ONE of the biggest carbon capturing and storage projects in the country's history has been given the green light by investors.
Gas giant Santos, along with its joint venture partner Beach Energy agreed to proceed with the $220 million Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia.
The project, slated to begin in 2024, has been registered with the Clean Energy Regulator for a crediting period of 25 years.
During that 25-year-period, the project will qualify for Australian Carbon Credit Units for emissions reduction from Moomba CCS.
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Santos managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Gallagher said the project's registration was a landmark moment for his company.
"This carbon reduction project in the South Australian outback will be one of the biggest and lowest cost in the world and will safely and permanently store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year in the same reservoirs that held oil and gas in place for tens of millions of years," Mr Gallagher said.
"We forecast a full lifecycle cost of less than US$24 per tonne of CO2 including cash costs in operation of US$6-8 per tonne of CO2, with first injection targeted for 2024.
"This decision is a critical step in decarbonising natural gas on our path to new low-emissions and clean-burning fuels such as hydrogen."
"It is also an important milestone in our plan for Santos to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040."
Beach Energy managing director and CEO Matt Kay said the Moomba CCS project would deliver a step change in Beach's CO2 emissions profile.
"Once operational, this project will deliver a material reduction to Beach's emissions and forms a key pillar of our aspiration to reach net zero emissions by 2050," Mr Kay said.
"I want to thank project operator Santos for its efforts to date, as well as the Commonwealth and state Governments for their support in enabling the project to go ahead."
Santos will operate the project and owns more than 66 per cent of the project, while Beach Energy owns the remaining part of the project.
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Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
