The Port of Corpus Christi Authority (Port of Corpus Christi) and Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC (Howard/HEP) have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stating their intention to convert Howard’s Javelina refinery services facility into the region’s first carbon-neutral hydrogen production facility.
Howard’s Javelina facility is strategically positioned in the Port of Corpus Christi with pipeline connectivity to all six of the local refineries. Javelina controls approximately sixty million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of hydrogen production through a combination of hydrogen entrained in the refineries’ waste gas that the facility processes, and hydrogen produced through a steam methane reformer process.
This hydrogen is currently sold back to refineries and other industries where it is used to remove impurities like sulfur during the refining process. The Port of Corpus Christi and Howard ultimately hope to scale hydrogen production for exports to overseas demand centers.
Hydrogen is a flexible energy carrier with high energy density. It has many of the same applications as traditional fossil fuels yet produces no carbon emissions. It can be combusted directly or used in fuel cells and offers the most viable path to reducing emissions in the steel, cement, and shipping industries.
Hydrogen atoms can be separated from water (H2O) or from natural gas (CH4), the latter of which is in abundance at the Port of Corpus Christi due to direct connections to the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale production fields.
According to the MOU, Howard intends to capture its carbon emissions at Javelina, avoiding atmospheric release which contributes to global warming.
The Parties will collaborate to identify uses for the residual CO2 as well as capture and storage options. Captured CO2 can be directed to industries that require it for production, such as steel, or that assimilate it, like cement.
