The Australian energy company Santos has announced a new agreement with two Japanese energy companies, namely JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation and ENEOS Corporation, to collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), in order to expand the Moomba CCS project in South Australia.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to jointly identify and define commercial and investment opportunities covering the potential importation of up to 5 MtCO2/year by 2030, 10 MtCO2/year by 2035 and 20 MtCO2/year by 2040 from Japan to the Moomba CCS project, via either Port Bonython in South Australia or Gladstone in Queensland. The Moomba project is part of Santos plan to transform South Australia’s Cooper Basin into a decarbonisation and low-carbon fuels hub.
This agreement with the Japanese groups would potentially provide a large-scale source of CO2 to support Phase 2 of the Moomba CCS project and provide feedstock for future e-methane production. The first phase of the Moomba CCS project (1.7 MtCO2/year) is currently 75% complete, with the first CO2 injection planned for 2024.