Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Pipeline · United States · 2020–2023

ExxonMobil completes USD 4.9 billion purchase of Denbury CO2 pipelines

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

ExxonMobil bought Denbury, which operated more than 1,300 miles of CO2 pipeline, for USD 4.9 billion in November 2023. The pipelines feed enhanced oil recovery, which injects CO2 to push more oil out of ageing fields, and the sources reviewed do not show how much of that carbon stays underground.

What?
ExxonMobil bought Denbury, operator of a large US CO2 pipeline network and oil fields, for USD 4.9 billion, completed on 2 November 2023. ExxonMobil
Where?
Denbury's pipeline network in the United States; rupture site at Satartia, Yazoo County
When?
Rupture on 22 February 2020; acquisition completed on 2 November 2023
Who?
Gained
  • ExxonMobil — Acquired the Denbury CO2 pipeline network, oil fields and proved reserves for USD 4.9 billion ExxonMobil
  • ExxonMobil — Benefits from a 2025 change that gives CO2 used for enhanced oil recovery the same 45Q tax credit as CO2 that is stored
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Residents near the Satartia pipeline rupture in Yazoo County — More than 200 evacuated and at least 45 taken to hospital after the February 2020 rupture; some reported lasting headaches and concentration problems three years later
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Enhanced oil recovery injects CO2 into ageing oil fields. At Satartia the sources say a pipe broke from a weld after a landslide, and the operator confirmed the leak only after a local official called, more than 40 minutes later.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

ExxonMobil said on 2 November 2023 that it had completed the USD 4.9 billion acquisition of Denbury, including more than 1,300 miles of pipeline and about 46,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

The acquired assets included more than 200 million barrels of proved reserves, and ExxonMobil said the combined assets could cut more than 100 million tonnes of emissions a year.

The sources reviewed say a CO2 pipeline rupture at Satartia in Yazoo County on 22 February 2020 led to more than 200 evacuations and at least 45 people taken to hospital, and that Denbury filed for bankruptcy about five months later.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: ExxonMobil is reported to hold a majority stake in Imperial Oil, which is in turn reported to take part in Pathways; this comes from a researcher's memory and was not checked.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Treasury's USD 36.2 billion estimate of the 45Q cost for 2024 to 2033, and the USD 14.2 billion added by the 2025 budget law; the primary document could not be opened.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a January 2025 proposal by the pipeline regulator of a further USD 2.4 million penalty, for welds tested without an inspector.
    • None on record The outcome of the lawsuit brought by residents and neighbours over the Satartia rupture is not known from the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Company or project

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Bonds and banking

    Liquidation, insolvency, bankruptcy
    Legal processes that apply when a company cannot pay its debts; its assets are sold and claims against it may go unpaid.
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