Oil, Gas Companies Remain Key CCUS Adopters Despite Project Challenges — GlobalData
Oil and gas companies remain among the leading adopters of carbon capture, utilisation and storage despite persistent challenges affecting project delivery, according to GlobalData.
The intelligence and productivity company said more than 70 per cent of operational and upcoming carbon capture facilities globally, by facility count, were associated with energy assets as of June 2026.
GlobalData said oil and gas companies continued to prioritise CCUS projects that support their core operations, including liquefied natural gas, refining, hydrogen production and upstream activities.
It identified Eni’s Ravenna cluster, ExxonMobil’s Gulf Coast carbon dioxide transport and storage network, and Northern Lights in Norway as some of the key projects being advanced by major oil and gas companies.
Northern Lights is jointly owned by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies and focuses on offshore transportation and storage of carbon dioxide.
Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said the operational carbon capture base remained relatively modest, despite growing interest in the technology.
“As of June 2026, the operational carbon capture base remained modest, with more than 140 projects globally across multiple industries and a cumulative capacity of 62 million tonnes per annum (mtpa),” Puranik said.
He added that the energy sector accounted for the bulk of the existing capacity, while most future capture capacity remained at the feasibility and Front-End Engineering Design stages.
According to GlobalData’s Strategic Intelligence report, “Carbon Capture and Storage”, the CCUS industry has moved beyond pilot scale interest, but many projects are yet to overcome commercial, regulatory and infrastructure barriers required for construction and commissioning.
The company said shared carbon dioxide pipelines, shipping routes and storage hubs would be critical to reducing project risks and improving the economics of carbon capture investments.
It noted that the strong CCUS project pipeline did not necessarily translate into widespread project delivery, with the market likely to be characterised by selective development rather than uniform expansion throughout the decade.
GlobalData said many announced projects remained exposed to financing risks, cost inflation, regulatory uncertainty and delays in securing long-term carbon dioxide offtake or storage agreements.
It warned that inadequate transport infrastructure and storage capacity could limit the ability of companies to permanently sequester captured carbon dioxide at scale.
Puranik said policy support was helping to improve the economics of some CCUS projects, citing the United States’ 45Q tax credit, the European Union’s Emissions Trading System and Canada’s carbon pricing mechanism.
However, he identified high capital and operating costs, inadequate carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure, permitting delays, long-term liability and public scepticism as major obstacles to mass deployment of CCUS.
“The US 45Q tax credit, the European Union’s ETS, and Canada’s carbon pricing mechanism support project economics. However, high capital and operating costs, inadequate CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, permitting delays, long-term liability, and public skepticism remain critical for the mass CCUS deployment,” Puranik said.
