ExxonMobil has secured regulatory approval to proceed with the Rose carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Texas, US, valued at more than $5bn, reported the Financial Times.
The decision allows the company to inject around 53 million tonnes (mt) of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions into three underground wells at sites in Jefferson County, approximately 90 miles east of Houston.
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The Rose CCS project is part of ExxonMobil’s strategy to connect industrial customers to a planned 900-mile pipeline network designed to transport CO₂ for permanent storage in deep geological formations.
According to ExxonMobil, customers buying its oil and gas products indirectly emit nearly 700mt of CO₂ annually.
The Railroad Commission (RRC) voted two to one in favour of the proposal after a public hearing that highlighted growing opposition to CCS projects in Texas and neighbouring Louisiana.
RRC Commissioner Wayne Christian cast the dissenting vote.
Christian said: “I am disappointed by the outcome. I remain unconvinced that the record adequately establishes the project’s long-term safety.
“I still have not heard a convincing answer to a basic question: What is the point of permanently injecting carbon dioxide underground? These projects also require massive taxpayer subsidies, and I am concerned they will drive up costs for the consumers I was elected to represent.”
The Rose CCS project is set to store CO₂ at depths between half a mile and one and a half miles below ground, and spans 13,000 acres of privately held land.
The project includes three CO₂ storage wells as well as water and in-zone monitoring systems, with an 18-mile pipeline to deliver the captured gas to the storage site.
Texas Oil & Gas Association president Todd Staples said: “Texas leads because Texas builds. For generations, the Lone Star State has shown that economic growth, technological innovation and responsible industrial development can advance together.
“The Railroad Commission of Texas took an important step towards keeping Texas communities at the forefront of an emerging industry with significant economic potential.
“CCS projects represent another opportunity to build on our legacy of attracting investment, creating jobs, developing opportunities for landowners, strengthening communities and keeping Texas as the place the world looks to for innovation and energy leadership.”
This is the first time the RRC has authorised a Class VI carbon storage well since the US Environmental Protection Agency delegated permitting authority to Texas.
CCS involves trapping and compressing CO₂ emissions and storing them deep underground, with the aim of reducing the release of greenhouse gases from industrial sources.
