ExxonMobil Begins CO₂ Capture Operations at Nucor Steel Facility in Louisiana, US

ExxonMobil has launched carbon capture and storage operations at Nucor Corporation's direct reduced iron facility in Convent, Louisiana, the energy company announced on September 16, 2026. The project represents ExxonMobil's third active commercial CCS operation serving a third-party customer and its second CCS startup of 2026, as the company continues to expand its Gulf Coast carbon management network.

Capturing Emissions From One of Steel's Most Carbon-Intensive Processes

The Convent facility produces direct reduced iron, an intermediate material used in steelmaking that has historically been associated with significant carbon emissions. Under the new agreement, ExxonMobil is capturing, transporting, and storing up to 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year from the site. The company says this output will result in what it describes as the lowest-carbon direct reduced iron production at scale in North America.

Nucor is one of the world's leading steel producers, and the project is intended to help the company advance its carbon-reduction goals. ExxonMobil described steel as a high-demand, traditionally carbon-intensive sector that supports transportation, energy systems, and manufacturing. The company framed the Convent project as a demonstration that carbon capture can serve as a practical, commercially viable tool for reducing industrial emissions in sectors where decarbonization has proven difficult.

Third Commercial CCS Operation for ExxonMobil

The startup at Nucor's Convent facility marks a significant milestone in ExxonMobil's growing commercial CCS portfolio. The Nucor project is the third time the company has brought CCS operations online for an external industrial customer, and it follows another Louisiana-based CCS project that came online earlier in 2026. A previous commercial CCS operation was established at CF Industries' facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

The clustering of these projects along the Gulf Coast reflects both the regional geology, which is suited to underground carbon storage, and the concentration of heavy industry in Louisiana and the broader Gulf region. ExxonMobil has positioned itself as a provider of CCS infrastructure and services to industrial companies seeking to reduce their emissions footprints without fundamentally altering their production processes.

Rose Carbon Storage Site Advances Toward Operation

Alongside the Nucor startup, ExxonMobil reported that its Rose carbon storage site is moving toward operation. The Rose site is designed to provide dedicated Class VI underground storage capacity, the regulatory classification in the United States for wells used specifically for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. ExxonMobil cited growing industrial demand for this type of dedicated storage infrastructure across the Gulf Coast as a driver behind the Rose project's advancement.

Class VI storage permits are issued and overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and their acquisition represents a significant regulatory and operational hurdle for CCS developers. The company did not specify a precise operational start date for Rose in its announcement but described it as part of the broader expansion of its Gulf Coast CCS network.

A Network Taking Shape Along the Gulf Coast

The combination of the Nucor project going live and the Rose storage site progressing toward operation underscores ExxonMobil's strategy of building out a network of interconnected CCS assets rather than pursuing isolated, one-off projects. By linking capture operations at industrial facilities to dedicated storage sites through transportation infrastructure, the company is working to create a system capable of serving multiple customers across different industries.

The Gulf Coast geography offers natural advantages for this approach. The region hosts a dense concentration of petrochemical plants, fertilizer producers, steel manufacturers, and other heavy industrial operations, all of which are potential sources of CO₂ that could be routed into a shared CCS network. At the same time, the subsurface geology of the region includes deep saline formations well suited to permanent carbon storage.

ExxonMobil's decision to pursue commercial CCS as a line of business serving third-party customers marks a strategic evolution for the company, which has historically focused on oil and gas production, refining, and chemical manufacturing. The Nucor deal, like those with other industrial customers, involves ExxonMobil taking on responsibility for the capture, transport, and permanent underground storage of CO₂ on behalf of an emitting facility.

The company described the Nucor startup, combined with the progress at Rose and the earlier 2026 project, as evidence that carbon capture and storage is an in-demand solution for industrial decarbonization, not merely a theoretical or pilot-scale technology. With 800,000 metric tons of annual capture capacity now operational at the Convent facility, ExxonMobil's Gulf Coast CCS network is handling a growing volume of industrial emissions.