US independent Talos Energy announced on Monday it has signed a letter of intent with Freeport LNG Development to develop a carbon capture and sequestration project on the US Gulf Coast, marking the first project under a partnership between Talos and Storegga Geotechnologies.
The first injection of carbon dioxide could happen by the end of 2024.
"The entrepreneurial collaboration of our teams allowed for the development of a unique, stand-alone carbon sequestration solution, which provides proof of concept to our broader CCS portfolio and is complementary to our larger hub-based project in Jefferson County,” Talos president and chief executive officer Timothy Duncan said.
“We look forward to advancing this project with Freeport LNG and hope to successfully reach first injection within approximately three years, which would make this the very first active carbon sequestration project on the Gulf Coast.”
The Freeport LNG CCS project will be built next to Freeport LNG’s natural gas pre-treatment facilities near Freeport, Texas.
The site is within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of an industrial cluster that could provide up to 15 million tonnes per year of additional carbon dioxide emissions, offering potential for expansion.
Freeport LNG said it has no comment on the initial amount of CO2 the project expects to capture.
Talos will manage and operate the project with partner Storegga Geotechnologies, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Talos earlier this year to explore CCS opportunities in the Gulf.
"Storegga and Talos have built a strong partnership that leverages the expertise of each company for the rapid, cost-effective delivery of CCS clusters in the US Gulf Coast region,” Storegga chief executive officer Nick Cooper said.
“We expect that this will be the first of several such projects from the Talos-Storegga partnership to serve Gulf Coast industrial CO2 sources and to contribute meaningfully towards net zero in the US."
Freeport LNG, as the main source of CO2 in the project, is in the process of expanding its gas liquefaction capacity.
The company is one of the first liquefied natural gas exporters in the US, and is adding a fourth train to the facility, expanding its liquefaction capacity from 15 million tpa to 20 million tpa.
Freeport LNG’s all-electric drive facility, the only of its kind in the US, produces 90% less emissions that gas turbine-driven facilities, according to the company.
"Embarking on carbon capture and sequestration will only further reduce the carbon intensity of our facilities,” said Michael Smith, founder, chairman and chief executive of Freeport LNG. “We look forward to our work with Talos on this innovative CCS project."
