Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) plays a key role in addressing two important problems of our life-time: (i) climate-change and (ii) energy security.  An International Energy Agency (IEA) study reports that there is a significant opportunity of storing up to 360 Gt of CO₂ through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications over the next 50 years. This is also an opportunity to potentially and simultaneously increase oil production by up to 375 billion barrels at the same time. From the perspective of life cycle assessment, the total emission of CO₂ per unit energy produced from the oil produced by CO₂ EOR flooding is much less than that from natural gas.

CCUS is an important research area for the petroleum industry for two major reasons. First, it is an important processing step for most natural gas processing plants, petroleum refineries, and chemical and energy production facilities such as hydrogen production plants, synthesis gas plants, coal-gasification units, and oil-sand operations. For these industries, the capture of CO₂ from their flue gases is important for greenhouse gas reduction. Secondly, this area of research is important because the captured carbon dioxide can be used directly as a flooding agent for EOR applications, which are critical for sustaining the current production of crude oil and providing energy for China and the rest of the world. Therefore, CCUS can provide double benefits. Not only does the commodity chemical of the captured CO₂ generate revenue, but using the captured CO₂ in EOR processes also reduces the net CO₂ released to the atmosphere at minimal cost. In 2013, the US Department of Environmental Protection (US-EPA) has introduced tough requirements to limit carbon pollution from new coal-fired power plants in the USA. Despite this urgent warning, only a few large-scale carbon capture and storage plants have been installed, mainly due to their high cost. Hence, there is an urgent need for the research and development of cost-effective CCUS technologies, especially for future applications in the petroleum industry.