OPEC opens $750M fund for carbon sequestration
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opened a fund for clean technology research and investment during its most recent meeting.
Oil producers investing in cleantech in order to boost or streamline their own production isn’t entirely new. We recently reported on a Chevron fund that has multiple investments, including one in solar energy.
However, the OPEC fund is focused almost solely on carbon sequestration. The method preferred by oil producers involves pumping carbon back into oil wells, which can also help force out more oil.
Some oil miners hope to eventually earn carbon credits from carbon sequestration, while OPEC probably also has hopes of preemptively “greenwashing” its production as popular opinion turns against use of fossil fuels.
For a different take on carbon capture, read our post about Calera.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.