Occidental’s 1PointFive is granted permits to sequester carbon dioxide at a Texas facility

1PointFive, a unit of Occidental Petroleum, announced on Monday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved its request to sequester CO2 captured at its direct air capture facility (DAC) in Texas.

Stratos is a joint-venture between BlackRock, a global asset manager, and the carbon capture and storage unit of the U.S. shale company. Stratos, one of the largest DAC plants in the world, is expected to begin commercial operations by later this year.

Oil companies like Chevron and TotalEnergies are adopting carbon capture, which involves storing underground CO2 produced by industrial activities, as a way to reduce emissions and combat climate change.

The company stated that the permits were issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act Underground Injection Control Program.

Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental Energy, said: "This is a milestone for our company because we continue to develop vital infrastructure which will help the United States reach energy security."

Stratos, located in Ector County in Texas, is designed to capture 500,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually once fully operational.

1PointFive signed agreements with companies like AT&T and Microsoft to sell Stratos carbon credits. (Reporting and editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi in Bengaluru. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru)

(source: Reuters)