ExxonMobil has quietly shifted from pilot mode to full commercial service on a string of Gulf Coast carbon capture projects, starting to move and permanently store industrial CO₂ from a major Louisiana ammonia plant while lining up a slate of new customers for 2026. The company is funneling captured emissions into an expanding pipeline and storage network that stretches into east Texas, even as it signs up additional industrial partners across the state. The effort builds on agreements Exxon has already struck with fertilizer, steel and gas processing outfits along the Gulf Coast.
ExxonMobil says its system is live
ExxonMobil says its Low Carbon Solutions unit has begun transporting and storing up to 2 million metric tons per year of CO₂ from CF Industries’ Donaldsonville complex, and that its broader portfolio now includes roughly 9 million metric tons a year of contracted storage capacity, according to ExxonMobil. The company is pitching the Gulf Coast network as an end to end system, with capture at industrial sites, pipeline transport and permanent geologic storage meant to serve ammonia, steel, industrial gas and natural gas processing customers. Exxon says more projects in Louisiana and Texas are expected to go live this year as it scales up the service model.
Donaldsonville startup and new customers
CF Industries says its Donaldsonville CO₂ dehydration and compression unit began operating in mid 2025 and that the project is already generating federal Section 45Q tax credits, according to the company’s investor release. In a separate announcement, AtmosClear said it chose Exxon to handle CO₂ transportation and storage for its Baton Rouge area bioenergy project. Momentum Midstream’s New Generation Gas Gathering (NG3) program is also designed to pair gas processing with carbon capture and send CO₂ into larger Gulf Coast storage hubs, Momentum has said. Together, these pieces are meant to connect capture points across Louisiana into Exxon’s storage assets in east Texas.
Federal credits tilt the economics
The federal tax structure for carbon capture now sits at the heart of the business case. The Inflation Reduction Act and related guidance increase the value of sequestration credits to as much as $85 per metric ton for geologic storage, and up to $180 per metric ton for direct air capture if certain wage and apprenticeship rules are met, according to a Congressional Research Service summary. Exxon has said it expects to be capturing, transporting and sequestering roughly 3 million metric tons for customers including Nucor and Linde in the second half of 2026, a move executives say will help prove out the commercial model.
Critics say CCS still needs more than subsidies
Environmental groups and researchers counter that carbon capture and storage has so far leaned heavily on public incentives and, in some cases, has been used to extend fossil fuel production instead of replacing it, a point raised in a recent analysis from Oil Change International. Safety advocates also point to past CO₂ pipeline incidents in Louisiana that triggered questions about monitoring and emergency response, as reported by The Guardian. At the same time, Exxon has indicated it will pace some low carbon investments and shift more capital toward higher return oil, gas and LNG projects, a change reported in the Financial Times as the company adjusts spending plans in response to mixed customer demand.
Permits, primacy and local concerns
Regulatory sign-offs remain a major gatekeeper. State authority over Class VI injection permits and federal approvals will help determine how quickly storage hubs can move into dedicated sequestration. The Biden administration has given Louisiana the ability to issue some CCS permits, a move supporters say will speed projects while critics push for tougher oversight and more community input, according to AP News. Company posts and local coverage note that Exxon has moved forward with Rose Hub permitting and that executives are “In a time where energy demand is enormous and decarbonization goals are on the global clock, ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions business is taking big steps to expand and strengthen our CCS operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast – one of the world’s most crucial hubs for energy production and heavy industry,” as Dominic Genetti put it in a post cited by New Orleans CityBusiness.
For Louisiana communities, the buildout promises new contracts and construction jobs, while reviving old fights over pipeline safety, long-term monitoring and how much the public should pay to underwrite industrial carbon cleanup. Expect more permitting hearings, local negotiations, and technical fine print, from injection well designs to monitoring plans, as the Gulf Coast network shifts from signed contracts to long term, day to day operations.
