Occidental to build large-scale direct air capture plant in Ector County

Occidental and subsidiary 1PointFive will begin detailed engineering and early site construction for their first large-scale direct air capture (DAC) plant in Ector County, Tex., near certain of Occidental's Permian basin acreage and infrastructure conducive to safe and secure CO₂ storage, the operator said in a release Aug. 25.

The first stage, which includes site preparation and road work, is scheduled to begin in this year’s third quarter. Start-up is expected in late 2024. Once operational, the plant is expected to capture up to 500,000 tonnes/year (tpy) of CO₂ with the capability to scale up to 1 million tpy.

Construction start follows completion of a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study and extensive testing and validation, the company said. 1PointFive partnered with Carbon Engineering, a climate solutions company, to commercialize and deploy DAC technology at scale. Oxy formed 1PointFive, a development company, to finance and deploy Carbon Engineering's large-scale DAC technology for the project.

The subsidiary also has agreed on substantive terms with Worley for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, and expects to work toward a definitive agreement for the EPC contract by yearend.

1PointFive has advanced product sales for the plant, including carbon removal credit purchases from Airbus, Shopify, and ThermoFisher. Oxy reached an offtake agreement with SK Trading International for an opportunity to purchase net-zero oil. Oxy also entered into an agreement with Origis Energy to provide zero-emission solar power for the DAC plant and other projects in the Permian basin.