Carbon capture and storage (CCS) research organisation CO2CRC today congratulated Santos and its joint venture partner Beach Energy on the commencement of CO2 injection at the Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage project – with the project already operating at full injection rates.
CO2CRC chief executive Dr Matthias Raab said it was a massive achievement to confirm that facilities and pipelines have been successfully commissioned and that all wells are performing in accordance with project plans.
“Moomba CCS is the first carbon storage project approved under State greenhouse gas legislation, and this announcement is a credit both to Santos as operator and the South Australian Government which has put the regulatory framework in place to make it happen,” Dr Raab said.
He contrasted the supportive stance of the SA Government to the populist opposition taken by both sides of Queensland politics, which recently killed off a significant CCS project in that state.
The Moomba CCS project will have capacity to store up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 per year (with actual volumes only limited by the availability of CO2 for storage). That’s equivalent to delivering – every year – about 28 per cent of the total emissions reduction achieved in Australia’s electricity sector last year.
Dr Raab said Moomba CCS, combined with the already operational Gorgon CCS in Western Australia and five other projects in development, could reduce Australia’s emissions by up to 20% by 2035.
“This underlines the vital role CCS has to play in global emissions reduction – and that Australia can play a leading role,” Dr Raab said.
With the International Energy Agency highlighting that global 2050 climate goals are unattainable without CCUS, and a slower than needed roll-out of renewables in most major economies, Dr Raab said the need to accelerate the delivering of new CCS projects is increasing.
“Globally, CCS must contribute at least a 10% reduction in emissions. Without that contribution, no one can reach net zero.”
Contact: Matthew Doman +61 421 888 858 or matthew.doman@crestviewstrategy.com