Thread by @Dana_Drugmand

🚨NEW: In this investigation I examined the internal #BigOil docs from the House Oversight Dems' investigation to see what was being said privately about carbon capture & storage (CCS) - the industry's favored 'climate solution.' This is what I found (🧵)

desmog.com/2023/02/13/exx…

#BigOil explicitly acknowledges carbon capture's role as a fossil fuel enabler - a lifeline to extend the fossil fuel era. Here's how one former BP exec summarized it (from an internal meeting w/ Princeton's CMI circa 2016) documentcloud.org/documents/2357…

And here's what Shell said: "The value of CCS to Shell is the ability to decarbonize our products, retain a larger market share for our products in the energy transition, in addition to reputational value." 🛢️

Yet Shell thought it needed to be cautious about the optics of its position when publicly speaking about CCS 🤨documentcloud.org/documents/2357…

BP again saying CCS could enable more fossil fuel use, while recognizing the technology faces "substantial" challenges documentcloud.org/documents/2357…

Here's Exxon acknowledging some of the concerns with CCS, noting it is "complex, costly, and requires additional power...to capture the CO2." documentcloud.org/documents/2357…

The industry knows CCS isn't viable without substantial government support like tax subsidies. documentcloud.org/documents/2357…

In summary, these internal statements seem to validate CCS critics' points and concerns. As one source told me: "The internal documents suggest that oil companies know that it is their pathway to forever producing fossil fuels, but they don’t want that known publicly."