Houston Republic

ExxonMobil has initiated its Carbon Capture and Storage Project, intended to garner toxic carbon demission deriving from the country’s petrochemical plants and discarding them under the Gulf of Mexico.

The $100 billion proposal, projected to dump 50 million metric tons of CO2 by 2030, would require funding from various government agencies and other businesses. It will span a 50-mile body of water crossing the Port of Houston and many chemical plants, potentially forming part of a $2 trillion industry by 2040. 

“The energy industry is a key partner. We have always said that the Climate Action Plan is not about moving Houston away from the energy industry but about moving the energy industry forward,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “ExxonMobil's announcement to create a carbon capture innovation zone in the Houston area is an example of the energy industry moving forward.”

The initiative was publicized on Earth Day, one year after the Houston Climate Action Plan was presented, though the company has been a longtime partner of the United States to reduce the toxins distributed from oil sources, making large contributions to emission reduction measures taken in various U.S. regions following the introduction of the Paris agreement. 

"The City of Houston is doing our part by using 100% clean, renewable energy and reducing emissions in our building, waste, and transportation systems," Turner said. "But we will all reach our goals faster when the energy industry itself commits to investing in innovative technologies such as battery storage, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen – and bringing these technologies to scale."

With the carbon-collecting project requiring CO2 from the 50 largest Houston Ship Channel Contributors according to Guy Powell, vice president of Low Carbon Solutions, and 6,000 feet of offshore reservoirs, banks and government representatives have presented doubts against it.

“We believe the time is right for a large-scale collaboration in the United States between government at every level, private industry, academia, and local communities to create an 'Innovation Zone' approach to dramatically accelerate CCS progress,” the company said. “And we think Houston is the perfect place for such a concept.”