LNG player Santos has welcomed a new move by the Australian government which would help the firm progress its Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia.
The A$210 million ($150.9 million) Moomba CCS project would permanently store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. Also, it will have a capacity for up to 20 million tonnes annually across the Cooper Basin.
Santos said on Friday it would start the process to apply to register the CCS project with the Clean Energy Regulator and generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
The move follows a decision by the Australian government to approve a CCS method for the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
According to Santos, the Moomba CCS Project it is developing with partner Beach Energy would be one of the biggest in the world.
Santos and its partner Beach Energy have earlier this year received a A$15 million grant from the government’s carbon capture use and storage development fund.
“Carbon storage superpower”
Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said this new announcement from energy minister Angus Taylor, “puts Australia at the forefront of CCS deployment, which the IEA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say is critical to limit global temperature increase.”
“CCS will reduce Australia’s carbon emissions and is set to underpin a new, large-scale carbon storage industry for the nation, creating new skilled, secure, well-paid jobs,” Gallagher said.
In addition, the Australian government’s focus on CCS and other low-emission technologies sets Australia up to capitalize on its natural assets and become a “carbon storage superpower,” he said.
“With the new CCS method now approved, Santos will seek to have the Moomba CCS project registered and generate ACCUs through the Emissions Reduction Fund,” he said.
Following the registration of the project, Santos would be in a position to make a final investment decision to proceed, Gallagher said.