US LNG players tout carbon capture in bid to boost green image

Bloomberg

US LNG developers seeking to burnish their green credentials and boost their competitiveness on a crowded global stage are touting a costly and largely untested technology: carbon capture.
Both Cheniere Energy and Sempra Energy, two of the largest American exporters of liquefied natural gas, announced they were looking to add carbon capture and sequestration capabilities to their projects. Last month, Houston-based NextDecade said it would launch a separate carbon capture business unit.
The moves come as the industry works to clean up its image and bring a dozen stalled projects into development by landing contracts with environmentally conscious buyers in Europe and elsewhere. While American LNG is among the cheapest in the world thanks to abundant shale gas, its carbon footprint is significant. The European Union, a key US export market, has sought to pressure American firms to slash their emissions as the bloc tightens its own carbon goals.
“The greening up of the value chain here in North America is something the sell side and buy side should follow because I suspect that it will make America increasingly competitive over time,” Sempra Chief Executive Officer Jeff Martin said.
Sempra is looking at adding technology that would capture and store carbon at its proposed Port Arthur LNG export terminal in Texas and its Cameron LNG plant in neighboring Louisiana, executives said. Also being considered: emissions-reducing electric turbines, power purchase agreements from renewables and hydrogen production capabilities.
Cheniere, the largest US LNG exporter, is likewise looking to add carbon capture and storage to its Corpus Christi plant in Texas and Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, CEO Jack Fusco said in an earnings call.