Talos Energy Inc. has and Howard Energy Partners have entered into an option agreement with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority to pursue commercial carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) opportunities on-site at the Port of Corpus Christi.

During the initial nine-month evaluation period of the project known as the Coastal Bend Carbon Management Partnership, the parties will identify and mature CCS project solutions on Port-owned lands, Talos said in a press release on Feb. 28.

With a diverse industrial footprint at the Port, transportation infrastructure and expertise from HEP, and subsurface and sequestration capabilities from Talos, the parties are positioned to offer a local, fully integrated CCS project to customers in the region.

The lease option agreement encompasses approximately 13,000 acres for CCS project evaluation, with an initial goal to sequester 1.0 to 1.5 million metric tons of COper year of industrial emissions into saline aquifers utilizing an estimated total storage capacity of 50 to 100 million metric tons.

Based on proof of concept and market demand, the parties may expand the project to Regional Hub scale, with the capability to sequester 6 to 10 million metric tons per year of the approximately 20 million metric tons per year of total regional emissions. HEP's Javelina midstream system is directly connected to over half of the total regional emissions with approximately 60 miles of existing infrastructure, which is ideally situated for gathering activities throughout the Port area.

"The Port of Corpus Christi is an incredibly important export hub for the United States, and our goal is to offer their large customer base an on-site decarbonization solution to help reduce the carbon intensity of those products shipped all around the world from right here in Texas," Talos President and CEO Timothy S. Duncan said in a press release.

The Port of Corpus Christi is a major strategic export hub and one of the largest ports in the United States, accounting for over $200 billion of economic impact from approximately 7,000 vessel shipments annually. Port-related employment accounts for approximately 100,000 jobs in the Coastal Bend area.