(WO) – Equinor has acquired a 25% interest in Bayou Bend CCS LLC, positioned to be one of the largest U.S. carbon capture and storage projects located along the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas.

Bayou Bend is positioned to be one of the largest CCS solutions in the U.S. for industrial emitters, with nearly 140,000 gross acres of pore space for permanent CO2 sequestration and gross potential storage resources of more than one billion metric tons. The Bayou Bend total 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.

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. Industrial emissions in the Texas Gulf Coast region are estimated to be approximately 100 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

“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,” said Grete Tveit, senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions in Equinor.

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 25% share through the purchase of Texas Carbon 1 LLC, a subsidiary of Carbonvert. Chevron is the operator with 50% interest, and Talos holds 25% interest.

“Delivering lower carbon solutions to harder-to-abate industries is fundamental to Chevron New Energies’ mission, and as a Southeast Texas native, I know how vital these industries are to our local communities and their economies,” said Chris Powers, vice president, CCUS, Chevron New Energies.