World’s biggest carbon capture plant quietly sold off for a fraction of what it cost to build it

Occidental Petroleum quietly sold off a carbon capture facility – the world’s largest — that was built into a natural gas processing plant in Texas, according to a Bloomberg Green investigation.

The plant, called Century, never operated at more than a third of its capacity since it was built in 2010. According to statements the company made to Bloomberg Green, the technology worked, and the facility continues to operate as designed.

The economics of Century weren’t good because of limited amounts of natural gas coming from a nearby field, according to the report, and as a result, the plant fell into disuse before its divestment. It was sold off for a fraction of the cost to build it.

Total carbon capture capacity globally is approximately 45 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is about 4% of what’s needed to be operational by 2030 in order to reach the International Energy Agency’s net zero targets by 2050.

Occidental is one of the biggest investors in carbon capture and storage. It operates a billion-dollar complex called Stratos about 100 miles from Century. The Stratos facility uses direct air capture, which sucks carbon dioxide from the air to be stored underground. The company intends to build 100 plants just like it, Bloomberg Green reports.