University of Houston courts oil and gas for work on carbon management

The University of Houston recently launched its Center for Carbon Management in Energy that will connect faculty, scientists, students and the oil and gas industry to develop a strategy for a low-carbon future for the energy industry. NEXT: See recent energy consumption by type. less The University of Houston recently launched its Center for Carbon Management in Energy that will connect faculty, scientists, students and the oil and gas industry to develop a strategy for a low-carbon future ... more Photo: Sshepard/Getty Images Photo: Sshepard/Getty Images Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close University of Houston courts oil and gas for work on carbon management 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

A low-carbon future will remain a fantasy unless oil and gas companies agree to participate, according to University of Houston energy experts.

The University of Houston recently launched its Center for Carbon Management in Energy that will connect faculty, scientists, students and the oil and gas industry to develop a strategy for a low-carbon future for the energy industry.

The center, funded by a $500,000 university seed grant over two years and anticipating donations from member companies, aims to position the industry known to be the worst greenhouse gas emissions offenders as instead the leader in reducing the environmental impact of carbon worldwide. The center will develop technology, draft policy proposals and perform research on the capture, storage and utilization of carbon.

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Oil and gas companies have a vested interest in developing carbon capture and utilization technology. By pumping carbon into the ground during the production process, energy companies can get more barrels out. As the U.S. heads toward becoming a net exporter of petroleum, anything to get extra barrels beckons, and a new tax credit for companies willing to capture and store carbon emissions doesn’t hurt either.

Ramanan Krishnamoorti, chief energy officer at the University of Houston, says getting companies to think about carbon as an asset rather than an expense is an imperative transition if the U.S. wants to meaningfully reduce its carbon footprint.

Experts at the university said that based on discussions with industry partners, they believe oil and gas companies’ shareholders are driving the strides on carbon management.

“They have significant shareholder pressure to start moving on this,” Krishnamoorti said.

Chevron Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and others have been using carbon in this way for years, particularly in West Texas’ Permian Basin. But, finding a way to use the artificial carbon dioxide that they created in production, instead of what is naturally occurring, is more difficult.

Currently, the majority of carbon dioxide that Occidental uses is produced from natural underground reservoirs. If it could, on an industrial scale, be captured from emissions sources and then used to pump oil, greenhouse gas emissions would substantially decrease, experts at the University of Houston say.

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Some environmentalists say this process, known as enhanced oil recovery, continues reliance on fossil fuels instead of moving toward renewable energy sources. But, Charles McConnell, a former assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy and the director of the center, said that is not a realistic approach to solving the problem.

“We all know that we need to get to a low carbon future, but you can’t simply stop what we’re doing today without it being massively disruptive to industry and people’s lives,” McConnell said.

He said the center will aim to be an unbiased leader in how to achieve a low-carbon future, with efforts driven by oil and gas production, petrochemicals and electric power sectors.

The center, launched two weeks ago, will work over the coming months to find member companies to participate or donate. The university expects to have several big energy companies signed on by April.

“They are the ones with the technical know-how, and the size, scale and capital required to tackle this issue,” Krishnamoorti said. “It’s not going to come from the ‘Googles and Microsofts,’ or the government incentives. There isn’t enough incentive in the world.”

erin.douglas@chron.com

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