As the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions, innovations in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology in Australia are crucial. This article explores insights shared by key industry leaders during a recent panel discussion and the Energy Club WA’s April Industry Dinner.
Woodside Development Manager (Angel CCS Hub) Dmitry Kosyak highlighted their Angel CCS project as one of the largest multi-user CCS hubs globally. Located about 125km offshore from Karratha, this built-for-purpose facility is designed to leverage existing infrastructure at the Angel natural gas field to receive and store up to 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
“We have now completed the majority of technical studies and are now in a very interesting phase where we spend most of our efforts in a commercial and marketing space,” Mr Kosyak said.
Santos VP Energy Solutions Richard Hinkley discussed the Moomba CCS facility, which focuses on capturing CO2 from the Moomba gas plant and injecting it into depleted oil and gas reservoirs. With a processing capacity of up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 14 million tonnes by 2040.
“Santos’ group emissions have come down 26% in the last year as a result of us being able to get Moomba CCS online,” Mr Hinkley said.
He said CCS allowed Santo to switch off boilers at the Moomba gas plant, cascading the benefits throughout their operations.
“Moomba needs a lot of steam and as a result we are able to take the process, get the steam back into the plant and actually switch off a lot of the boilers,” he said.
Wood Global Head CO2 Transport and Storage Stephen Stokes said they were “proud to be sourcing over one third of the world’s CCS projects globally”, focusing on CO2 value chain projects and energy transition hubs.
Woodside positions itself as an experienced delivery partner with full chain capabilities in the area; this year launching one of the largest energy transition hubs in the world in the Middle East.
Despite these advances, there are still challenges to be addressed. Capturing hard-to-capture gases, such as burning natural gas, remains a significant hurdle.
SLB Managing Director Australasia Najib Gharib said: “In our view technology breakthrough and strategic partnerships will define the next era of CCS, and we are very excited about it.”
He stressed the need for investment across technologies, including exploring the next generation of absorbents.
“SLB spends roughly per annum $1 billion in technology and product development R&D per annum and are dedicating roughly 30% of that on low carbon CCS – but we don’t do it alone. We do this through strategic partnership,” he said.
The panel agreed that with the support of government policies and international collaboration, Australia was well-positioned to lead in CCS technology.
However, the success of these initiatives depends on continued investment and the willingness of customers to commit to long-term carbon reduction strategies.
INPEX VP Commercial and Energy Transition Steve Ovenden said “The approach that the government here seems to be taking, is a heavy compliance-based approach with the safeguard mechanism. There’s all stick and no carrot. This has proven really challenging and a significant cost to industry and the private sector.”
He compared the Australian Government to Japan where “They’re actively promoting CCS with action plans and government policy and at a practical project level. JOGMEC are also supporting with 100% funding for nine advanced CCS projects around Japan.”
The solution? Mr Stokes believes Australia needs to act fast to capture the market.
“First, we’ve got to realise we are in competition. South Korea, Japan and other industrialised areas need a home for their CO2,” he said.
“If we don’t have some urgency around that we will lose out on those customers to Malaysia. Secondly, we’ve got to get ready for that scale. The technicalities of shipping tens of millions of tonnes per annum of CO2 into Australia is not to be sniffed at. We really need a sense of urgency, and I think the government can help there.”
Australia's CCS projects are working towards a more sustainable future. By leveraging existing infrastructure for large-scale carbon storage, there is potential for CCS to significantly reduce emissions and support net-zero ambitions.
Thank you to our event sponsors, Xodus, TBH, Gilbert + Tobin, Centurion, and Continental
