GULF COAST
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced a groundbreaking agreement between the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and ExxonMobil, leasing approximately 271,068 acres of submerged state land offshore in Jefferson, Chambers, and Galveston Counties. This marks the largest Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) transportation and storage lease in both state and U.S. history. The agreement will benefit the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) by generating significant investment returns, funding Texas public schools
Commentary: This pairs with their federal acreage, shown in blue in the image below.
ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) to transport and store up to 1.2 million metric tons per year (MTA) of CO2 from their Louisiana facility. NG3 will gather and treat natural gas from east Texas and Louisiana for delivery to U.S. Gulf Coast markets. The agreement shows the growing trend of heavy industries utilizing CCS technology to meet their emissions goals.
Commentary: NG3 is Exxon’s first natural gas customer and can rely on over 1300 miles of existing CO2 pipelines.
CF Industries continues work on a CO2 dehydration and compression unit in Donaldsonville. The installation of CO2 dehydration contactors, which remove water vapor from CO2, is complete.
Commentary: This CO2 will likely connect to the Green Pipeline, recently acquired by ExxonMobil in its Denbury purchase.
Occidental subsidiary 1PointFive has been awarded $36 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to develop its Bluebonnet and Magnolia sequestration hubs, part of Phase III of the DOE’s CarbonSAFE Initiative. These hubs, located in Chambers County, Texas, and Allen Parish, Louisiana, are designed for large-scale geologic CO2 storage.
Milestone Carbon’s application for a Class VI CO2 injection well permit in the Delaware Basin of West Texas has been deemed complete by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), marking a significant step in the permitting process.
Air Products donated $100,000 to the Livingston Parish EOC, enabling the parish to make crucial upgrades that were beneficial during Hurricane Francine.
ADNOC has acquired a 35% stake in Exxon’s Baytown low-carbon hydrogen facility, signaling a significant investment in low-carbon energy solutions.
USA
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the release of its Carbon Management Strategy for public comment. This comprehensive roadmap outlines the tools and approaches DOE will employ over the next decade to develop and deploy carbon management solutions. The strategy aligns with the climate, economic, and social priorities of the Biden-Harris administration.
The ongoing conversation between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) regarding non-compliance issues with their Class VI well remains a topic of significant discussion and speculation
Commentary: My understanding is that the injection of CO2 has been paused while the issue is being resolved.
INTERNATIONAL
8 Rivers Capital has secured an investment from JX Nippon Oil Exploration to advance its Calcite Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. The investment will help transition the Calcite DAC solution from pilot projects to full-scale commercial development. The first commercial deployment, Project Cardinal, will be located on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) set to begin in 2025. Additionally, the SEDAC hub has been awarded $20.5 million to conduct FEED studies for two DAC facilities, each capable of capturing 50,000 tonnes of CO2. JX's support will also de-risk the technology at the Calcite pilot project in Mobile, Alabama.
Arbor has signed a multi-year deal with Microsoft to deliver 25,000 tons of permanent carbon dioxide removal. Starting in 2027, Arbor will provide 5,000 tons of carbon removal annually while also generating 5 megawatts of clean electricity, enough to power 4,000 homes year-round using organic waste. All carbon removal will be verified through Isometric's registry. Arbor's technology is rooted in Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and utilizes advancements in oxy-combustion and supercritical turbomachinery. By 2030, Arbor aims to generate 100 MW of electricity and remove nearly two million tons of carbon annually.
OTHER
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has closed its 1GT climate private equity fund at $750 million in equity capital commitments. The fund aims to support companies across North America and Europe that are focused on mitigating climate change, with the ambitious goal of avoiding or removing one gigaton of carbon emissions by 2050. The 1GT fund’s investor base includes institutions from Europe, Japan, and North America. Importantly, 50% of the financial incentives for the fund’s team are tied to achieving this carbon emissions reduction goal.
BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group has signed a long-term contract with Meta for 1.3 million nature-based carbon removal credits, with the option for an additional 2.6 million credits through 2038. This agreement is part of a reforestation initiative in Latin America aimed at mitigating climate change, supporting biodiversity, and benefiting local communities. This marks Meta's first significant carbon removal project in Brazil, with the credits coming from BTG Pactual's $1 billion reforestation strategy, advised by Conservation International.
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