Marubeni entered into an agreement to acquire an interest in a business entity funded by Ozona CCS LLC (hereinafter, “Ozona”), which is developing a carbon dioxide capture & storage (hereinafter, “CCS”) project in Texas, United States. Through this agreement, Marubeni will participate in and jointly develop the CCS project (hereinafter, the “Project”) in south Texas with Ozona, with Marubeni’s investment comprising a 50% stake in the Project.
Project Outline
This Project involves capturing CO2 emitted from multiple gas production and processing plants in south Texas (an area with active exploration and production of oil and gas), transporting it via dedicated pipelines, and storing it in saline aquifers 2 to 3 km underground. It will be a pioneering commercial CCS hub project in the United States.
Marubeni has been engaged in the upstream shale oil and gas sector in Texas, and by combining Marubeni’s and Ozona’s development capabilities, including subsurface evaluation in the region as well as infrastructure business and power business, the two companies will develop the Project with the aim of coming to a final investment decision by the first half of 2025 and commencing commercial operations in 2026. Marubeni and Ozona will continue to review other ongoing Ozona projects under development in Texas for potential similar joint development partnerships to expand their businesses.
Background
The United States aims to reduce GHG emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. To support decarbonization efforts, including the introduction of renewable energy, the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted in August 2022 as a measure to support CCS implementation.
Target
In February 2022, Marubeni announced its mid-term management strategy GC2024, aiming to become a frontrunner in green business through “strengthening green businesses” and “promoting green transformation across all businesses.” CCS is an essential technology for achieving global carbon neutrality. Marubeni will leverage the CCS project development expertise gained through this project to contribute to decarbonization in the United States and other countries and regions around the world.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)