Australia’s Transborders Energy has executed Joint Study Agreements with Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation and Toho Gas Company to co-develop an Australian offshore carbon dioxide capture and storage hub project.

The project, known as deepC Store, will involve capturing CO2 from industrial sources in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, shipping liquid CO2 from capture sites to a CO2 floating storage and injection hub facility, and a CO2 injection well for storage in a subsurface storage complex close to the hub facility.

Advancing the project requires technical pre-front end engineering and design work to be performed along with the evaluation and selection of deepC Store’s CO2 injection site plus the pre-negotiation of key commercial terms governing the supply of CO2 and deepC Store’s own engineering, procurement and construction, operations and financing.

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“We believe CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will play an important role in the realisation of carbon neutrality and are delighted to be part of deepC Store,” said JX NOEX senior vice president Tetsuo Yamada.

CO2-enhanced oil recovery

JX NOEX is no stranger to CCUS projects having worked on a CO2-enhanced oil recovery pilot test in Vietnam and the Petra Nova CCUS project utilising CO2 captured from a thermal power plant in Texas, US.

“In order to contribute to achieve a carbon neutral society, we did believe that CCUS would be a key technology and [have] already conducted research and development from early stage,” added Toho Gas senior managing executive officer, Nobuyuki Masuda said.

Read more: Major utilities, partners sign on to advance ambitious carbon-capture hub plans

Transborders on Tuesday confirmed it had signed separate JSAs with JX NOEX and Toho Gas.

Both parties promise to bring significant experience and expertise to develop deepC Store including “those as potential CO2 suppliers and prospective investors.”

The trio will collaborate with the project’s existing partners, including Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Kyushu Electric Power, Mitsui OSK Lines, Osaka Gas and Osaka Gas Australia, Tokyo Gas Australia, Technip Energies and Add Energy Group.

Transborders chairman Jack Sato said: “We are very pleased to get JX NOEX and Toho Gas on board as partners to our deepC Store... these valued partnerships demonstrate our commitment to carbon abatement, and to advance Australia’s strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Transborders noted the goals of the deepC Store align with the Australian government’s Low Emissions Technology Statement with carbon capture and storage being identified as one of the five priority technologies to reduce emissions from energy, transport, agriculture and heavy industry.