Top 10 CCUS Investments: Exxon Mobil & Calpine Deal, $30 B Framework, 1 B Ton Hub (2024-2025)

An analysis of capital commitments from 2024 and 2025 reveals a significant strategic divergence among oil and gas supermajors in their approach to clean technology. U.S.-based companies, led by Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are aggressively prioritizing Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) and blue hydrogen, leveraging deep operational expertise and favorable policies like the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. This is highlighted by Exxon Mobil‘s $30 billion low-carbon investment framework and the joint Bayou Bend CCS Hub. The dominant theme for 2025 is this bifurcation, with U.S. majors building a profitable “decarbonization-as-a-service” business model, while European counterparts like BP and Shell recalibrate their ambitious renewable energy targets to refocus on core oil and gas profitability and shareholder returns.

1. Exxon Mobil: $30 Billion Low-Carbon Investment Framework (through 2030)

Company: Exxon Mobil
Announced Capital: Up to $30 billion in lower-emissions investments from 2022 to 2030
Technology Focus: Primarily Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Hydrogen, and Biofuels
Source: Exxon Mobil announces plans to 2030 that build on its unique …

2. Total Energies: Acquisition of a 17 GW Renewables Pipeline

Company: Total Energies
Project Capacity: Over 17 GW of renewable projects
Technology Focus: Renewable Power Generation (Solar, Wind)
Source: Total Energies acquires a renewable project pipeline of over 17 GW

3. BP: Strategic Reallocation of 50% of Capex to Transition Growth Engines

Company: BP
Announced Capital: Planned allocation of approximately 50% of capex by 2027 (approx. $8 billion annually)
Technology Focus: Biofuels, EV Charging, Convenience, Renewables, and Hydrogen
Source: 3 Q 24 investor handout – BP

4. Exxon Mobil & Chevron: The Bayou Bend CCS Hub

Companies: Exxon Mobil, Chevron (as partners)
Project Capacity: Potential to store 1 billion metric tons of CO 2
Technology Focus: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Source: Houston Attracts Increasing Number of Carbon Capture Projects

5. Exxon Mobil & Calpine: Power Generation CCS Project

Companies: Exxon Mobil, Calpine
Project Capacity: Transport and store up to 2 million metric tons of CO 2 per year
Technology Focus: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Source: Calpine, Exxon Mobil sign CO 2 transportation and storage …

6. Chevron: Gorgon Stage 3 and Continued CCS Investment

Company: Chevron
Project Capacity: A component of one of the world’s largest LNG projects
Technology Focus: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) integrated with LNG production
Source: Press Releases – Technip FMC plc

7. Shell: Recalibrated Low-Carbon Capital Allocation

Company: Shell
Announced Capital: Revised target of 15-20% of total investment in low-carbon projects
Technology Focus: Integrated Power, Hydrogen, Biofuels, EV Charging, CCS
Source: Majors’ capital allocation in a stuttering energy transition

8. Supermajors’ Collective Biofuels Expansion

Companies: BP, Chevron, Shell, Total Energies, Exxon Mobil
Project Pipeline: Over 40 biofuel projects in development
Technology Focus: Biofuels (including Sustainable Aviation Fuel – SAF)
Source: A major turn: Big Oil bets on biofuels with more than 40 projects …

9. NET Power and CRC: 1 GW Carbon-Free Gas Power

Companies: NET Power, California Resources Corporation (CRC)
Project Capacity: Up to 1 GW of power capacity
Technology Focus: Allam-Fetvedt Cycle natural gas power with inherent CO 2 capture
Source: NET Power and CRC Team to Deploy 1 GW of Carbon-Free Gas …

10. Supermajors’ Collective CCS Deployment Targets

Companies: Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Chevron
Project Capacity: Targets of 10 to 30 million metric tons of CO 2 per year by 2030
Technology Focus: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Source: Carbon capture and storage is at a turning point. Here’s why

Table: Top 10 Oil Major Clean Tech Investments (2024-2025)

CCUS Applications, Oil Majors Bet on Service Models

The range of applications demonstrates a strategic shift in how oil majors view CCUS, moving it from a niche, compliance-driven activity to a potential profit center. The diversity implies that adoption is accelerating by targeting the largest and most concentrated sources of industrial emissions. For instance, the landmark agreement between Exxon Mobil and Calpine to capture 2 million metric tons of CO 2 annually from a natural gas power plant shows a clear path to decarbonizing the power sector. This contrasts with integrated projects like Chevron‘s Gorgon Stage 3, which focuses on lowering the carbon intensity of its own LNG production. The most significant pattern is the creation of large-scale, multi-user hubs like Bayou Bend. This “decarbonization-as-a-service” model allows majors to leverage their geological and project management expertise to serve a variety of industrial clients, creating a new, scalable business line.

