🔍 Deep Dive Options
1. State-Level CCUS & ESG Policy Landscape
Explore how states like Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota, and California are advancing their own CCUS incentive frameworks, regulatory environments, and ESG funding programs.
Key topics:
- State-level 45Q-like credits or stackable tax abatements
- Class VI well permitting at the state level (vs. EPA)
- Carbon hub development (e.g. Louisiana’s Lake Charles CCUS hub)
2. Case Studies: ESG-Linked Financing in Oil & Gas
Review specific projects or companies using ESG frameworks to secure favorable financing for carbon or transition projects.
Sample companies:
- Occidental Petroleum: Linked direct-air capture to sustainability KPIs
- Enbridge or Valero/Navigator: Using green debt and private equity backing
- NRG Energy: $900 million sustainability-linked bond tied to emissions targets
3. Sustainability-Linked Loans (SLLs): Mechanics & Examples
Detailed explanation of how SLLs work, and how oil & gas firms are using them to finance operations.
Topics include:
- Common KPIs (GHG reduction, CCUS deployment, methane leak mitigation)
- Interest rate “step-downs” or penalties for missed targets
- Governance structures and ESG performance auditing
4. IRA Credit Transferability & Tax Equity: Finance Structures
Unpack how the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit transferability rules changed financing dynamics.
Key points:
- How "tax equity" used to work vs. how it works now
- The rise of clean energy credit marketplaces
- New investment vehicles: yieldcos, hybrids, private credit models
5. EOR vs Permanent Sequestration: Strategic & Ethical Trade-Offs
Explore the controversy around enhanced oil recovery (EOR) vs long-term storage.
Includes:
- Arguments for and against EOR as a net-zero solution
- Potential over-reliance on oil-linked CCUS for climate credits
- Proposed reforms to 45Q to favor non-EOR sequestration
6. Industrial Sector Case Studies (Beyond Oil & Gas)
Focus on how cement, steel, and chemicals industries are using CCUS and ESG loans.
Case studies:
- Heidelberg Materials (cement, Indiana)
- ArcelorMittal (steel, with CCUS retrofit projects)
- Chemical facilities leveraging Section 48C + 45Q
Tags:
esg-linked-finance