Speaking at a yearly energy conference in Singapore, the vice president for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) at Chevron New Energies, Chris Powers, has said diversity will be key to meeting the world’s energy needs in future.
Traditionally an oil major and producer of the Texaco lubricant and grease range, Chevron is endeavouring to lower the Scope 1 and 2 emissions of its hydrocarbon production operations.
The former relates to the direct greenhouse gas emissions that stem from the operations, while the latter concerns the emissions that are a result of the energy used by those operations. It set up Chevron New Energies to invest in and grow new companies that are developing technologies that will play to the company’s historical strengths.
In what he called its “big-tent” approach, Powers said CNE is investing in businesses in areas like advanced geothermal, CCUS, carbon offsetting, hydrogen and renewable fuels. He also said:
“We believe all energy sources—from traditional hydrocarbons to wind, solar, geothermal and renewable energies such as hydrogen and carbon capture—are going to be part of the energy equation and the supply mix as we look ahead over the next several decades.”
Power said the company also collaborates with these firms and provides the opportunity to pilot technologies within Chevron’s operations before fully commercialising them.
He highlighted its partnership with Svante and the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, with this being aimed at accelerating the commercialisation of a new CCUS technology by testing it within Chevron’s Californian San Joaquin Valley operations.
