Is Carbon Capture Simply a 'Love Child' of Big Oil?

Bill McGuire (University College of London) provides some important insights about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS is clearly still in its infancy. It broadly, however, grabs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and liquidises this gas, before storing it underground. The UK government are using their proposed 'investment' in CCS as an argument for granting licences for extracting MORE oil and gas from North Sea reserves (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/uk-net-zero-plan-new-oil-and-gas-stupid-conservatives-carbon-capture-storage). McGuire notes that CCS has, thus far, been strictly small scale. This technology is no way near being able to remove the 1.6 bn tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, necessary to achieve carbon zero. McGuire also reveals that most CCS involves pumping carbon dioxide into almost-depleted oil reserves. This enables the petrochemical companies to 'push out the last few drops of oil'. The companies call this process Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). EOR currently accounts for 70% of the carbon dioxide 'captured' by CCS. The fossil fuel sector is the big winner in the UK government's recent 'plan' to get to carbon zero by 2050. 'Big oil' have the expertise in EOR and can 'rent out' their depleted oil fields for carbon dioxide 'storage'. They can also continue to have the bonus of 'squeezing out' the last of the remaining oil from their 'aging' oil fields. These dregs would otherwise, 'unprofitably', remain, unburned, in the ground. The oil companies will also further increase emissions. They will burn fossil fuels, to compress the carbon dioxide, before it's stored underground. 'Big oil' might well be somewhat 'relaxed' about carbon dioxide leakage from 'their' underground 'storage' facilities. CCS actually seems like a big win-win for the fossil fuel sector and a lose-lose for the planet.