ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions business has achieved a milestone in carbon capture and storage (CCS) by winning four licenses in the UK’s first-ever carbon storage licensing round. These licenses will allow ExxonMobil to test potential locations for storing captured CO2 emissions beneath the UK North Sea, in partnership with Shell on three of the licenses and Neptune Energy on the fourth. The licenses are situated off the east coast of England, where ExxonMobil has a history of developing oil and gas resources.
If the assessments are successful, ExxonMobil will seek permission from the UK government to develop carbon storage projects, aligning with the UK’s goal to store over 50 million metric tons of carbon annually by 2050. CCS is recognized as a proven solution to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from industrial sectors, including the energy industry.
The areas covered by the licensing round have the potential to store up to 30 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2030, equivalent to approximately 10% of the UK’s emissions in 2021. These storage areas include depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers.
ExxonMobil has been actively involved in CCS and is scaling up the technology to contribute to society’s path to achieving net-zero emissions. In the U.S. Gulf Coast region, the company has committed to storing up to 5 million metric tons of CO2 per year for third-party customers, which is roughly equivalent to replacing about 2 million gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles.
ExxonMobil has allocated $17 billion for lower emission initiatives from 2022 to 2027, including efforts to expand CCS to reduce emissions for both third parties and its own operations.
By FCCT Editorial Team