ExxonMobil has created a new business to commercialise its low-carbon technology portfolio in the latest move by oil majors to shift to greener opportunities. The new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions (ELCS), will initially focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS).

ELCS is now advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage opportunities around the world to enable large-scale emission reductions, with the parent company planning to invest $3bn on lower emission energy solutions in the next five years.

ExxonMobil currently has an equity share in about one-fifth of global CO2 capture capacity and has captured approximately 40 per cent of all the captured anthropogenic CO2 in the world.

ELCS will also leverage ExxonMobil’s experience in the production of hydrogen which, when coupled with CCS, could create another commercial revenue source.

“With our demonstrated leadership in carbon capture and emissions reduction technologies, ExxonMobil is committed to meeting the demand for affordable energy while reducing emissions and managing the risks of climate change,” said Darren Woods, chairman and CEO. “We are focused on proprietary projects and commercial partnerships that will have a demonstrably positive impact on our own emissions as well as those from the industrial, power generation and commercial transportation sectors, which together account for 80 per cent of global CO2 emissions. We have the expertise that can help bring technologies to market and make a meaningful difference.”

The business will seek to develop partnerships and collaborations on a wide range of technologies, and be responsible for marketing of emission-reduction credits created through the business’s sequestration projects.

New CCS projects and partnerships under evaluation include the SEGAL system based in Scotland, where ExxonMobil is progressing discussions to support the Acorn project, which will collect CO2 from the St Fergus gas processing complex for transport and storage in offshore gas reservoirs.

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