Oil Giant Exxonmobil Eyes Data Centre Energy With Carbon Capture & Natural Gas

Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil is getting in on the data centre rush, with plans to offer its carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems to generate low-carbon electricity sites across the US.

Outlined in the companies’ corporate plan update, ExxonMobil unveiled plans to build facilities that would use natural gas to generate electricity for nearby data centres. The oil and gas firm claimed it would also use its carbon capture tech to remove around 90% of CO2 emissions produced by some data centres and transport it to storage facilities deep underground.

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“We’re in a unique position to provide low-carbon power at large scale on a very competitive and accelerated timeline,” said Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil’s low-carbon solutions business.

ExxonMobil already offers its carbon capture solutions to industries that produce significant carbon emissions, like steel and ammonia production. The oil and gas giant claimed it has already agreed to transport and store up to 6.7 million tons of captured CO2 a year.

The oil and gas firm is now setting its sights on a potentially lucrative opportunity in data centres, a sector seeing exponential growth amid increased demand for AI and cloud services.

A recent report from a US think tank suggested the intense energy demands from US data centres could force energy bills to surge by up to 70% within five years, as grids struggle to match the demand.

An ExxonMobil statement suggested that data centres could account for up to 20% of the total addressable market for carbon capture storage in 2050.

The company said its CCS solution for data centres would be detached from existing grid infrastructure, as well as independent of utility timelines, meaning operators could potentially install it faster, a point the oil and gas firm was keen to point out that nuclear power “cannot match.”

“Because new solutions are needed quickly to support AI growth, we’re moving fast — leveraging our advantages of integration, operational scale and project expertise,” a company statement read. “We’re well into front-end engineering design (FEED) on this project and engaged with potential customers.”