Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power is considering exporting CO2 to Australia for carbon capture and storage (CCS), as it accelerates efforts to decarbonise industries surrounding Nagoya port in central Japan.
Chubu on 21 October agreed with Japanese upstream firm Inpex's subsidiary Inpex Browse E&P to explore the possibility of establishing a CCS value chain, including capturing CO2 in Japan then transporting it from Nagoya port to Western Australia's offshore Bonaparte basin. Further details, including a timeline and potential export volumes, are still unknown.
Inpex in 2022 was awarded a greenhouse gas (GHG) storage assessment permit in the Bonaparte basin, together with TotalEnergies CCS Australia and Australian firm Woodside Energy. Operator Inpex aims to reduce GHG emissions from its Ichthys LNG project through this potential CCS site, which is expected to begin operations in the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year and store more than 10mn t/yr of CO2.
Moomba CCS project
The deal came after Chubu on 18 October signed an initial agreement with Australian independent Santos, to assess the feasibility on transporting CO2 from Nagoya port to Santos' Moomba CCS project in the onshore Cooper basin of South Australia state.
The CCS site has already been commissioned, but it is unclear when Chubu is targeting to export CO2 to the site, which has a full 1.7mn t/yr storage capacity depending on gas production. Details will be decided in future discussions, a Chubu spokesperson said.
Chubu and Santos are also planning to study the use of renewable energy, such as geothermal power, to supply energy for other decarbonisation projects in the Copper basin which Santos is developing. Production of hydrogen and synthetic methane, or so-called e-methane, could be such options, the spokesperson told Argus.
These are Chubu's first attemmpt to develop CCS projects in Australia, with the company also on course to establish similar CCS value chains between Nagoya port and Indonesia's Tangguh under a collaboration with BP. Diversification of CO2 export destinations would be necessary, as there is a risk to conducting CCS projects only in Indonesia, said the spokesperson. Chubu and BP completed the feasibility study in March and expanded their partnership in August by signing the next-stage agreement to evaluate cost optimisation across the CCS value chain and business models to enable commercial CCS projects.
Nagoya is Japan's biggest port by cargo volume and located near steel, automotive, aircraft, machine and manufacturing plants, Chubu previously said. The port aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 46pc by 2030-31 against 2013-14 levels, as industries around the port account for 3pc of Japan's total emissions, the company added.
Japanese firms have intensified their efforts to develop CCS projects, as well as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects, actively seeking international partnerships. This is driven by Japan's reliance on fossil fuels to ensure energy security and foster economic growth, which necessitates exporting CO2 because of limited domestic storage sites. Japan's parliament in May allowed the government to ratify the 2009 amendment to the International Maritime Organization's London Protocol that will allow the export of CO2.
Japan hopes to commercialise CCS operations that Japanese firms are involved in from 2030-31. But there is growing pressure from the ministry of trade and industry that Japan should accelerate CCS projects, in order to not fall behind in the global market.
