Sempra to develop carbon capture project with Total, Mitsui, Mitsubishi

(Reuters) – U.S. energy company Sempra Energy said on Monday its liquefied natural gas (LNG) unit had signed a deal with France’s TotalEnergies SE as well as Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp to develop a proposed carbon capture project in Louisiana.

Oil, gas and chemical firms have embraced carbon capture and sequestration, which involves collecting and sinking greenhouse gas deep underground, to address investor demands to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change.

Houston-based Sempra said the proposed project, Hackberry Carbon Sequestration (HCS), could potentially store up to 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year if approved.

“This project is expected to be among the first North American carbon capture facilities designed to receive and store CO2 from multiple sources,” said Justin Bird, chief executive officer of Sempra’s unit, in a statement.

The companies could enter into a joint venture on the project as part of the deal, Sempra said.

Sempra said Cameron LNG Phase 1 and 2 export terminals could be the anchor source for captured and sequestered carbon dioxide by the HCS project.

(Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)