineries, chemical plants and manufacturing facilities along the Gulf Coast from Beaumont to Houston. The hub is expected to be operational in 2026 and will provide for CO2 captured off-site to be securely stored in saline formations that are not associated with oil and gas production.

US CO2 emissions from combustion decreased by 15% between 2007 and 2019 and dropped by 11% in 2020 before bouncing back (+6.5%) to 4,700 MtCO2 in 2021. CO2 emissions from combustion decreased by 15% between 2007 and 2019 and dropped by 11% in 2020 before bouncing back (+6.5%) to 4.7 GtCO2 in 2021. The decreasing trend until 2019 was mainly due to a switch from coal to natural gas and renewables in the power mix.