Majors Balance Profitability With Net-Zero Goals

This chart visualizes the core challenge of balancing profits with low-carbon ventures. The section explains how CCUS service models are a key strategy for turning decarbonization into a new profit center.

(Source: CarbonCredits.com)

US Gulf Coast, Exxon Mobil & Chevron Lead CCS Hubs

A clear geographical trend has emerged: the U.S. Gulf Coast is the undisputed global epicenter for new CCUS investment. Projects like the Bayou Bend CCS Hub in Texas, backed by Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are positioned to become some of the world’s largest carbon storage sites, thanks to a unique combination of favorable geology, dense industrial concentration, and powerful policy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. In contrast, European majors are facing a different reality. BP‘s decision in late 2025 to scrap its Teesside hydrogen plant in the UK highlights the challenges of advancing projects without the same level of direct economic support seen in the U.S. While Total Energies continues to build a global renewables portfolio, the primary momentum for large-scale CCUS remains firmly anchored in North America, with Australia’s Gorgon project representing another key node in decarbonizing LNG assets.

Divergent Clean Energy Paths for Oil Majors

The chart visually supports the section’s point that US and European majors are taking different paths. It shows European firms leading in renewable power while the text explains US firms are focused on CCUS hubs.

(Source: ABC News)

Exxon Mobil $30 B Plan Signals CCS Commercialization (2022-2030)

The scale of capital being committed reveals that CCUS is rapidly transitioning from demonstration to commercial-scale deployment. Exxon Mobil‘s $30 billion low-carbon framework is not for speculative R&D; it is for building out a profitable business. Projects like the Bayou Bend hub, with a potential capacity of 1 billion metric tons, and the industry-wide targets of capturing 10-30 Mt CO 2/yr by 2030, underscore this shift. These are not pilot programs but foundational investments in large-scale infrastructure. This move to commercialize signals that oil majors believe the technology is mature and, crucially, that a viable service-based business model exists. This contrasts with the strategic recalibration seen at Shell and BP, whose reduced spending targets on renewables suggest that the profitability and returns from wind and solar are not yet meeting the high hurdles set by their core oil and gas businesses.

Comparing Big Oil’s Low-Carbon Investment Pledges

This chart provides context for the section’s focus on ExxonMobil’s $30B low-carbon framework. It compares the scale of investment commitments and transition targets across several major oil companies.

(Source: Offshore Technology)

10-30 Mt CO 2, Exxon Mobil’s CCS Service Model

The single most critical development to watch for is the final investment decision (FID) on a major U.S. Gulf Coast CCUS hub. An FID on a project like Bayou Bend would validate the “decarbonization-as-a-service” model as bankable, likely triggering a new wave of capital into the sector and locking in long-term service agreements with industrial emitters.

• Gaining Traction: The viability of this service model gained significant ground with the Exxon Mobil-Calpine agreement announced in April 2025. This deal provides a concrete template for third-party CO 2 disposal.
• Gaining Traction: Broader market confidence is reinforced by an August 2025 World Economic Forum report, which noted the global CCS project pipeline is on track for a capture capacity of 430 Mt CO 2 per year by 2030, confirming the scale of industry ambition.
• Losing Steam: In contrast, the viability of certain European projects appears to be weakening. BP’s decision to cancel its Teesside hydrogen plant in late 2025 demonstrates that projects without a clear profitability framework and robust policy support, like that provided by the U.S. IRA, face significant headwinds.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of the strategic divergence in clean technology capital commitments among oil and gas supermajors. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Which oil majors—U.S. vs. European—are gaining or losing ground in the race to build profitable businesses in CCS, hydrogen, and renewables?
• What is the outlook for large-scale CCS hub deployment by U.S. majors like ExxonMobil and Chevron by 2030?
• Exxon Mobil investments and funding. Is its announced $30 billion low-carbon investment framework on track for its 2030 targets?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

Your question, your angle, your framework. SWOT, PESTL, scenario modelling. The same niche depth, built around the decision your work actually depends on.

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