Inpex chief executive Takayuki Ueda.Photo: INPEX

Japan’s largest E&P company Inpex and compatriot JERA are to jointly study the feasibility of establishing a Japan-Australia carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain involving the capture of CO2 in Japan and transporting it to Australia for storage.

Inpex, which operates the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project Down Under, in 2022 was awarded a greenhouse gas storage assessment permit in the Bonaparte basin off the northwest coast of Australia’s Northern Territory in partnership with Woodside Energy and TotalEnergies.

This project provides an opportunity to prove up a large-scale carbon storage site for the Darwin-based, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) Hub proposed by the Northern Territory government and has the potential to become one of the largest CCS projects worldwide, noted Inpex.

The Ichthys LNG project would be a natural user of this CCS solution as it seeks to reduce its greenhouse emissions.

JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, has been considering the feasibility of capturing carbon from its domestic business and transporting CO2 for storage outside Japan. By collaborating with JERA, Inpex said it expects to help build a global CCS value chain and contribute to the transition to a decarbonised society.

Inpex’s long-term strategy and medium-term business plan (INPEX Vision@2022) announced in February 2022 positions CCUS as one of the five net zero business areas and sets a target of achieving an annual CO2 injection volume of 2.5 million tonnes or more by around 2030. The company added it is seeking to become a leading player in the CCUS sector by pursuing technical development and commercialisation.

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is leading the development of the low-emissions CCUS Hub business case, in collaboration with the Northern Territory government, Inpex and other industry participants.