Why CCS Projects Struggle Long Before Final Investment Decision?
- Tariq Siddiqui,
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
BY Tariq K. Siddiqui
The CCS Opportunity
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has moved from concept to reality. Governments are supporting deployment, tax incentives such as 45Q are creating value, and billions of dollars are being invested in capture, transport, and storage infrastructure.
The Challenge
Yet many CCS projects struggle long before FEED, permitting, or Final Investment Decision (FID). The challenge is rarely a single technical issue. Projects often stall because subsurface, infrastructure, commercial, regulatory, and financial considerations are evaluated independently rather than as an integrated opportunity.
𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗖𝗦 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿
Is the storage resource technically viable?
Is transport and infrastructure available?
Is there a robust commercial opportunity?
Can permitting risks be managed?
Does the project create attractive economic value?
These questions sound simple, but they often determine whether millions of dollars are invested wisely—or wasted.
For investors, developers, and project sponsors, the question is simple:
How do we identify the most promising opportunities before spending millions of dollars on detailed studies, permitting, and engineering?
𝗔 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵
After 35+ years in upstream oil & gas, LNG, CCS, and project development—including more than 20 years with Royal Dutch Shell—I have seen the importance of disciplined front-end opportunity screening.
That experience led to the development of Stratacore-CCS™, an AI-assisted CCS Opportunity Screening & Development Advisory Platform. Stratacore helps investors and developers evaluate opportunities dimensions before major capital commitments are made. Stratacore evaluates opportunities across five critical dimensions:
Subsurface & Storage Potential
Infrastructure & Source-Sink Connectivity
Market & Commercial Viability
Regulatory & Permitting Readiness
Financial Attractiveness
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Better screening does not guarantee success. However, it can significantly improve capital allocation, identify risks earlier, and focus resources on the opportunities most likely to advance.
The objective is not to replace expert judgment. The objective is to provide a structured, repeatable framework that helps investors and developers understand where opportunities exist, where risks remain, and what actions should be prioritized before major capital commitments are made.
Today the platform includes screening coverage across key U.S. CCS regions including the Texas Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Permian Basin, Midwest, Wyoming, California, and other emerging storage markets. As the energy transition accelerates, successful CCS projects will depend on disciplined opportunity screening, informed decision-making, and effective capital allocation.
From Opportunity to Investment
If you are evaluating CCS opportunities, developing storage projects, or investing in the carbon management sector, I would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the platform and discuss how early-stage screening can improve project outcomes.
Email:stratacore.ccs@gmail.com
LinkedIn:Tariq K. Siddiqui
Founder, Stratacore-CCS™ | Former Royal Dutch Shell Leader | 35+ Years in Energy Project Development, CCS, LNG & Upstream Oil & Gas
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