Posted on August 17, 2021
The Port of Corpus Christi and San Antonio pipeline operator Howard Energy Partners on Thursday said they have agreed to convert Howard’s Javelina refinery into the region’s first carbon-neutral, blue hydrogen production facility.
Blue hydrogen, seen by some as a clean fuel source to help reduce global warming, is produced using methane, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling.
The move by the Port of Corpus Christi is in response to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this month. It calls for the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and for the development of facilities to capture and permanently store carbon.
The port hopes to become the nation’s premier carbon capture and sequestration management hub. Port officials said they are committed to developing facilities to collect and pressurize carbon dioxide for injection into geological formations under the Gulf of Mexico.
“To the extent that our identity as the leading export gateway for U.S. produced hydrocarbons has been solidified, we see an elegant symmetry in the prospect of becoming the nation’s premier hub for carbon management,” said Jeff Pollack, chief strategy and sustainability officer for the Port of Corpus Christi, in a statement.
Howard Energy, which acquired Javelina in February, intends to capture its carbon emissions at the facility. The two companies hope to identify uses for the residual carbon dioxide, according to the release.
The Javelina facility controls about 60 million cubic feet per day of hydrogen production, which is sold back to refineries and other industries where it is used to remove impurities such as sulfur during the refining process.
The Port and Howard hope to eventually scale hydrogen production for exports to overseas demand centers.
“With this exciting project and progressive partnership with the Port of Corpus Christi, we are demonstrating yet again our commitment to delivering clean, reliable energy that powers communities and business around the world,” Mike Howard, Chairman and CEO at Howard Energy Partners, said in the release.
