ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Rosneft (MCX:ROSN) have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the assessment of lower-carbon technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.
The companies said they will consider the prospects of new projects initially focused on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the development of lower-carbon fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia.
“The MOU continues the cooperation between the two companies and signals their intent to jointly develop and implement lower-carbon projects, as well as exchange their respective experience and technological solutions in promising areas,” ExxonMobil said in a statement yesterday.
ExxonMobil claims to be an industry leader in CCS technology. The company has an equity share in about one-fifth of global carbon dioxide (CO2) capture capacity and has captured approximately 40% of all the captured anthropogenic CO2 in the world, it said. Earlier this year, ExxonMobil established its Low Carbon Solutions business, and is currently evaluating multiple new CCS opportunities around the world that have potential to be commercially viable with supportive policies. The business is also evaluating strategic investments in biofuels and hydrogen to bring those lower-emissions energy technologies to scale for hard-to-decarbonise sectors of the global economy, including heavy transportation and industrial manufacturing.
CCS is the process of capturing CO2 from industrial activity that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and injecting it into deep underground geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects CCS could mitigate up to 15% of global emissions by 2040, and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates global decarbonisation efforts could be twice as costly without wide-scale deployment of CCS.
