ESG & Investing

Oil Giants Plan to Bury Massive Amounts of CO2 in Southeast Asia

After decades of burning carbon, Exxon, Shell and others are looking to lock down the rare places that can absorb it. 

The Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Indonesia. Along with Malaysia, the archipelago is a target for oil companies looking to bury CO2 underground. 

Photographer: Ronald Siagian/AFP/Getty Images

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Just as they first ventured to do over a century ago, the world’s largest oil companies are staking claims far from home — this time to swallow, rather than spew, planet-warming industrial emissions.

Carbon dioxide storage is emerging as a potential multi-billion-dollar revenue stream for firms like Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Plc and Chevron Corp., which are under global pressure to rein in the unfettered burning of fossil fuels.