Carbon capture and storage (CCUS) in oil and gas is moving from long-term ambition to practical project analysis. As pressure grows around CCUS, industrial decarbonisation, carbon markets, methane regulation and infrastructure build-out, operators are looking more closely at what carbon capture can actually deliver today, where it works best, what it costs and why so many projects still struggle to scale. These are the issues coming into sharper focus ahead of DECARBON 2027 (February 15-16, Berlin) where industry leaders will discuss the practical future of CCUS, emissions reduction and decarbonisation strategies across the oil and gas value chain.

Why Carbon Capture in Oil and Gas Is Back in Focus

In Europe, the EU ETS already requires major emitters to pay for carbon and covers sectors responsible for roughly 40% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, while the EU Methane Regulation adds stricter requirements around measurement, reporting, verification and leak detection in the energy sector. Together with tighter investor scrutiny, that is pushing CCUS out of the category of long-term ambition and into the list of practical project decisions.

Carbon capture can already deliver meaningful emissions reductions in the right applications, but only where stream quality, infrastructure access and project economics line up. That makes the next question much more specific: which parts of oil and gas operations offer the strongest conditions for capture today, and where do costs still remain too high for large-scale rollout?

Where CCUS Works Best in Oil and Gas

The strongest near-term CCUS applications in oil and gas are concentrated where CO₂ comes off in relatively pure or high-concentration streams, because those streams are easier and cheaper to separate. That is why natural gas processing still accounts for around 65% of operating CO₂ capture capacity globally, and why hydrogen production, ammonia-related assets, gas treatment and selected petrochemical units remain more practical starting points than broad flue-gas capture across complex refinery sites. DOE/NETL draws the same distinction: highly concentrated streams are inherently easier to capture from than lower-concentration sources such as petroleum refining.

That difference shows up directly in cost. According to the IEA, capture from high-concentration streams can cost roughly 15-25$ per tonne of CO₂, while dilute streams can rise to around 40-120$ per tonne. This is the reason some projects move ahead faster than others: the stream quality should make the project financeable under realistic carbon prices or policy support.

Refining sits in a more difficult middle ground. Certain refinery-linked sources can still make sense, especially where capture is tied to hydrogen production or gas treatment, but full-site capture is much harder because emissions often come from multiple lower-concentration sources with different gas compositions and operating conditions.

Performance targets add another layer – current systems are commonly designed around capture rates of about 90%, while higher rates are technically possible but usually require more equipment, more process steps and more energy per tonne captured. And once that case exists, the next challenge appears quickly: whether the project has a realistic route to transport and store the CO₂ at scale.

Transport, Storage and Real CCUS Projects: What Scaling Looks Like in Practice

Scaling CCUS in Europe now depends heavily on whether emitters can access transport routes and storage capacity, so the infrastructure question is becoming central. The EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act sets a target of at least 50 million tonnes of annual CO₂ injection capacity by 2030, which makes storage development a strategic issue for the whole region.

The projects moving forward already show what scaling looks like in practice. Ravenna CCS in Italy began with around 25,000 tonnes per year captured from Eni’s Casalborsetti gas treatment plant and transported through reconverted gas pipelines to an offshore depleted gas field at a depth of roughly 3,000 metres. Its industrial phase is designed to reach 4 million tonnes per year by 2030. Northern Lights has created a different model: a shared transport-and-storage chain with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, now being expanded to more than 5 million tonnes per year through Phase 2. These projects show that scale is now about whether a region can assemble a full chain that is operable, financeable and open to multiple users.

Cross-border coordination is also becoming a practical industry issue. Equinor and Wintershall Dea’s planned NOR-GE value chain, for example, has been framed around connecting continental European emitters to Norwegian offshore storage through a pipeline system with an estimated capacity of 20 to 40 million tonnes per year by 2037 and a planned route of roughly 900 km. 

In that context, the topic of CCS crossborder coordination fits naturally into the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Congress (DECARBON) 2027 agenda with Anne-Mette Cheese, Senior Manager LCS Germany at Equinor, addressing this theme. Jan Mazač, Senior Specialist, Strategy and Policy at NET4GAS, s.r.o., is also joining DECARBON 2027 to bring a transport angle into the discussion and talk about NET4GAS CO2 Cross-border Transportation Project. The speakers’ presentations are aimed to show where real scaling pressure now sits: not only at the capture unit, but in the harder task of building a functioning CO₂ chain across borders.

