Chevron has abruptly pulled out of a massive climate project in Kern County, California, that aimed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and bury it underground.
The gas giant has pulled out of a 2023 federal partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy for the Western Regional Direct Air Capture Hub, the only local carbon capture project approved by the Biden administration for multi-million dollar subsidies.
Chevron spokesperson Chanel Jolly stated that the company decided to exit the project in July 2025 after extensive discussions with the Department of Energy. The company did not release an official statement explaining the reasons for this decision.
Direct air capture technology extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and can then be permanently injected underground. (Kern County Department of Planning and Natural Resources)
The proposed Eastridge CCS project was expected to capture up to 300,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. Chevron
«"Chevron's agreement to terminate this contract by mutual agreement should not be construed as a reflection of the viability of the project, the performance or contributions of any participating subrecipient organization, Chevron's position with respect to other partnerships with the Department of Energy, or the Department of Energy's efforts to support carbon capture and storage technologies," Jolly wrote in an email, according to The Bakersfield Californian.
Local experts believed the project had the potential to transform the region's economy, as Kern's geological formations have a high capacity to store carbon dioxide.
Katie Larson, director of the California Energy Research Center at California State University, Bakersfield, noted that companies across the country are looking to test carbon capture technologies in Kern County.
Chevron was to develop carbon capture infrastructure at a power plant located in an oil field in Kern County (Getty Images).
«"DAC also has the potential to contribute to the economies of other countries (which is always an interesting topic of discussion in Kern County, as our economies are interconnected). Once the CO2 is captured, it can be used in agriculture, medicine, manufacturing, and more," she told the news outlet in an email.
According to project documents reviewed by The California Post, the energy corporation was to develop infrastructure to capture carbon dioxide from a power plant in an oil field in Kern County and permanently store it deep underground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.
Chevron's project aimed to develop a carbon capture and storage system to reduce carbon intensity.
The carbon dioxide produced by the Eastridge cogeneration plant will then be transported through a new pipeline directly to storage within the Kern River oil field.
Once the carbon dioxide reached its destination, Chevron planned to inject it into a salty underground layer of water known as a saline aquifer, which lies underground for approximately 7,343 acres.
According to design documentation, Chevron planned to store up to 6.8 million tons of carbon dioxide in this facility over the entire life of the project.
Chevron was required to construct specialized infrastructure above and below ground, which included drilling two primary injection wells, creating two backup wells, and installing two pressure control wells to maintain a stable subsurface environment.
The gas giant also received a $3 million Department of Energy grant in August 2023 to study the project's feasibility, according to Kern County.
Download The California Post app, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletters.
California Post News : Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
Opinion California Post newspapers
Subscribe to the California Post newsletters Here!
California Post App : Download here!
Home delivery : Register here! Page Six Hollywood : Register here!