Can finance and policy unlock the carbon capture boom? | Recorded live at CCUS in Houston

Oct 8, 2025

Guest

Shahul Hameed

Guest

Liz McGinley

Guest

Omer Farooq

Omer Farooq, the Head of Sustainable Asset Finance at Bank of America, discusses financing strategies for CCUS, focusing on the crucial role of policies like 45Q in making projects bankable. Liz McGinley, a Partner at Bracewell LLP, unpacks regulatory hurdles, particularly around permitting and greenhouse gas reporting that impact project timelines. Shahul Hameed from Emerson highlights how oil and gas expertise is essential for CO2 transport and storage, while automation technologies promise to drive down operational costs. Together, they explore a path forward for carbon capture.

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ADVICE

What Banks Need To Finance CCUS

Seek long-term contracts, robust engineering studies, and experienced sponsors before financing CCUS projects.
Allocate risk clearly and engage communities early to improve bankability.

INSIGHT

Transport Is The Next Frontier

Transport and permitting for pipelines are the critical bottlenecks to scale CCUS.
Business-model evolution around transport will determine whether capture links to sequestration or utilization.

INSIGHT

Legislation Boosted Confidence

The Inflation Reduction Act increased 45Q and boosted industry confidence and capital inflows.
Policy clarity signaled administration support and accelerated momentum.

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This special episode of Interchange Recharged brings together finance, law, and technology leaders shaping the path to commercial carbon capture. Host Sylvia Leyva Martinez explores how capital, regulation, and innovation are converging to turn early-stage CCUS projects into bankable reality.

The conversation opens with Omer Farooq, Head of Sustainable Asset Finance at Bank of America, on how one of the world’s largest banks is approaching carbon capture — from financing first-of-a-kind projects to assessing new business models and risk structures. Omer explains why point-source capture is already investable, why direct air capture still has hurdles to clear, and why incentives like 45Q remain the backbone of the economics. “Policy drives energy,” he says, “and transport and permitting are the next frontiers.”

Next, Liz McGinley, Partner at Bracewell LLP, joins to unpack the evolving U.S. regulatory landscape. She discusses the expanded 45Q tax credit, the lingering uncertainty around the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, and why the slow pace of pipeline permitting has become a bottleneck for deployment. Yet, she says, investor confidence is growing fast — driven by clarity on incentives and insurance mechanisms to manage geological risk.

Finally, Shahul Hameed, Vice President of Global Oil & Gas Measurement Instrumentation at Emerson, explains how technology is catching up with policy. He shares how decades of oil and gas expertise are being repurposed for CO₂ transport and storage, and how automation, measurement accuracy, and data integrity are helping to de-risk projects. From AI-driven analytics to mass-based metering, Shahul outlines how precision is becoming the new currency of CCUS.

From finance and legal frameworks to field-level innovation, this episode captures the mood on the ground in Houston — one of optimism, collaboration, and rapid evolution. As Sylvia concludes, “Finance follows certainty. The incentives are there, the technology is advancing, and the industry is learning fast.”

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