What Shapes Project Viability and What CCUS Can Deliver Today

The path to scaling CCUS projects in oil and gas is also hindered by the broader regulatory and market environment. In Europe, the EU ETS is one of the world’s largest carbon markets, but even with clear carbon pricing signals, uncertainty remains a key barrier. Projects often face market volatility and policy risks, which make it harder for developers to secure financing. The EU has ambitious carbon-reduction targets, but these goals often lack the clarity and support. Climate Action 100+’s findings from 2024 highlight that oil and gas companies still struggle to provide sufficient transition plans to reassure investors, which slows down many projects.

While carbon markets play a role in driving demand, they alone don’t provide the predictability needed for large-scale project development. Policy instability and unclear regulations add another layer of complexity for companies, making projects seem less feasible. For instance, even when carbon capture technology exists and is viable, projects can falter if there’s no clear route for CO₂ storage, or if the transport and storage infrastructure needed to move captured CO₂ isn’t available.

At the same time, adjacent decarbonisation tools are becoming just as important as CCUS itself. Methane abatement, for example, is both a quicker and often cheaper solution for emissions reduction than many carbon-capture technologies. The IEA estimates that methane emissions in the oil and gas sector could be reduced by over 75% through well-known measures like leak detection, repair and equipment upgrades. Similarly, energy efficiency improvements are essential because the more energy-intensive the capture process is, the harder it becomes to make the project financially viable.

In other words, CCUS projects cannot rely on capture technology alone to be successful. They need to be part of a broader decarbonisation strategy that integrates technologies like methane management, emissions monitoring and energy efficiency into the mix. This broader approach will help improve both emissions performance and investor confidence, thus making projects more bankable and scalable.

Why These Questions Matter for DECARBON 2027

The challenges mentioned in this article are going to be in the spotlight at DECARBON 2027. On 15-16 February, the Congress will gather the full oil and gas value chain – operators, EPCs, technology providers, infrastructure players, service companies and other industry stakeholders. Over two days, the discussion between decision-makers and technical specialists will focus on the issues that matter most right now.

The industry needs practical comparison of routes, clearer priorities and informed decisions on how to move the decarbonisation process forward. Join DECARBON 2027 to discuss the practical future of CCUS and scalable emissions-reduction strategies in oil and gas.

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FAQ

What is DECARBON 2027?

DECARBON 2027 is the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Congress – a closed-door B2B event bringing together senior operators, EPCs and technology providers from across the global oil and gas value chain. The programme covers CCUS, low-carbon hydrogen, methane abatement, energy efficiency, regulatory compliance and digital tools for net-zero.

When and where does DECARBON 2027 take place?

DECARBON 2027 takes place on 15-16 February 2027 in Berlin, Germany. The two-day programme includes sessions, a technology exhibition and structured B2B meetings.

Who attends DECARBON 2027?

DECARBON 2027 is attended by C-level executives, sustainability leads, technical experts and operational decision-makers from major oil and gas operators, upstream producers, midstream companies and refiners, alongside the technology, EPC and service companies supporting the sector's energy transition. The congress operates on a closed-door model, with participants selected to maintain a focused professional environment of end-users, solution providers and licensors.

How do companies participate in DECARBON 2027?

Companies participate in DECARBON 2027 as delegates, sponsors, exhibitors or speakers. Participation details are available on request.

Where does carbon capture work best in oil and gas operations?

Carbon capture works best in oil and gas where CO₂ comes off in high-concentration streams, because those are cheaper and simpler to separate. Natural gas processing accounts for roughly 65% of global operating capture capacity today. Hydrogen production, ammonia assets and gas treatment units are the most practical near-term starting points. Capture costs from high-concentration streams can run $15-25 per tonne of CO₂, compared with $40-120 per tonne for dilute sources such as refinery flue gas.

Why do CCUS projects in oil and gas struggle to reach scale?

CCUS projects in oil and gas struggle to scale because capture technology alone is not sufficient - a project also needs a viable route to transport and permanently store CO₂ at volume. Policy uncertainty in carbon markets, difficulty securing long-term financing and the absence of shared CO₂ infrastructure in most regions are the main barriers. The EU's Net-Zero Industry Act targets 50 million tonnes of annual CO₂ injection capacity by 2030, making infrastructure development the central scaling challenge for the sector.