Published by Todd Bush on August 8, 2025
Capture trains for Occidental's Stratos shift to commissioning ahead of 2025 startup
Occidental’s first direct air capture (DAC) hub is set to begin capturing carbon dioxide later this year, Occidental chief executive Vicki Hollub said Thursday on the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Two capture trains at the Stratos facility in Ector County, Texas are “moving over to operations” and have begun wet commissioning with water circulation, Hollub told analysts.
The facility is on track to begin operations by the end of the year, Hollub said. It is designed to capture up to 500,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide.
>> In Other News: Carbon Capture's 120x Challenge: Who's Actually Delivering While McKinsey Calls for Scale
Occidental chief executive Vicki Hollub, right, speaks as National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito listens during the opening ceremony at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) on Monday, 5 May 2025 in Houston, Texas, US.Photo: OTC/PHIL MCCARTEN
Hollub’s revelation comes about one month after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which, among many other measures, maintained and extended tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration, known as 45Q credits.
"This timing is perfect as there is growing momentum behind direct air capture to generate meaningful value from CO2 enhanced oil recovery, or EOR, in carbon dioxide removal credits," Hollub said.
The legislation will help Occidental in its carbon management efforts, Hollub said.
"The new law levels the playing field between carbon storage and utilization pathways like DAC to EOR," she said. "Both can and likely will play an important role across global energy supply chains and carbon management."
The Stratos facility has carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credit deals in place with JPMorgan and Palo Alto Networks. JPMorgan’s deal is for 50,000 tonnes in CDR credits, while Palo Alto Networks bought 10,000 in credits.
In addition to Stratos, Occidental is working on a joint venture with XRG, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), to develop a DAC facility in south Texas.
XRG is considering investing upward of $500 million in the project, which will also be backed by a US Department of Energy (DoE) grant of up to $650 million.
Hollub confirmed Thursday that Occidental still intends to push the south Texas project toward a final investment decision (FID).
"The timing is not set yet, but we will FID it," Hollub said. "We're going to take advantage of some of the innovations that are being developed right now in carbon engineering to make sure that we get that in the second facility, just like we're getting it in phase two of the current facility. But we will FID."
Added Hollub: "We've got a lot of interest in others that want to be a part of that and a lot of interest in the sales. And we pre-sold the credits for Stratos, and so we'll pre-sell for that one too, but probably not sign contracts until we've done the FID."
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside This Issue 🪣 Shovels Hit the Ground on California’s First Carbon Storage Hub 🤝 CHARBONE Announces a Strategic Alliance with a Leading U.S. Industrial Gas Producer 📜 Gold Standard Approves M...
Inside This Issue 🧠 From Mars to AI: Fuel Cells Power $28B Boom 🏆 Svante Technologies Wins Global Award for Breakthrough Carbon Capture Innovation 🚧 California Resources Corporation Breaks Ground ...
Inside This Issue 💰 Where the $6.5 Trillion Goes: Carbon Tech Fights for Funding 🔋 Douglas PUD Commission Cuts Ribbon At Renewable Hydrogen Production Facility 🍁 Quinbrook Acquires First Canadian ...
October 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT Ship-to-ship fueling operation in Long Beach demonstrates scalable, low-carbon marine fuel solution aligned with global climate goals NORTH VANCOUVER, BC AND HOUS...
October 21, 2025 On-time, successful delivery demonstrates scalability of Plug’s European hydrogen production capacity and trucking fleet to support Germany’s energy transition SLINGERLANDS, N.Y....
Sustainable Jet Fuel Developer Moves Priority From SD to ND Amid Summit Pipeline Delays
Gevo Inc. Plans Sustainable Aviation Fuel Shift From South Dakota To North Dakota Amid Summit Carbon Pipeline Delays Gevo Inc., a Colorado-based developer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), annou...
CapturePoint’s CENLA Hub Project Advances On Louisiana’s Short List For Carbon Storage Permitting
CapturePoint Solutions LLC’s CENLA Hub Project Advances On Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (C&E) Short List For Carbon Storage Permitting ALLEN, Texas, Oct. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEW...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.