The partnership, comprised of Repsol as the operator, Carbonvert, MEPUSA (Mitsui E&P USA), and POSCO bring together their collective experience across oil and gas, CCS, industrial, and renewable projects in the United States and globally.
The project will be located in proximity to over 35 million metric tons per year of existing industrial emissions within 100 miles of the storage sites and more than 20 million metric tons per year of anticipated greenfield project emissions expected by 2035. It can create a globally competitive carbon storage hub that can provide significant economic and environmental benefits to local communities, the Port of Corpus Christi, the State of Texas, and society at large.
On August 22nd, the Texas School Land Board unanimously approved awarding leases of the Port Arkansas North and Mustang Island tracts to the partnership, subject to the execution of final leases, which made the partnership the sole awardee in the region. Both tracts lie within Repsol’s licensed seismic database and based on the favorable subsurface geology of the area, Repsol expects the tracts to have a combined storage capacity of more than 600 million metric tons of CO2.
David Ramos, Geological Low Carbon Solutions Director for Repsol said, “Repsol is excited to lead and operate this project that will ultimately add to our strong presence in the country through our O&G operations and Low Carbon projects. Corpus Christi is a strategic region for Repsol pursuing Low Carbon developments where the Port of Corpus Christi plays an essential role for the industry. This project will provide significant contributions internationally as well to help grow our global low carbon portfolio.”
The consortium will now enter a negotiation stage with the Texas GLO based on terms the partnership submitted along with the original request by the GLO. Final terms are subject to approval of the Texas School Land Board.
Carbonvert CEO Alex Tiller sees this project as a boost for South Texas' regional economy, “instilling confidence in local industries to launch CO2 capture initiatives and enhance resilience amid carbon-related global trade requirements and customers’ increasing demand for low-carbon products. It also attracts local investments from sectors like blue hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel refining.”