ADNOC has agreed to acquire a 35% equity stake in Exxon Mobil Corp.’s proposed low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production plant in Baytown, Tex., along the Houston Ship Channel. (OGJ Online, Feb. 15, 2023). Financial terms were not disclosed.
In a Sept. 4 release, ExxonMobil said the project is contingent on "supportive government policy" and necessary regulatory permits, as it did when announcing the proposed plant in March 2022 (OGJ Online, Mar. 3, 2022).
The operator said the plant is expected to be the world’s largest of its kind upon startup, capable of converting US-produced natural gas into up to 1 bcfd of hydrogen (with about 98% of CO2 removed) and more than 1 million tonnes/year of low-carbon ammonia, according to the joint release Sept. 4.
A final investment decision (FID) is expected in 2025 with anticipated startup in 2029, a year later than noted in ExxonMobil's first mention of the proposed project in 2022.
The plant is expected to leverage carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce emissions associated with hydrogen production.
