Australia-headquartered Synergia Energy plans to develop what it describes as India's first end-to-end carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme in Cambay, Gujarat, a move that could aid India's emissions-reduction goal.
But the scheme will require funding, the development of a regulatory framework, and incentives for emitting companies to implement CCS technology, Synergia said on 27 February. "The company will be assisting the DGH [Directorate of Hydrocarbons] in the development of a regulatory framework which may initially result in the amendment of the Cambay PSC [production-sharing contract] to incorporate CCS activities," it added.
Synergia holds a 100pc participating interest in a gas field in the Cambay basin, where it is proposing to develop the CCS hub. The company said last month that it aims to transport and store CO2 from up to 16 major combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants and coal-fired power stations located in the proximity of the Cambay field. It sees CO2 emissions from these plants peaking at 43mn t/yr but did not provide a timeline.
Synergia is targeting a storage capacity of more than 500mn t of CO2. Its planned scheme involves CO2 extraction from the exhaust streams of power stations and transportation via an onshore pipeline network — which it plans to build and operate — to the CCS hub, before distributing the CO2 to injection wells for permanent storage in a saline aquifer.
Synergia plans to offer emitters long-term CO2 transportation and storage contracts with economics to be driven by costs under the Indian government's carbon credit scheme, for which details have yet to emerge.
The company has met with India's DGH, the Gujarat government's climate change department and senior officials from Torrent Power and Gujarat State Electricity, two of the largest power station operators in the Cambay vicinity, saying its planned CCS scheme has "generated considerable interest and support".
The Indian government sees CCUS as a strategy to achieve a 45pc reduction in carbon emission intensity by 2050 and reach its net zero goal by 2070.
Synergia bought over Gujarat State Petroleum's interest in the Cambay gas field back in 2022, giving it a 100pc interest in the asset. It is looking for a joint-venture partner to assist with full field development and monetisation of around 1 trillion ft³ of gas resources in the field.
