US supermajor ExxonMobil estimates there will be a $4 trillion market by 2050 for capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground, the company said in a presentation on Tuesday, reported Reuters. - UpstreamOnline

That is about 60% of the $6.5 trillion market the US largest crude producer estimates for oil and gas by then.

Carbon capture is an important emissions reduction technology, according to the International Energy Agency.

It involves the capture of CO₂ from fuel combustion or industrial processes and transporting it via ship or pipeline to be stored underground in geological formations. The captured CO₂ can also be used for enhanced oil or enhanced gas recovery.

Large oil companies have been investing to make carbon capture and storage (CCS) — a relevant business as international bodies such as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change point the technology as key to mitigate the effects of global warming, noted Reuters.

Public pressure

ExxonMobil is under public pressure to reduce its total emissions as its energy transition strategy does not include renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind.

The company recently hired Dan Ammann, who had led the Cruise self-driving unit of General Motors, to lead its Low Carbon business starting on 1 May.

US oil producer Occidental Petroleum, which is developing the world's largest project to extract CO₂ from the air, earlier estimated CCS could become a $3 trillion to $5 trillion global industry annually.

The technology could generate as much in earnings and cash flow for Occidental than oil and gas does today, the company’s chief executive Vicki Hollub said at a conference in March.