labarge EOR enhanced oil recovery

huge ccs shut down last yr? (kemper cty, Southern co?]

ENERGY

Exxon plans to build nation’s largest carbon capture project in Baytown

Shelby Webb Staff writer

March 1, 2022

Exxon Mobil will build one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects, as well as a new hydrogen production plant, at its refining and petrochemical site in Baytown.

The company made the announcement Tuesday, though key details are still unkown, such as a timeline and cost. Officials also are still deciding where they will inject the carbon dioxide into geologic formations beneath the Texas coast, said Ed Graham, vice president of ventures for Exxon Mobil Low Carbon Solutions.

The goal is for the project to transport and store up to 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, which would make it the largest project of its type in the United States, according to business data company Statista.

BIG MONEY: Exxon posts $23B profit last year, highest since 2014

The hydrogen plant, meanwhile, would produce up to 1 billion cubic feet a day of hydrogen by using natural gas as a feed stock. That hydrogen would be used in Exxon’s olefins plant in Baytown, reducing on-site emissions by up to 30 percent.

“It will be a game-changer for Houston to help kickstart both the hydrogen and (carbon capture and storage) industries,” Graham said. “This will help us more broadly decarbonize our businesses across Houston.”

Houston companies and local officials have pitched Houston as the ideal proving ground for the hydrogen industry. The city is already the largest hydrogen producer in the country, producing one-third of the annual U.S. output. There are 48 hydrogen production plants across the region and more than 900 miles of pipelines designed specifically for hydrogen — about one-third of all hydrogen pipelines globally.

In late January, Texas Sen. John Cornyn pitched a bipartisan Hydrogen Infrastructure Initiative. If passed, it would create grant programs to encourage construction of hydrogen infrastructure at ports and heavy-industry facilities and provide financing to support hydrogen transport infrastructure.

The Exxon Mobil plant would use natural gas [METHANE?!]  to produce what’s known as blue hydrogen. Graham said the carbon dioxide produced from turning the natural gas into hydrogen would be captured and sequestered as part of the new carbon capture project.

Exxon Mobil’s plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 2050 relies heavily on carbon capture and sequestration. Last spring, executives said they were looking to build a $100 billion carbon capture project along the Ship Channel [HURRICANES] . Also last year, Exxon’s low-carbon solutions venture said it would invest $3 billion in a portfolio of 20 carbon capture projects.

Graham said Exxon already injects more carbon dioxide into the earth than any other company. He said the projects are part of “world-scale efforts.”

“Houston and Baytown are important to us as a company, and it's important that we help lead the way and to help Houston and its efforts to be a leader in the energy transition,” Graham said. “And we think these (carbon capture) technologies and hydrogen are really critical to make that happen.”

shelby.webb@chron.com

axios

hOUSTON — CEOs of multinational oil-and-gas giants Exxon and TotalEnergies gave remarks at a major industry gathering here that underscore Big Oil's differing diversification strategies across the Atlantic.

What they're saying: Exxon CEO Darren Woods touted Exxon's emphasis on carbon capture, hydrogen and biofuels.

• "We are a company that has a real long history in frankly, manipulating hydrocarbon molecules to make products that the world needs," Woods said at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference.
• "Andif you think about the technology that we have been using and will use in this space, it's is continuing to manage hydrocarbon molecules and leveraging the skills that we've developed over the years," he said.

The other side: Patrick Pouyanné cited TotalEnergies' moves into areas including renewable power, electricity services, batteries and EV charging that TotalEnergies and other European majors like BP and Shell are increasingly pursuing.

• "The transition is a matter of two types of new products: new molecules, on which obviously an oil-and-gas company, some DNA, it's biofuels, biogas, hydrogen, and thestrategic move we have decided that we will become an electricity and renewable producer and supplier," he said.

Of note: Traditional fossil fuels remain the dominant business lines of all the majors.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610211008101

Abstract

Production of natural gas from the LaBarge field in southwest Wyoming began in 1986.This gas contains high concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), and from the very beginning, ExxonMobil has successfully implemented several technologies and approaches to effectively manage the substantial volumes of CO2 associated with its production. Many of the technologies and approaches used for managing CO2 at LaBarge are examples of technologies and approaches being proposed for use in carbon capture and storage (CCS) by other industries.

The Shute Creek Treating Facility (SCTF) processes the gas produced from the LaBarge field. The SCTF handles the lowest hydrocarbon content natural gas commercially produced in the world. The gas composition entering Shute Creek is 65% CO2, 21% methane, 7% nitrogen, 5% hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and 0.6% helium. The SCTF separates CO2, methane, and helium for sale and removes hydrogen sulfide for disposal.

Most of the CO2 captured at Shute Creek is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). EOR is consistently cited as one of the most viable early opportunities for large scale implementation of CCS. ExxonMobil’s LaBarge operation is the largest deployment of this approach to CCS in the world today. Currently ExxonMobil provides 4 to 5 million tonnes per year of CO2 for EOR. Ongoing facility expansion will increase this capacity to over 7 million tonnes per year in 2010.

A concentrated acid gas stream of about 60% hydrogen sulfide and 40% CO2 is injected into a carefully selected section of the same reservoir from which it was produced, safely disposing of the hydrogen sulfide along with approximately 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Other technologies and approaches that have reduced CO2 emissions include the ExxonMobil patented low BTU fuel co-generation system that substantially reduces CO2 emissions when compared to emissions from purchased power.

Cumulatively, through the application of these technologies at LaBarge, ExxonMobil will have the capacity to capture and manage over 75% of the CO2 produced from the LaBarge field.

Additionally, new technologies are being developed that may provide additional reductions in emissions, either at this site or at others with similarly challenged production streams. Construction of a commercial demonstration facility for ExxonMobil’s Controlled Freeze ZoneTM (CFZ) gas treatment technology has been completed at Shute Creek and operations are about to begin. The CFZTM technology allows the single step separation of CO2 and other contaminants from a natural gas stream without the use of solvents or absorbents. Its successful commercial demonstration would enable the development of increasingly sour gas resources around the world by substantially reducing gas treatment and geo-sequestration costs from these sources