Exxon Ramps Low Emissions Opportunities Spend to $20 Billion
Energy giant ExxonMobil announced an increase in its investment plans for opportunities targeting lower emissions solutions, with a new goal to allocate $20 billion throughout its 2022-2027 corporate plan.
Unveiled as past of Exxon’s Corporate Plan update today, the announcement marks the third increase in low emissions spend over the past three years is pursuing more than $20 billion of lower-emissions, significantly ahead of an initial $3 billion in projects identified in early 2021. Later that year, Exxon was involved in a high-profile proxy battle which saw activist investor Engine No. 1 win three seats on the company’s board, marking a major victory for investors pushing the oil and gas giant to act on the emerging global energy transition to clean and renewable sources of energy. At an investor day in 2022, the company said that it would target more than $15 billion in lower emissions investments.
Exxon added that its investment plans come in addition to its recent $5 billion acquisition of carbon capture and CO2 utilization-focused energy company Denbury, which included the world’s largest owned and operated 1,300-mile CO2 pipeline network and a growing portfolio of properties for carbon sequestration.
Exxon Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said:.
“We remain committed to providing the energy and products that raise living standards around the world while building a new business to reduce emissions in hard-to-decarbonize parts of the economy. ExxonMobil is uniquely equipped to do both, and we’re confident that both present significant opportunities for profitable growth.”
The company said that around half of the planned investment will support its Low Carbon Solutions business, focused on reducing customers’ greenhouse gas emissions. Exxon is pursuing a portfolio of opportunities in lithium, hydrogen, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage that, in aggregate is it said is expected to generate returns of approximately 15% and reduce third-party emissions by more than 50 metric tons annually (Mta) by 2030.
One of the key areas of investment highlighted by the company was its lithium business, with Exxon noting that it aims to produce enough of the material by 2030 to supply the manufacturing needs of approximately 1 million EVs per year.
The balance will be used to reduce its own emissions in support of its 2030 emission reduction plans and its 2050 Scope 1 and 2 net zero target.
Woods said:
“We continue to see more opportunities to harness our technology, scale, and capabilities to implement real solutions to lower emissions and to profitably grow our Low Carbon Solutions business. Success in accelerating emission reductions requires the development of nascent markets. We need technology-neutral durable policy support, transparent carbon pricing and accounting, and ultimately, customer commitments to support increased investment.”