KEY POINTS
- ExxonMobil received a 2-1 approval for its Rose carbon-capture permit in Texas.
- The project can store up to 53 million tons of carbon dioxide over 13 years.
- A Texas commissioner opposed the permit over safety, subsidy and consumer-cost concerns.
ExxonMobil has secured regulatory approval to move ahead with its Rose carbon-capture project in Texas, clearing a major hurdle for a development designed to permanently store carbon dioxide underground.
The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s main regulator for the oil and natural gas industry, approved the company’s permit in a 2-1 vote, allowing ExxonMobil to inject carbon dioxide into deep underground rock formations.
Commissioner Wayne Christian was the only member of the three-person commission to vote against the permit.
The approved permit allows ExxonMobil to inject up to 53 million tons of carbon dioxide over a 13-year period.
The carbon dioxide is expected to be captured from industrial facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast and transported to the Rose project for underground storage.
ExxonMobil plans to inject the captured emissions into rock formations located about one mile beneath the surface, where the carbon dioxide would be stored permanently.
The project forms part of the company’s broader efforts to develop carbon capture and storage infrastructure for industrial emissions. Carbon capture technology is designed to prevent carbon dioxide produced by industrial operations from entering the atmosphere by capturing it and placing it in underground geological formations.
The approval gives ExxonMobil the regulatory clearance needed to proceed with the injection component of the project.
Commissioner raises safety concerns
Christian opposed the permit, arguing that questions remain over the long-term safety of permanently storing large quantities of carbon dioxide underground.
In his statement following the vote, Christian said he remained unconvinced that the evidence presented to the commission adequately demonstrated the project’s long-term safety.
He also questioned the purpose of permanently injecting carbon dioxide underground, saying he had not received a convincing answer to that issue.
His objections highlight one of the central debates surrounding carbon capture and storage: whether underground storage can safely contain large volumes of carbon dioxide for extended periods and whether the environmental benefits justify the infrastructure and costs involved.
Christian also raised concerns about the financial implications of carbon-capture projects.
He argued that such developments require significant taxpayer subsidies and warned that the costs could ultimately affect consumers.
The comments reflect broader debates in the United States over government incentives for carbon capture, particularly as energy companies invest in large-scale infrastructure intended to reduce industrial emissions.
Supporters of carbon capture generally view the technology as a way to reduce emissions from industries where eliminating fossil-fuel use or process emissions can be difficult. Critics have questioned the cost of the technology, the level of public financial support and the long-term management of underground carbon storage.
ExxonMobil’s approval in Texas marks another step in the company’s plans to expand carbon management infrastructure around the Gulf Coast, one of the largest concentrations of industrial and energy facilities in the United States.
