By Sabrina Valle
HOUSTON (Reuters) -U.S. oil producer Occidental Petroleum on Wednesday outlined plans to advance its energy transition business, including spending between $800 million and $1 billion on a facility to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air.
The proposed facility, the world’s largest direct air capture (DAC) project, is set to begin construction in the second half of this year in the U.S. Permian basin, with a start in 2024.
The investments will include three carbon sequestration hubs that will be online by 2025 and 70 direct air capture facilities by 2035, Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said in a presentation to investors.
Shares gained 2% to $60.87 in early trading on Wednesday.
This year’s investments in the company’s low carbon business is set at $275 million. The company expects to generate more money to investors with the decarbonization business than with its current chemical operations, Hollub said.
“There’s just not going to be enough other alternatives for CO2 offsets,” Hollub said. “So this is a sure opportunity”.
(Reporting by Sabrina Valle)
