Louisiana's oil and gas industry is leading the way to reduce and manage carbon emissions, as companies around the globe work to minimize their carbon footprint in a battle against climate change.
Industry's commitment to vigorously exploring and implementing climate solutions also opens the door for Louisiana to become an economic hub for carbon capture in the U.S.
Along the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, Diamond Alternative Energy, a subsidiary of Valero Energy, has partnered with Darling Ingredients to build an 18,000-bpd renewable diesel refinery near the Valero refinery in Norco, Louisiana. The joint venture, Diamond Green Diesel, will process animal fats, used cooking oil and inedible corn oil into renewable diesel fuel. Marathon Petroleum has set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 30-percent below 2014 levels by 2030, as well as expand energy efficiency, reduce methane emissions and increase use of renewable energy.
CEOs of Chevron, Shell, BP, Exxon- Mobil and Oxy are actively involved in the revolutionary Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a consortium of industry leaders from around the world that aims to accelerate the industry response to climate change and shape the global pathway to zero net emissions. OGCI member companies account for over 30 percent of the world's oil and gas production and believe industry can deliver the same products and services with no carbon footprint, given the right innovations. Here at home, LMOGA applauded Gov.
John Bel Edwards' recent announcement establishing a Climate Initiatives Task Force in Louisiana.
"LMOGA is looking forward to the opportunity to work collaboratively with the governor and his administration on his 2020 priorities, including efforts to continue reducing emissions and to protect our coast," said LMOGA President and General Counsel Tyler Gray.
Collaboration with the governor's task force will be one of the tasks of LMOGA's Carbon Committee, launched earlier this year to promote the advancement of innovative climate solutions such as carbon capture and underground storage technology in our state.
As countries and companies continue to set increasingly aggressive carbon emissions targets like net zero emissions by 2050, it has become clear that emissions reductions through improved processes and increased efficiency simply will not be enough. To stand a chance at meeting these targets, we will need to literally pull carbon out of emissions streams, or even the air itself, and store it permanently.
This is where carbon capture, use and sequestration (CCUS) can play a major role. With CCUS, carbon emissions (mostly carbon dioxide) are gathered, processed and injected into the ground for use in enhanced oil recovery options, or injected into depleted oil and gas reservoirs or deep saline aquifers for permanent storage (sequestration).
In Louisiana, we are very fortunate to have ideal geology for sequestration, existing pipeline infrastructure and a workforce well-suited for building additional pipelines. Most importantly, we have highly concentrated industrial corridors that contain some carbon sources that are quite pure. With Louisiana laws and regulations already in place for CCUS, regulators eager to work with companies to kickstart this new industry and the governor's inclusion of CCUS in his plan to address climate change, it's clear Louisiana is well positioned to be a global leader in carbon capture.
Together with the LSU Center for Energy Studies, OGCI and the Global CCS Institute, LMOGA recently hosted a CCUS workshop to facilitate an industry discussion about potential solutions and to help bring CCUS projects to Louisiana. Our industry is committed to improving air quality through the advancement of emerging technologies like CCUS, working together with industry and state agencies like the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.
We hope our Carbon Committee can be the catalyst that brings about Louisiana's first CCUS project and eventually makes Louisiana a major carbon capture hub, cementing our oil and gas industry as a leader in climate solutions.
For more information about Louisiana's oil and gas industry and LMOGA's work to protect and grow the industry, visit www.lmoga.com or call (225) 387-3205.
