Occidental to buy Canadian startup carbon engineering for US$1.1B
BNN Bloomberg
Occidental Petroleum Corp. agreed to buy Canadian startup Carbon Engineering Ltd. for US$1.1 billion as the fossil-fuel producer works to expand its position as a leader in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Occidental will pay in cash and expects the deal to close before the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals, the Houston-based company said in a statement Tuesday. The US oil producer has partnered with Carbon Engineering for the last four years, using its technology for its West Texas-based Stratos project, set to be the world’s largest direct air capture plant by 2025.
“We expect the acquisition of Carbon Engineering to deliver our shareholders value through an improved drive for technology innovation and accelerated DAC cost reductions,” Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub said in the statement.
Real momentum is now building behind carbon capture and sequestration, one of of Big Oil’s favored climate solutions, after the companies posted record profits last year and won generous tax incentives for the technology through the Inflation Reduction Act. The buyout is the second Big Oil CCS deal in recent weeks. Exxon Mobil Corp. agreed to buy CO2 pipeline operator Denbury Inc. last month for US$4.9 billion.
