Sinopec and Partners Launch Global CCUS Cooperation Initiative

ExxonMobil plans to invest roughly $20 billion in lower-emission projects between 2025 and 2030, and management expects newer business segments including carbon capture and storage, lithium, carbon materials, and Proxxima products to generate more than $1 billion in annual earnings by 2030, with roughly $13 billion in potential annual earnings by 2040 assuming supportive policies and sufficient market development. The company already holds contracts covering roughly 9 million metric tons of CO2 annually from industrial customers, and its first commercial carbon capture projects are now operating, which should give management enough commercial activity by 2027 to offer investors better visibility into what carbon capture can contribute financially. The bet is framed against a shifting oil demand picture: more than 20 million electric cars were sold globally in 2025, about one-quarter of all new-car sales, and the International Energy Agency expects EVs to approach 29% of global car sales in 2026, with the existing EV fleet displacing roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil demand per day in 2025 and potentially around 5 million barrels per day by 2030. ExxonMobil is also developing carbon-capture-enabled data center projects that would use natural gas to generate electricity while capturing the resulting emissions. The prediction is that 2027 is when ExxonMobil's low-carbon investments start showing up more clearly in guidance.

Banpu Public Company Limited, or BANPU, is set to benefit after BKV, in which BANPU holds a 63.3% stake, announced the closing of a transaction to acquire new upstream, midstream and carbon capture and storage assets in the Barnett Shale natural gas field in Texas, United States. The deal was funded with BKV's cash together with borrowings under a revolving credit facility, though the transaction value was not disclosed. The acquired assets have production capacity of about 65 million cubic feet equivalent per day, of which more than 50% is liquid hydrocarbons. Proved and producing reserves stand at approximately 0.35 trillion cubic feet equivalent, covering roughly 117,000 acres, with about 1,000 producing wells, a gas processing plant with capacity of 180 million cubic feet per day, a gas pipeline system of about 340 miles, and a CCS project capable of capturing and storing roughly 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Compared with BKV's current gas production of 978 million cubic feet equivalent per day, this represents about 6.6% of its existing production base. The US gas business accounted for about 24% of total EBITDA in 2025. Asia Plus Securities therefore maintained its fair value for BANPU at 17 baht per share and recommended gradually accumulating the stock on weakness to capture the expected second-half 2026 earnings trend, which is forecast to be better than the first half on seasonal factors.