CCS Moves Ahead, One Careful Project at a Time

Few developers advance targeted projects as access to storage sites becomes a strategic asset

13 Jun 2025

North America’s carbon capture market is making steady but limited progress as a small group of developers advance projects that could influence how future infrastructure evolves. Activity remains focused on discrete initiatives rather than a broad buildout of hubs.

ExxonMobil is the most active participant. In late 2024 it secured more than 271,000 acres offshore Texas for potential carbon storage, the largest lease of its kind in the US. The company also operates the country’s most extensive CO₂ pipeline network, stretching more than 1,300 miles along the Gulf Coast. These assets support its plans for new agreements, including a recently announced project to store emissions from CF Industries’ fertiliser operations. The scheme is expected to handle up to 500,000 tonnes a year, with operations targeted around 2028.

Occidental Petroleum is also investing in carbon capture technologies as part of its wider low-carbon strategy. Public details on new storage sites or hub-scale developments remain limited, but the company continues to assess options for capture and CO₂ management that fit into its long-term decarbonisation plans.

These steps point to narrow but growing interest in projects that could underpin future shared infrastructure. While the sector has yet to see a wave of integrated hubs, some emitters and developers are reviewing opportunities that might later support co-ordinated pipeline or storage systems if commercial conditions improve.

Storage rights are becoming an important asset as the market develops. Competition remains modest, but early access to suitable subsurface formations may give companies more options for future partnerships or transport agreements as regulatory rules and commercial models take shape.

Partnership discussions continue across the industry, though publicly confirmed mergers or joint ventures tied directly to CCS hubs remain sparse. Observers note that permitting demands, community engagement, and questions over long-term liability continue to influence project timelines and may limit near-term expansion.

Despite these constraints, the sector is showing signs of early movement. The coming years will test whether these isolated efforts can provide a base for more co-ordinated CCS development across North America.