Environmental Leader

In the past, Exxon Mobil Corp. wasn’t in favor with environmentalists because of its vocal skepticism of man-made causes of climate change. But the corporation’s plan to spend $70 million to double its carbon capture capacity at its La Barge, Wyo. facility has received grudging respect from environmentalists, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Texas oil giant is also spending another $100 million to test new technology to make it easier and cheaper to strip CO2 out of the natural gas.

The investments could help the company secure a place in the emerging marketplace aimed at lowering GHG emissions. Exxon Mobil also stands to potentially profit from the CO2 it pulls from the ground at La Barge. The company currently sells about half of the CO2 captured at the plant.

At the end of last year, the company was fined for violating the terms of a 2005 court order concerning the Clean Air Act.

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