ExxonMobil plans large-scale blue hydrogen project

Development at Baytown refinery in Texas would more than double US oil major’s CCS capacity

ExxonMobil has outlined proposals to develop a blue hydrogen production facility at its Baytown refinery in Texas in what would be the US oil major’s first large-scale deployment of the technology. The plant would produce up to 1bn ft³/d of hydrogen to feed the Baytown olefins facility. The carbon capture infrastructure for the project would have the capacity to transport and store up to 10mn t/yr CO₂, more than doubling ExxonMobil’s capacity and potentially capturing about 95pc of the CO₂ from the blue hydrogen process. ExxonMobil expects to make FID in 2-3 years. Using hydrogen as a fuel at the Baytown olefins plant could reduce the complex’s scope one and two emissions by up to 30pc, the