More bullish projections for the potential role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to support global decarbonization are not coming to fruition, but Exxon Mobil is unfazed. The US major's significant existing acumen in CCS and proactive move to sweep up existing US CO2 infrastructure giant Denbury in 2023 have laid the groundwork for it to build out a unique CCS-as-a-service business managing third-party CO2 emissions from multiple customers. Initial efforts have run into the myriad hiccups expected when developing a nascent business dependent on new permitting and regulatory structures, and on projects being advanced in an inflationary cost environment. Yet Exxon recently reaffirmed plans to more than triple its CO2 under contract by 2030 to an industry-leading 30 million tons per year.
Exxon Chips Away at Building CCS-as-a-Service at Scale
Decarbonization via CCS is not taking off as more bullish projections anticipated, but the major still sees scope to build a material business by the end of this decade.
TL;DRAI
Exxon Mobil acquired Denbury in 2023 to build a CCS-as-a-service platform managing corporate CO2 emissions; targeting 30M tons under contract by 2030. Signals energy majors pivoting to carbon-management-as-service; regulatory pressure and ESG mandates will drive enterprise carbon offset outsourcing at scale.
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