This week, Occidental’s Chief Executive Officer Vicky Hollub announced that the company is planning on launching operations at the Stratos direct air capture (DAC) hub towards the end of 2025.
Positioned in Ector County, Texas, Stratos is set to become Occidental’s first DAC hub with the capacity to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 on an annual basis.
During the company’s quarterly earnings call, Hollub shared that currently, two Stratos capture trains are moving over to operations and have initiated wet commissioning with water circulation. According to her, the Stratos DAC hub is on track to come online by the end of this year.
So far, this ambitious project has locked in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits sales with major players like JP Morgan and Palo Alto Networks, who have purchased 50,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes in CO2 credits, respectively.
This news on Stratos comes approximately a month after the US government announced that it is keeping the 45Q tax incentive for carbon capture and sequestration projects through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In Hollub’s perspective, this timing is perfect, and it matches a growing momentum behind DAC to generate meaningful value from CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in carbon removal credits.
She stated, “The new law levels the playing field between carbon storage and utilization pathways like DAC to EOR. Both can and likely will play an important role across global energy supply chains and carbon management.”
Relevant: Stratos, Occidental’s First DAC Plant Is 70% Complete
Besides Stratos, Occidental is also working on another DAC facility developed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) investment arm XRG.
This project will leverage a US Department of Energy grant of up to $650 million and more than $500 million in investment by XRG to establish a DAC facility in South Texas.
Commenting on this initiative, Hollub shared that Occidental intends to move the South Texas DAC project toward a final investment decision (FID) and focus on pre-sales of carbon credits beyond that point.
Read more: Occidental And 1PointFive Secure EPA Class VI Permits For Stratos DAC In Texas
