SUMMARY

The project would store 15mn metric tons/year of CO2.

By Joseph Murphy

BP has started drilling an appraisal well in Texas for CO2 sequestration, the head of finance for its BPX Energy subsidiary, Jack Collins, said at a US conference on August 8. 

The UK major said in May that together with its German partner Linde it intended to develop a site on the coast of Texas for storing CO2 produced at a Linde manufacturing site outside of Houston.

"We are currently using our subsurface and expertise to drill an appraisal well, for our US carbon capture and storage business," Collins said, according to Reuters. He declined to provide further details. 

The proposed site would store some 15mn metric tons/year of CO2, BP said in May, and is expected to be operational as early as 2026. That will help towards Linde's goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 35% by 2035.

Houston is also the site of a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project proposed by ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron. Early feasibility work to store 50mn mt/yr is being undertaken, with the possibility of doubling its capacity over 10 years.