ExxonMobil is spending billions to build the world’s largest CCS network on the Gulf Coast, connecting industrial emitters to a 900-mile pipeline system that injects CO2 into deep rock. Senior VP Dominic Genetti says the company pumps hundreds of millions annually into a $5bn-plus pipeline grid across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, while seeking to lock in long‑term contracts with heavy emitters.

The push aligns with rising demand from data‑center operators, green‑steel makers and ammonia exporters, who need verifiable emissions cuts. Global CCS investment jumped to $6.6 billion last year, with 77 plants operating and 44 under construction, and policymakers grapple with how to fund the subsidies required. Yet Louisiana’s political backlash, highlighted by state treasurer John Fleming, threatens more than $75 billion of planned spending.

Critics argue most CO2 captured today fuels enhanced oil recovery, turning pipelines into “Trojan horse” extensions of fossil production. Community groups cite past leaks and the “Cancer Alley” stigma to demand a moratorium on new injection wells. Exxon maintains its network has a lower incident rate than other hazardous pipelines and vows to prove CCS’s economic viability. The company says real‑time monitoring curtails risks.