The oil and natural gas industry is a vital part of the Bayou state's economy.
From New Orleans to Natchitoches and every parish in between, Louisiana is an energy state. In 2021, Louisiana was the third largest producer of natural gas in the United States and among the top 10 crude oil producing states. As the home of 14 refineries, Louisiana processes nearly 3.2 million barrels of crude oil per day — one-fifth of the U.S.’s total refining capacity. It’s no question how important the oil and natural gas industry is in Louisiana, and as our industry continues to innovate and reduce emissions, carbon capture, utilization and sequestration or storage (CCS) will have an important role in keeping Louisiana a leading energy state.
CCS is a process that is designed to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industry operations. The CO2 emissions are captured and recycled for use in enhanced oil recovery options (EOR) or permanently stored safely underground. Many experts agree that CCS is a crucial element of the push to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors, and the technology continues to evolve. technologies like carbon pipelines have been safely operating in the U.S. for more than 50 years with an established record of performance.
Louisiana is blessed to have two areas of strength in the carbon emissions space that sets us apart from other states and countries. These include carbon capture and storage (CCS), and land-based sequestration. Louisiana has some of the best geology in the world for CCS, and we have a skilled workforce that is more than capable of constructing major CCS projects and infrastructure.
The oil and natural gas industry is an important source of employment for many in Louisiana. Over 105,000 Louisianans are directly employed by the industry. The deployment of CCS technology and infrastructure across the state could create even more energy jobs. Studies show that the development of a CCS network could create as many as 5,000 jobs in Louisiana over the next 15 years.
The buildout of a CCS network across the Bayou State will not only serve as an important source of job growth and emissions reduction, but could also generate nearly $14 billion in private investment across many communities as facilities are retrofitted with new equipment and CO2 pipelines are built.
As the industry continues to deploy emissions reducing technologies, CCS could provide many facilities with the technology needed to meet the state’s net-zero by 2050 plan. If implemented, CCS technology could work to capture nearly 40 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. To put it into perspective, that’s the equivalent of the CO2 sequestered by 47 million acres of U.S. forests annually.
Louisiana’s oil and natural 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. Carbon capture and storage is one of the few proven technologies that can deliver deep emissions reductions in industrial sectors safely and effectively.
If appropriate policies and regulations are put in place, CCS could generate new jobs, protect current jobs and reduce emissions at a lower cost to society than many other widely available technologies, which will help keep trained Louisianans employed in the state.
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