The Japanese government has chosen Tomakomai in northern Hokkaido prefecture as the first location for exploratory drilling to develop commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year.
The trade and industry ministry Meti on 21 February selected the 9,624.99 hectare (96mn m²) area offshore Tomakomai city for test drilling to assess economic viability and safety of the potential CCS project. The information, such as cumulative storage capacity and annual injection pace as well as any stratum breaks, is necessary to move forward with the final investment decision on the project, a Meti official said.
Meti is planning to hold a public tender to select a company that will adequately conduct exploratory drilling in the appointed area, with the bid open from 21 February-21 May. The government hopes to begin drilling by the end of 2025.
Tokyo decided to start exploratory drilling in Tomakomai given that the area's underground structure can store CO2 and has a regional understanding of CCS projects, Meti minister Yoji Muto said on 21 February. The government-led CCS demonstration was conducted in Tomakomai, with around 300,000t of CO2 injected in 2016-19.
Theoretical storage capacity at Tomakomai is 1.5mn-2mn t/yr, according to a consortium formed by Japanese refiner Idemitsu, upstream firm Japex and utility Hokkaido Electric Power. This is marginal compared with Japan's CO2 emissions of around 1bn t in the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year, but is still 10-15 times larger than the 100,000 t/yr injection from the Tomakomai pilot project.
The consortium is currently conducting feed front engineering design work to develop a CCS value chain in the Tomakomai area, supported by state-owned energy agency Jogmec.
Japan's parliament approved a bill in May 2024 outlining administrative rules for domestic exploratory drilling and storage operations for CCS, which requires government permission. The regulations for test drilling operations took effect in November 2024, while regulations for CO2 storage and pipeline transportation will be enforced by 23 May 2026.
Jogmec currently supports initial engineering works for nine CCS projects, including four overseas ventures, as part of Tokyo's strategy to ensure commercial utilisation of the technology by 2030-31. Meti has secured ¥32bn ($213mn) to assist with the projects.
CCS is necessary to decarbonise the hard-to-abate industries, as well as to enable continued use of thermal generation to ensure stable electricity supplies. Meti previously estimated the country will need to capture and store around 120mn-240mn t/yr of CO2 by 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality.
