Oops!! Occidental Petroleum CEO Says Out Loud What "Carbon Capture" Was Always All About - Pumping More Oil
Billions of taxpayer dollars once intended to help fight climate change by subsidizing capture and storage of carbon dioxide may instead go to fossil fuel companies to help boost production of oil — one of the main drivers of climate change. In a Feb. 19 call with investors, Vicki Hollub, chief executive officer of Occidental Petroleum, said she’s had several conversations with President Donald Trump, arguing the “business case” for federal support for carbon capture.
“We believe the next round of technology that’s going to add significant barrels, … will be production that comes from the use of CO2 in enhanced oil recovery,” Hollub said. “And that 50 billion to 70 billion barrels would extend our energy independence by more than 10 years. It’s critically important.” The United States produced about 5 billion barrels of oil in 2023. Hollub calls carbon capture a way to keep the oil industry alive amid the international calls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
In enhanced oil recovery, pressurized carbon dioxide is used to force oil out of aging wells. The process is used to produce about 2% of the nation’s oil. Hollub said the industry is turning to carbon captured from industrial sources as the supply of naturally occurring carbon dioxide has dwindled. Depending on conditions, producing oil using captured carbon can offset the climate impacts of a barrel of oil, making it less carbon intensive. But because new oil supplies lower the market price of oil, it could increase demand for oil, raising overall carbon emissions, according to one analysis by the Clean Air Task Force, which supports carbon capture.
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Occidental has invested heavily in carbon capture, including buying a carbon technology firm for $1 billion in 2023. The multinational oil company, which bills itself as an industry leader in seeking low-carbon solutions, also is developing a federally supported facility in Texas that would capture carbon directly from the atmosphere, called direct air capture. While most carbon capture projects are designed to take carbon from a facility’s emissions — such as from a power or chemical plant — direct air capture filters and captures 0.4 percent of carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. If Trump allows federal support for the project to continue, Occidental subsidiary 1PointFive stands to receive at least $500 million from the Department of Energy.
Ed. - Emphasis added, because you shouldn't hide your green greenwashing light under a bushel.
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https://lailluminator.com/2025/02/28/carbon-oil/