Spiritus Signs First Three Letters of Intent With U.S. Oil Producers for On-Site CO₂, Representing More Than 3 Million Tonnes of Annual Demand

Agreements span the Rockies, Midwest, and U.S. Gulf Coast and could support recovery of more than 70 million incremental barrels of oil

LOS ALAMOS, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Spiritus, an energy technology company developing a new source of CO₂ to increase production from existing U.S. oil fields, announced three signed letters of intent with oil and gas operators across the Rockies, Midwest, and U.S. Gulf Coast. Together, the agreements represent more than 3 million tonnes of annual CO₂ demand for enhanced oil recovery.

The letters of intent are with a mix of public and private U.S. oil and gas operators, spanning fields that have already been drilled and developed. Based on industry-standard CO₂ utilization rates and project lives, the three projects could support recovery of more than 70 million incremental barrels of oil.

>> In Other News: Germany's Uniper Signs Offtake Deal for Synthetic Green Jet Fuels

Federal studies estimate that CO₂ enhanced oil recovery could unlock as much as 137 billion barrels of technically recoverable U.S. oil.

“One of the biggest constraints on CO2 EOR deployment has been getting enough affordable CO₂ to the fields that need it,” said Charles Cadieu, co-founder and CEO of Spiritus. “These three letters of intent represent more than 3 million tonnes of annual demand, and we are already in discussions on several more.”

U.S. oil producers have used CO₂ to recover additional oil from mature fields for more than 50 years. Operators inject compressed CO₂ into a reservoir, where it helps mobilize oil left behind after earlier production. CO₂ that returns with the produced fluids is separated and reinjected into the field.

The constraint has historically been supply. Enhanced oil recovery requires large, sustained volumes of CO₂, while operators have largely depended on naturally occurring underground CO₂ deposits or industrial sources connected to oil fields through pipeline networks. Where affordable CO₂ and transportation infrastructure do not reach a field, as much as 65% of the original oil remains underground.

Spiritus’ technology captures CO₂ from the atmosphere and is designed to produce it at the oil field, giving operators access to new supply without relying solely on natural CO₂ deposits, distant industrial emitters, or long-distance transportation infrastructure. Spiritus is developing its technology to deliver atmospheric CO₂ at costs competitive with traditional supply, addressing one of the most common objections to using atmospheric CO₂ at industrial scale.

An individual enhanced oil recovery development can require hundreds of thousands or millions of tonnes of CO₂ annually, with demand continuing over many years. Unlike markets where customers pay primarily to remove CO₂, oil producers purchase the molecule because it helps recover additional oil.

“Much of the next increment of U.S. oil production can come from fields that already have wells, pipelines and infrastructure around them,” Cadieu said. “In many of those fields, the missing piece is affordable CO₂. Spiritus is building a new source of supply around that constraint.”

The United States is currently the world’s largest oil producer. As existing fields mature, recovering more oil from these fields provides a path to maintaining domestic production, extending energy security, and contributing to affordability through increased supply.

The three signed letters of intent are for CO₂ delivery site development and represent the first step toward long-term CO₂ offtake agreements. Spiritus is actively in discussions with additional oil and gas operators across major U.S. producing regions and invites companies interested in a new source of CO₂ for EOR to visit www.spiritus.com to learn more.

About Spiritus

Spiritus is an energy technology company developing a new source of CO₂ to increase production from existing U.S. oil fields. Its modular technology captures atmospheric CO₂ at the point of use, giving oil and gas operators a new source of supply for enhanced oil recovery without relying solely on natural CO₂ deposits, industrial emitters or long-distance transportation infrastructure. Headquartered in New Mexico, Spiritus is developing projects across major U.S. producing regions.