ccus news

DOE dishes out funding to 2 Houston carbon caption projects

In all, DOE recently allocated $518 million to 23 CCUS projects in the U.S. Photo via Getty Images

Two Houston companies have received federal funding to develop carbon capture and storage projects.

Evergreen Sequestration Hub LLC, a partnership of Houston-based Trace Carbon Solutions and Jacksonville, Mississippi-based Molpus Woodlands Group, got more than $27.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Evergreen Sequestration Hub project in Louisiana. DOE says the project is valued at $34.8 million.

The hub will be built on about 20,000 acres of timberland in Louisiana’s Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes for an unidentified customer. It’ll be capable of storing about 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Trace Carbon Solutions, a subsidiary of Trace Midstream Partners, is developing CCS assets and supporting midstream infrastructure across North America. Molpus, an investment advisory firm, buys, manages, and sells timberland as an investment vehicle for pension funds, college endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and high-net-worth investors.

Another Houston company, RPS Expansion LLC, has received $9 million from the DOE to expand the River Parish Sequestration Project. Following the expansion, the project will be able to store up to 384 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The CCUS hub is between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

DOE says the River Parish expansion is valued at $11.8 million.

Also receiving DOE funding is a CCUS project to be developed off the coast of Corpus Christi. The developer is the Southern States Energy Board, based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

DOE is chipping in more than $51.1 million for the nearly $64 million hub. It’s estimated that about 35 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions are released each year from about 50 industrial and power facilities within a 100-mile radius of Mustang Island. Port Aransas is located on the 18-mile-long island.

In all, DOE recently allocated $518 million to 23 CCUS projects in the U.S.

“The funding … will help ensure that carbon storage projects — crucial to slashing harmful carbon pollution — are designed, built, and operated safely and responsibly across all phases of development to deliver healthier communities as well as high-quality American jobs,” Brad Crabtree, assistant DOE secretary for fossil energy and carbon management, says in a news release.

Trending News

A View From HETI

Shell's Woodcreek campus is home to about 67,000 workers. Photo courtesy HOK

Energy giant Shell has put its U.S. headquarters in Houston’s Energy Corridor on the market and is exploring the sale of its U.S. chemical business.

Green Street News reported Shell just listed its longtime Energy Corridor campus at 150 N. Dairy Ashford Road. The asking price is $325 million, The Real Deal reported. Shell plans to lease back half of the nearly 1.5 million-square-foot Woodcreek campus for 15 years.

A sale-leaseback deal could transform the 43.6-acre campus into a multitenant hub, CoStar News reported.

“Houston is a critical hub for Shell globally and the headquarters of our U.S. businesses,” a Shell spokesperson told the Houston Business Journal. “We remain committed to Houston and are evaluating opportunities to optimize our Woodcreek campus as part of our ongoing review of workplace needs while maintaining a strong presence in the city.”

Shell occupied its first building at the West Houston campus in 1980. The company employs more than 6,000 people in Texas.

Shell is one of the highest-profile businesses occupying space in the Energy Corridor. It’s home to 67,000 workers, more than 27 million square feet of office and mixed-use space, and 3.8 million square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Shell considers $8B sale of chemical business

As the company seeks to unload its Woodcreek campus, The Financial Times reported Shell is looking into selling its U.S. chemical business. The price tag: $8 billion.

Potential buyers include Spring-based ExxonMobil and Houston-based LyondellBasell.

Shell operates four chemical plants in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, producing an array of chemicals for use in plastics, detergents and pharmaceuticals.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan said last year that the company had spent $45 billion in capital “that is underperforming for us,” split between its chemical business and renewable energy arm.

Shell also agreed to sell its solar and wind power business in India this summer. Read more here.

Trending News