Chevron will work with a unit of oilfield services giant Schlumberger, as well as with Microsoft and private company Clean Energy Systems, to build a bioenergy plant with carbon capture technology that would produce carbon-negative power in Mendota, California.
The bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) project is planned to convert agricultural waste biomass, such as almond trees, into a renewable synthesis gas that will be mixed with oxygen in a combustor to generate electricity, the U.S. oil and gas supermajor said on Thursday as a growing number of oil corporations look to develop carbon capture technology and other low-carbon energy solutions.
Nearly 100 percent of the carbon from the BECCS process is expected to be captured for permanent storage by injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) underground into nearby deep geologic formations, Chevron said.
The partners in the project expect to take a final investment decision on the project next year. The plant is expected to remove about 300,000 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to the emissions from the electricity use of more than 65,000 U.S. homes, Chevron says.
This was Chevron's second announcement of investment in alternative energy projects this week alone.
On Monday, Chevron announced an investment in Sweden-based private investment company Baseload Capital AB, which is focused on the development and operation of low-temperature geothermal and heat power assets.
"We look forward to working with Baseload Capital and Eavor to expand geothermal resources in the U.S. and internationally," said Chevron's Vice President, Innovation and President of Technology Ventures, Barbara Burger.
The other U.S. oil supermajor, ExxonMobil, said in its Investor Day presentation on Wednesday that it plans to boost its development of carbon capture and hydrogen technologies, saying it is "positioned to succeed" in those two areas. Still, Exxon noted that investment in new oil and gas supply will continue to be needed even in the long term in order to offset the depletion of existing reservoirs.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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