Trade and energy company Posco International is entering the U.S. carbon capture and storage (CCS) business as the first Korean company to make a foray into the market.

A consortium of Posco International, Spain’s Repsol, Carbonvert from the United States and Mitsui E&P USA was selected as a preferred bidder by the state of Texas for a CCS project off the state’s southeastern coast.

Posco International holds a 10 percent stake in the consortium.

The operation site will be off the coast of Corpus Christi in southeastern Texas, measuring 578 square meters (6,222 square feet).

The consortium will assess the site before proceeding with the development.

When the project goes forward, the consortium will install a platform and submarine pipelines to store carbon oxide. The storage capacity is estimated at over 600 million tons, which is equivalent to Korea’s total emissions a year.

The U.S. government is incentivizing CCS with a subsidy program under the Inflation Reduction Act, providing $85 per ton of carbon captured.

Posco International hopes to use its capabilities and experience in gas field development, which requires similar technological capabilities to CCS operation. The company is currently operating gas fields in Myanmar and Australia. Another gas exploration project has been underway in Malaysia since 2021.

Posco International plans to set up a local entity in the United States, named Posco International CCS USA, in September to further drive its CCS business.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]