Latin America takes early lead in surging carbon capture industry

As nascent technology begins to boom, Petrobras sets example for oil giants.

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Petrobras' Santos Basin carbon capture, utilization and storage facility. Photo: André Motta/Petrobras.

SÃO PAULO (Callaway Climate Insights) — While the rest of the world is building out a new industry called carbon capture, Brazil oil giant Petrobras has been quietly building its own carbon capture facility that has been pumping carbon dioxide back into its offshore oil fields at a rate of 8.7 million tons per year.

That’s about 20% of the world’s current reinjected CO₂ volume.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, is an emissions reduction technology that can be applied across not only the energy system but also in mining, agriculture, waste management and other industries.

Already a long list of industry leaders like Exxon Mobil XOM 0.00%↑, Occidental Petroleum OXY 0.00%↑, Archer Daniels Midland ADM 0.00%↑, and Air Products APD 0.00%↑ are lining up to grab a slice of the market. While the carbon capture market only amounted to $2 billion in 2021, Occidental estimates it will grow to $50 billion a year by 2030.

But the nascent industry is not without its problems and controversies.