ExxonMobil plans new hydrogen and CCS facility

EXXONMOBIL has announced that it is planning a hydrogen production plant and carbon capture and storage project at its site in Texas, US.

The proposed project will be located at the company’s integrated refining and petrochemical site at Baytown, Texas. The hydrogen facility will have a capacity of 1bn ft³/d of blue hydrogen – hydrogen produced from natural gas but with emissions captured. The carbon capture infrastructure will have the capability of transporting and storing up to 10m t/y of CO₂, which more than doubles Exxon’s current capacity.

It plans to use the hydrogen as a fuel in the onsite olefins plant, which will reduce the company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by up to 30%. Any surplus hydrogen and CO₂ storage capacity will be made available to local industry.

A final investment decision is expected in two to three years, following evaluation and planning, regulatory permission, and assessing market conditions.

Joe Blommaert, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said: “Hydrogen has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in vital sectors of the economy and create valuable, lower-emissions products that support modern life. By helping to activate new markets for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, this project can play an important part in achieving America’s lower-emissions aspirations.”