ExxonMobil receives permission to build an underwater carbon storage facility in the Gulf of Mexico

ExxonMobil has received permission to create the largest underwater carbon storage facility in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Texas General Land Administration has leased 271 thousand acres to the company, on which infrastructure will be deployed to bury carbon emissions in geological formations under the seabed.

Exxon plans to recycle 6.7 million tons of carbon per year from its assets along the coast, including new projects to capture emissions at the Louisiana refinery and reduce emissions at the Baytown plant to 7.5 million tons, subject to tax incentives.

The company emphasizes the need to scale up carbon capture, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, which is responsible for about 20% of all U.S. emissions. Exxon has a competitive advantage thanks to the country’s largest CO2 pipeline network, acquired last year.

The first carbon removal project from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville plant is expected to begin in the first half of 2025.