ExxonMobil has contracted French engineering firm Technip Energies to carry out Feed work on a 1bn ft³/d blue hydrogen facility at its refinery in Baytown, Texas.

The US major announced in March last year that it would use hydrogen from the project in olefins production, potentially reducing the refinery’s scope one and two emissions by 30pc.

ExxonMobil plans to capture and permanently store more than 98pc of CO₂ emissions—expected to amount to 7mn t/yr—from the hydrogen and ammonia plant. The project is scheduled for startup in 2027–28, with FID expected in 2024.

1bn ft³/d – Planned production capacity at Baytown facility

The major is involved in discussions with potential offtakers for the hydrogen and ammonia. “This project allows us to offer significant volumes of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia to third-party customers in support of their decarbonisation efforts,” says Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil’s low-carbon solutions division.

The project’s CCS network will also be available for use by third parties in the area seeking to decarbonise their operations.

Low-carbon investment

ExxonMobil plans to reduce 20–30pc of its corporate-wide greenhouse gas intensity by 2030, and reach net-zero for scope one and two emissions by 2050. And amid a strong 2022—with earnings climbing to $55.7bn, a $32.7bn increase year-on-year—the major has upped its planned investment in low-carbon opportunities over the next five years from $15bn to $17bn.

ExxonMobil subsidiary Imperial Oil recently took FID on a low-carbon diesel project at its Canadian Strathcona refinery, which will use blue hydrogen as a feedstock.

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Author: Polly Martin