Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a contract to acquire a 35% stake in ExxonMobil’s proposed blue hydrogen and ammonia mega project in Baytown, Texas.
Believed to be the largest facility of its type, the site will have capacity to produce up to one billion cubic feet of low carbon hydrogen a day and more than one million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per annum.
The project is also expected to capture and store seven million tonnes of CO2 per year.
It is hoped that a final investment decision (FID) will be reached in 2025, with start-up planned for 2029.
Following project FID, ADNOC hopes to support ongoing community initiatives in the Baytown area, in line with the company’s commitment to sustainability and education.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, described the investment as strategic as ADNOC delivers on its international growth strategy.
“We look forward to partnering with ExxonMobil on this low carbon-intensity and technologically advanced project to meet rising demand and help decarbonise heavy-emitting sectors.”
Once fully operational, the project will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions across hard-to-abate sectors including industry, energy, and transportation, meet rising demand for lower-carbon fuels.
Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, added, “This is a world-scale project in a new global energy value chain. Bringing on the right partners is key to accelerating market development, and we’re pleased to add ADNOC’s proven experience and global market insights to our Baytown facility.”
In the past year, several strategic announcements have been made to advance the Baytown facility.
Most recently, in June 2024, industrial gas giant Air Liquide said it will build, own, and operate four large modular air separation units (ASUs) as part of an $850m investment that will double its oxygen production capacity to support the Baytown project.
The four ASUs will primarily supply ExxonMobil with low-carbon oxygen and nitrogen. They will generate a “record volume” of 9,000 metric tonnes of oxygen daily and 6,500 metric tonnes per day of nitrogen to support the production of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.
Read more: Air Liquide to invest $850m to boost ExxonMobil’s Texas hydrogen project
Prior to that, in March 2024, power generation company JERA said it was looking to buy into the project. However, nothing further has been confirmed.
Read more: JERA evaluates buying stake in ExxonMobil’s Baytown low-carbon hydrogen project
In addition to considering its ownership participation in the project, JERA is also looking to secure around 500,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia annually from the site for end-user markets in Japan.
North American CO2 Summit 2024
Join gasworld in September 2024 as our North American CO2 Summit heads to Nashville. More information including our theme and agenda will be released over the coming weeks – you can register your interest to ensure you stay updated.
Our North American CO2 Summit 2023 agenda was focused on how to source, move and use CO2 more effectively and sold out, so we recommend securing your space.
Interested in speaking and contributing? Get in touch with our Content Director, Rob Cockerill, at [email protected]
To attend, sponsor and for more information, visit https://bit.ly/GWCO2NA-S24
