Talos Energy and Howard Energy Partners (HEP) plan to pursue opportunities for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at the Port of Corpus Christi, under a new agreement with port officials.
The project would be called the Coastal Bend Carbon Management Partnership. During an initial nine-month evaluation period, the partners would identify and develop CCS project solutions on Port-owned lands to try and help decarbonize the Port’s more than 200 customers.
The lease option includes approximately 13,000 acres for CCS project evaluation. The initial goal would be to sequester 1 – 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year of industrial emissions into saline aquifers, using an estimated total storage capacity of 50 – 100 million metric tons. Depending on market demand, the parties could expand the project to have the capability of sequestering 6 – 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.
In September 2021, the Port and the Texas General Land Office signed an agreement stating their intention to co-develop a CO2 storage solution in support of national decarbonization targets. The solution would involve infrastructure to transport and permanently store CO2 captured in the greater Port of Corpus Christi area.
Talos President and CEO Timothy Duncan said the company has already begun a technical evaluation and was “confident in the potential success and positive impact” the project could have on the region.
The just-announced agreement represents a different type of decarbonization effort at the Port of Corpus Christi. Apex Clean Energy, which manages more than 2 GW of clean energy projects, recently entered into an agreement with investment manager Ares Management Corporation, energy infrastructure developer EPIC Midstream Holdings, and Port officials to explore a “gigawatt-scale” green hydrogen hub.
The group said that project would aim to produce green hydrogen and derivative green fuels “in volumes not yet seen” in the U.S. The project would feature green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, including a newly constructed pipeline and green fuels hub located at the Port of Corpus Christi, they said.
