One of the key technologies that can enable large-scale, cost-effective mitigation of CO2 within the industry and across other sectors is carbon capture and storage (CCS).
CCS will likely be key to the transformation of the energy system. The IPCC Sixth assessment report attaches considerable importance to CCS, with most global modelled mitigation pathways which achieve net zero including deployment of CCS, including the pathway which relies heavily on renewables technologies.
The oil and gas industry is currently working to develop CCS technologies and projects, as well as to address barriers and explore opportunities to enable its uptake.
The Northern Lights carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Øygarden, Norway, is the world’s first cross-border CO₂ transport and storage facility. Officially opened on 26 September 2024, it is a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies and plays a key role in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries.
As part of Norway’s Longship CCS project, Northern Lights enables the capture of CO₂ from industrial sources, its transport via ship, and permanent storage 2,600 metres under the seabed in the North Sea. The first phase capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year is fully booked, with plans for expansion underway.
This project demonstrates how collaboration between governments and industry can accelerate large-scale CCS solutions. By creating a full CO₂ value chain, Northern Lights is expected to drive future CCS projects in North West Europe, the UK, and the US.
STRATOS, Occidental’s first large-scale direct air capture (DAC) facility under construction in Texas, is designed to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 annually when fully operational and is expected to be commercially operational by mid-2025. Occidental is using its 50+ years of carbon management expertise to further this climate solution to help the world achieve net zero. Direct Air Capture provides a transparent and durable way to address CO2 emissions on a larger scale, particularly from hard-to-abate industries like aviation and maritime.
DAC technology captures and removes CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, which then can be securely sequestered deep underground in geologic formations or used to create low carbon products. Occidental and its subsidiary 1PointFive have secured carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credit purchase agreements with prominent customers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Airbus, TD Bank Group, and others. 1PointFive’s agreement with Microsoft for 500,000 metric tonnes of CDR credits over six years is the largest DAC CDR agreement to date.
Occidental’s South Texas direct air capture hub was awarded up to USD 500 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to support its development. The award is a milestone in furthering commercial-scale DAC in the United States and validating Occidental and 1PointFive’s ability to use their expertise in carbon management to accelerate the climate technology.
Baker Hughes has launched CarbonEdge™, the first end-to-end, risk-based digital solution for CCUS operations that provides comprehensive support for regulatory reporting and operational risk management.
CarbonEdge delivers precise, real-time data and alerts on carbon dioxide (CO2) flows across CCUS infrastructure, from carbon capture and compression to pipeline transportation, as well as subsurface storage. This connectivity across the entire CCUS project lifecycle enables customers to identify and manage risk, improve decision-making, enhance operational efficiency, and simplify regulatory reporting.
Applicable to any CCUS infrastructure applied across multiple industries, CarbonEdge, powered by Cordant, is fast to deploy and easy to scale, ensuring seamless connectivity, data synchronisation and interoperability across various components of the digital ecosystems of Baker Hughes and its customers.
ADNOC and 44.01 have announced plans to scale-up their carbon-to-rock project in the Emirate of Fujairah, following the successful completion of their pilot, in partnership with the Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation (FNRC) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
The initial pilot of 44.01’s Earthshot prize-winning mineralisation technology commenced in 2023 and permanently mineralised 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) within Fujairah’s peridotite rock formations in under 100 days. Building on this achievement, the first phase of scale-up will inject more than 300 tonnes of CO2 over a longer duration to demonstrate the potential of the technology to be deployed at scale in the UAE.
44.01, supported by ADNOC and FNRC, is scaling up operations in Fujairah as they compete for the Carbon Removal XPRIZE. The project was named one of the XPRIZE’s Top 20 projects earlier in 2024.
As part of ADNOC’s carbon management strategy, the company is targeting a carbon capture capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030, equivalent to taking over 2 million internal combustion vehicles off the road. The company has embarked on major carbon capture projects, taking its committed investment for carbon capture capacity to almost 4 mtpa.
Pathways Alliance is made up of six companies representing about 95% of Canada’s oil sands production, including Ipieca members Cenovus and Suncor Energy.
The oil sands industry is a key economic driver for Alberta and Canada, contributing billions to the economy annually. The country has long benefitted from a strong energy sector that supports Canada’s high standard of living by creating thousands of jobs and generating significant revenue to governments that helps fund essential services, including health care, education and roads.
To ensure the industry is able to continue providing these benefits for decades to come, Pathways Alliance is also focused on advancing environmental innovation and projects, including carbon capture and storage.
As part of this work, Pathways Alliance members have proposed a carbon capture and storage network and pipeline that, when operational, would have the capacity to transport captured CO2 from multiple oil sands facilities to a hub in the Cold Lake area of Alberta for permanent underground storage. Once it is operating, the CO2 transportation network and storage hub could be made available to other oil producers and industries in the region seeking CO2 emissions sequestration. The Alliance is working with governments to obtain sufficient levels of fiscal support and required regulatory approvals that will be necessary to make this project a reality.
The Houston CCS Alliance is a coordinated effort among some of the world's most innovative energy, petrochemical, and power generation companies to advance the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the greater Houston industrial area. The Alliance unites the city's respected industrial community with diverse organizations, community leaders, and residents in the Houston and Southeast Texas region who share a vision to advance CCS technology and secure a lower emissions future.
Together, these companies and others in the region could capture and safely store up to 50 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2030 and about 100 million metric tons per year by 2040, helping to significantly reduce emissions in the Houston region.
Good practice guidance, awareness briefings and webinars to support the sustainable scale up of CCS technologies.
View the Ipieca Principles toolkit and Ipieca-WBCSD SDG Roadmap for more suggested actions, useful resources and reference points.
*Stats based on desktop research conducted on member companies April 2025.
