Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 22 2022
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NorthAmOil                                   COMMENTARY                                          NorthAmOil


                                                                                                  Cameron LNG is
                                                                                                  among the LNG export
                                                                                                  terminals on the Gulf
                                                                                                  Coast where CCS is
                                                                                                  being advanced.






































                         and Carbonvert with 25% interests each.  What next?
                           Indeed, this also represents part of a bigger  According to the Global CCS Institute, there
                         foray into CCS for Chevron. The super-major  were 27 operational CCS facilities around the
                         also announced in mid-May that it was launch-  world as of 2021 and a further 106 under devel-
                         ing a CCS development in California aimed at  opment or already in construction. With the
                         reducing the carbon intensity of its operations  industry still at such an early stage it still needs
                         in the San Joaquin Valley.           to be demonstrated that carbon capture will be
                           However, it emerged at the same time that  effective at helping the oil industry – and the
                         Chevron and Schlumberger had withdrawn  world more broadly – to decarbonise.
                         an application for a carbon capture permit for   Indeed, critics have pointed to underper-
                         a separate project in central California. The  formance and operational issues at CCS facil-
                         withdrawal stemmed from a request from the  ities such as the one intended for capturing
                         US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),  emissions from Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project  The US is by far
                         which had said the application was “substan-  in Australia as evidence that CCS should not be
                         tially incomplete” and had failed to provide  relied upon to perform to its full potential. But   the leader in
                         financial assurances for that project.  industry sources contend that as more compa-  both existing and
                           Chevron and Schlumberger said they had  nies participate in CCS development, this will
                         opted to withdraw the permit application but  help to both improve the technology and its per-  proposed CCS
                         would continue “to gather and evaluate pro-  formance and bring down costs.
                         ject information”. However, given the timing of   Either way, CCS projects will find them- projects globally.
                         Chevron’s announcement about the San Joaquin  selves under the spotlight as more come
                         Valley CCS project, it appears likely that the  online while national decarbonisation targets
                         super-major is turning its attention to similar  for 2030 and beyond loom. The industry will
                         developments elsewhere.              be under pressure to demonstrate that CCS
                           Also at around the same time in mid-May, BP  is effective.
                         and Linde announced that they were partnering   There is still a long way to go until this point,
                         on a “major” CCS project in Texas. That project  and given the speed with which new CCS ven-
                         is part of a blue hydrogen venture entailing pro-  tures are being announced, there will be sig-
                         duction of hydrogen from natural gas, while  nificantly more carbon capture capacity under
                         emissions are captured and sequestered. The  development in the not-too-distant future com-
                         partners said the project would also support the  pared with today. While competition could well
                         storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from  emerge in other regions, it appears that the US is
                         other facilities in the Texas Gulf Coast industrial  likely to continue leading the way, with the high-
                         corridor.                            est number of projects being planned.™



       Week 22   02•June•2022                   www. NEWSBASE .com                                              P5
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