A new environmental development project is making its way to Southeast Texas. The project in question, Bayou Bend CCS LLC (Bayou Bend), is a joint venture owned by Chevron, Equinor and TotalEnergies that seeks to store carbon dioxide emissions to help lower carbon intensity along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Many refineries, manufacturing plants, petrochemical plants and power plants, along with other industries heavily implemented in Southeast Texas, typically produce CO2 emissions. The emissions can, in certain circumstances, be captured at the source, which is what the Bayou Bend project aims to do.
Once emissions have been captured, they are concentrated or pressurized before being transported by pipeline, rail, trucking or on cargo ships. The Bayou Bend project would transport carbon dioxide commissions into one of their planned storage locations to be permanently stored underground.
Captured emissions turn into a supercritical fluid, which is a substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point, where the distinction between liquid and gas phases disappears. Then, the substance is contained in impermeable rock, where fluids cannot pass through, before being left to monitor. According to Bayou Bend’s website, they will offer both on and offshore storage to maximize storage capacity and opportunity for industries in Southeast Texas to access.
Similar projects have been implemented for decades. According to the Global CCS Institute, there are seven CO2 transport and/or storage projects under construction, and over 200 are in feasibility or engineering studies. The transport and storage projects help pave the way for growth in capture capacity with over 70 in operation or construction across a wide variety of industries, experts detail.
During the selection process for sites such as Bayou Bend’s in Southeast Texas, a series of analyses are conducted to determine if the area’s geological components are suitable for CO2 storage and are only chosen if the geological formation can seal the CO2 permanently.
For the Bayou Bend project, CO2 will be stored into rock formations 8,000 feet or more below the surface, according to CSG South.
The Bayou Bend team has already reached key milestones, including drilling the project’s onshore and offshore stratigraphic wells. The wells, thus far, have supplied key data about the subsurface area, useful in determining whether the conditions are right for storing CO2. The intent is for Bayou Bend to be a hub of CO2 storage for industries in the area.
“It’s exciting to use our expertise in areas where we have a longstanding history of helping industries and customers that use our products. We’re leveraging proven methods that have the potential to make a positive impact at scale,” said Jay LeJeune, Chevron’s commercial advisor for the Bayou Bend project. “Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a tool in the toolkit to support U.S. energy competitiveness.”
LeJeune noted that experience matters when developing a project like this.
“I was drawn to this project because Chevron knows wells and pipelines,” LeJeune said. “It’s an exciting time to see our more than 140 years of expertise and technology supporting a region that supplies so many critical products and jobs.”
To help the community better understand the project and its impact in the area, project representatives held a discussion event at the Sabine Pass Community Center on July 31.
“We want to engage the communities where we’re going to be working and make sure they can understand what we’re trying to do,” project director Bruce Denyer said.
Former Sabine Pass Port Authority director Mic Cowart, who attended the community event, said trying to find a solution is something that industries need to continue to do.
“It sounds like a very doable project,” he said. “It sounds like a safe way to store the carbon, both offshore and inshore, and the location here in Sabine Pass seems to be one of the more doable spots in our area. The effect of everything coming together sounds like a very good opportunity to do something that is a win-win for the environment, (and a) win-win for the industry, as well. I think we would support it, knowing what we know right now.”
For more information, visit bayoubend.com.
— Maddie Sims
