Equinor Acquires 25% Stake in Bayou Bend CCS Project

Equinor ASA has acquired a 25% percent stake in Bayou Bend CCS LLC, a carbon capture and sequestration project the company said is positioned to be one of the largest along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Bayou Bend is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc., through its Chevron New Energies division, Talos Energy Inc., through its Talos Low Carbon Solutions division and Equinor. Equinor acquired its interests through the purchase of Texas Carbon 1 LLC, a subsidiary of Carbonvert. Chevron is the operator with 50% interest, and Talos holds 25% interest.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Bayou Bend is being developed on 140,000 gross acres of pore space for permanent CO2 sequestration and gross potential storage resources of more than 1 billion metric tons. The project’s acreage includes nearly 100,000 gross acres onshore in Chambers and Jefferson Counties, Texas, and approximately 40,000 gross acres offshore Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas.

“Commercial CCS solutions are critical for hard-to-abate industries to meet their climate ambitions while maintaining their activity. Entering Bayou Bend strengthens our low carbon solutions portfolio and supports our ambition to mature and develop 15-30 million tonnes of equity CO2 transport and storage capacity per year by 2035. Our experience from developing carbon storage projects can help advance decarbonization efforts in one of the largest industrial corridors in the US,” said Grete Tveit, senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions in Equinor.

The project’s location near major industrial corridors in the Houston Ship Channel and Beaumont / Port Arthur area will provide a potential decarbonization option for industries such as refining, cement, steel, chemicals and manufacturing, according to the press release. Industrial emissions in the Texas Gulf Coast region are estimated to be approximately 100 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

“We continue to make significant progress in developing Bayou Bend, which we believe will be a premier regional carbon storage hub solution for Texas’ largest industrial region. Equinor is a welcomed addition to the partnership. Their experience and track record further enhance the joint venture, which is committed to developing safe, reliable, cost-effective lower carbon solutions while enabling continued economic growth,” said Robin Fielder, Talos executive vice president of low carbon strategy and chief sustainability officer.