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 / Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2017–2023

Texas Petra Nova carbon capture plant closed in 2020, reopened in 2023

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.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Petra Nova unit, built for about $1 billion to capture part of a Texas coal plant's flue gas, sent its CO2 to an oil field to recover more oil. What is at stake for nature is whether capturing CO2 cuts emissions when the captured gas is used to produce more oil.

What?
Petra Nova, a carbon capture unit at a Texas coal plant, sent captured CO2 to the West Ranch oil field to recover more oil. POWER
Where?
Texas, United States: the plant and the West Ranch oil field POWER
When?
Operated from 2017; closed in May 2020; reopened on 5 September 2023. POWER
Who?
Gained
  • JX Nippon — Bought NRG's share in the plant in September 2022 POWER
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The closure followed falling oil and power prices, according to POWER; the sources reviewed give no further reason. POWER
How?
Capture from part of a coal plant's flue gas, piped to an oil field where the CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery. POWER
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The unit cost about $1 billion and was designed to capture about 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 a year from part of a coal plant's flue gas, according to POWER magazine in September 2023.

The captured CO2 was piped to the West Ranch oil field, where enhanced oil recovery produced more than 4.2 million barrels of oil and output rose to as much as 6,000 barrels a day, POWER reported.

The plant closed in May 2020 when oil and power prices fell; NRG sold its share to Japan's JX Nippon in September 2022, and the plant reopened on 5 September 2023.

POWER said the 92.4% capture rate applies only to the processed flue-gas stream, not to the whole stack.

    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: the US Department of Energy provided about $195 million in grant funding.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: in its first three years the plant captured 3.8 million short tons against an expected 4.6 million.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: NRG sold its share for about $3.6 million.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give Petra Nova's actual capture figures for 2024 to 2026.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state the net climate effect of the oil recovered with the captured CO2.

    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

    Press and investigations

    Similar cases
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · United States · 2023–2026
    Occidental Stratos direct air capture plant (Texas)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · Mexico · 2022–2025
    Make Sunsets stratospheric balloon launches (Mexico)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2021
    Leaked DOE list marks first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate'
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2011–2025
    45Q lobby coalition's founding director was named to head DOE carbon office
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2008–2025
    US 2025 tax law gave oil recovery the same carbon credit as permanent storage
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2025
    Stardust Solutions raises $60 million for solar geoengineering
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured