NRG sells Petra Nova carbon capture project in Texas for $3.6 million

Houston Chronicle ($):

Houston energy company NRG has sold its stake in a massive carbon capture project at a Fort Bend County coal-fired power plant to Japanese oil and gas company JX Nippon for $3.6 million, according to the law firm that helped guide the deal. 

After starting the project with NRG, JX Nippon has now acquired full ownership of Petra Nova Parish Holdings, operator of the carbon capture project at NRG’s coal-fired Petra Nova power plant southwest of Houston.  

The power plant and carbon capture project have been out of operation since crude prices plummeted during the pandemic in 2020. The carbon capture project started operating in December 2016 with a $195 million Department of Energy grant, according to NRG. The goal is to use the captured carbon for enhanced oil recovery, in which carbon dioxide is injected deep into the earth to help produce more crude. 

JX Nippon started putting the deal into motion last year, according to Hogan Lovells lawyer David Locascio, who led the team handling the transaction. He said that as owner of the coal power plant, NRG will still assist in operations of the project.

[Kyra Buckley]

More: NRG sells stake in Petra Nova carbon capture project to Japanese company for $3.6 million