Equinor buys its way into project envisaged as ‘premier regional carbon storage hub’ in US

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has gotten its hands on a stake in a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project located along the Texas Gulf Coast, which is positioned to become one of the largest U.S. CCS projects.

Equinor has acquired a 25 per cent interest in Bayou Bend CCS, which is envisioned as one of the largest CCS solutions in the U.S. for industrial emitters, with nearly 140,000 gross acres of pore space for permanent CO₂ sequestration and gross potential storage resources of more than one billion metric tons. The Bayou Bend total acreage includes nearly 100,000 gross acres onshore in Chambers and Jefferson Counties, Texas, and approximately 40,000 gross acres offshore Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas.

Grete Tveit, Equinor’s senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions, commented: “Commercial CCS solutions are critical for hard-to-abate industries to meet their climate ambitions while maintaining their activity. Entering Bayou Bend strengthens our low-carbon solutions portfolio and supports our ambition to mature and develop 15-30 million tonnes of equity CO₂ transport and storage capacity per year by 2035. Our experience from developing carbon storage projects can help advance decarbonisation efforts in one of the largest industrial corridors in the U.S.”

Furthermore, Bayou Bend is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc., through its Chevron New Energies division, Talos Energy Inc., through its Talos Low Carbon Solutions division, and Equinor. The Norwegian energy giant acquired its 25 per cent share through the purchase of Texas Carbon 1 LLC, a subsidiary of Carbonvert. Chevron is the operator with 50 per cent interest, and Talos holds 25 per cent interest.

Chris Golden, senior vice president, and U.S. Country Manager, remarked: “We look forward to working together with our partners to further mature this exciting project. Bayou Bend is Equinor’s first announced low-carbon solutions project on the Gulf Coast. Alongside our upstream production and offshore wind developments, we’re strengthening our position as a broad energy company and expanding our footprint in the Gulf region. Bayou Bend is a significant milestone towards growing our low-carbon portfolio in the U.S.”

Moreover, the project’s location near major industrial corridors in the Houston Ship Channel and Beaumont/Port Arthur area is anticipated to provide a potential decarbonisation option for industries such as refining, cement, steel, chemicals, and manufacturing. Industrial emissions in the Texas Gulf Coast region are estimated to be approximately 100 million metric tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Robin Fielder, executive vice president – Low Carbon Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer of Talos, said: “We continue to make significant progress in developing Bayou Bend, which we believe will be a premier regional carbon storage hub solution for Texas’ largest industrial region.

“Equinor is a welcomed addition to the partnership. Their experience and track record further enhance the joint venture, which is committed to developing safe, reliable, cost-effective lower carbon solutions while enabling continued economic growth.”

Preliminary estimates for the Bayou Bend CCS project site indicate that it could potentially sequester 225 to 275 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from industrial sources in the area.

Chris Powers, vice president, CCUS, Chevron New Energies, stated: “Delivering lower carbon solutions to harder-to-abate industries is fundamental to Chevron New Energies’ mission, and as a Southeast Texas native, I know how vital these industries are to our local communities and their economies.

“We thank Carbonvert for its work on the project, and we look forward to Equinor bringing its expertise and resources to Bayou Bend as it joins the partnership.”

Chevron is interested in more oil and gas, however, the oil major ran into a hurdle in the development of a gas field reservoir off Cyprus, as the country’s government did not give its blessing for the firm’s updated development plan. Therefore, further talks with the country’s authorities are required to come to an agreement regarding the development of this project.

Equinor is pursuing more hydrocarbons just like its peers to enable more energy supplies to Europe following the global energy crisis, which swept across the world last year. In line with this, the Norwegian giant secured consent to use rigs owned by Shelf Drilling and Transocean for drilling activities in the North Sea off Norway.

Talos is also actively working on boosting its hydrocarbon arsenal. A few days ago, the U.S. player confirmed a commercial oil and natural gas discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. It will be tied back to an existing platform.