Tuesday 30 August 2022
Inpex, Woodside and TotalEnergies granted permit for CCS research in Australia
Australia has awarded offshore acreage permits to Japan's Inpex Corporation, France's TotalEnergies and Woodside Energy Group for research into carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the country.
The Greenhouse Gas Storage Assessment Permit, off the northwest coast of Australia, granted to the Bonparte CCS Assessment joint venture will enable the three companies to carry out evaluation and appraisal work, set to begin in 2023.
The project complements existing solutions to avoid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Ichthys LNG, a nearby natural gas liquefaction and export terminal, operated by Inpex and in which TotalEnergies is a founding partner.
Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President, TotalEnergies Asia-Pacific E&P & Renewables said: “This promising greenhouse gas storage assessment permit is fully in line with our strategy to provide more energy with lower emissions and our ambition to achieve net zero by 2050, together with society. TotalEnergies aims to develop more than 10 Mt/year of carbon storage capacity by 2030, including storage for its facilities as well as storage services for its customers.
“As a partner in both the Ichthys LNG and Bonaparte CCS Assessment joint ventures, TotalEnergies is well positioned to contribute to low carbon LNG production in Australia.”
The project also supports Australia's ambition to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 and is expected to provide an opportunity to prove a large-scale carbon storage site for the Darwin-based, CCUS hub proposed by the Northern Territory Government.
Madeleine King, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia said: “Carbon capture and storage has a vital role to play to help Australia meet its net zero targets. Australia is ideally placed to become a world leader in this emerging industry, with large, stable offshore geological formations for greenhouse gas storage.
“The award of G-7-AP is one of two acreage permits awarded in the past eight years and will help make a Darwin Carbon Capture use and Storage Hub a reality. This directly supports development, job creation and economic security across Northern Australia.”
