ExxonMobil has filed a confidential legal challenge to the European Union's carbon capture rules, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a memo from the European Commission.
The oil major has initiated arbitration proceedings against the EU over provisions in the bloc's Net-Zero Industry Act that require major oil and gas companies to help develop carbon dioxide storage capacity by 2030, the report said.
The European Commission informed the Council of the European Union's trade policy committee of the notice of arbitration last month and is preparing a response, according to the report. The Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Net-Zero Industry Act sets an EU-wide target of 50 million tonnes of annual carbon dioxide injection capacity by 2030, with oil and gas producers required to contribute to building it. Exxon is one of the world's largest oil producers and a major investor in carbon capture technology, and the challenge puts the bloc's flagship industrial climate law in front of arbitrators for the first time.
