Refiner Chevron and Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines (Mol) have teamed up to look into transporting liquified CO2 from Singapore to permanent storage locations offshore Australia.
The two firms will assess the technical feasibility of transporting up to 2.5mn t/yr of liquified CO2 by 2030, as part of an agreement signed on 10 November.
Chevron is part of three joint ventures that have been granted an interest in three greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment permits offshore Australia. The blocks, consisting two in the Carnarvon basin offshore Western Australia and one in the Bonaparte basin offshore Northern Territory, cover over 31,500km². The firm will assess the GHG storage potential within these sites.
The study by Chevron and Mol will also complement the research and development being carried out by a consortium of firms, which includes Chevron, on large-scale carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) infrastructure in Singapore.
"Developing safe and reliable CO2 transportation services is a crucial step in developing large scale [CCUS] solutions," Mark Ross, president of Chevron Shipping, said.
Chevron is "focused on stringing together a value chain," vice president of CCUS, Chevron New Energies, Chris Powers said, adding that the firm is taking into consideration emissions and how to capture them, transportation solutions and sequestration solutions. "No single entity has all the solutions, but genuine collaboration can help us unlock opportunities as we advance our shared goal of a lower carbon future."
Chevron recently also established an agreement with Japanese utility Jera to collaborate on low-carbon opportunities including hydrogen and CCUS, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region and the US.
Chevron formed its New Energies unit last year. The entity will be putting forth $10bn in investments between now and 2028, and these will be "investments across CCUS, hydrogen, offsets and emerging technologies," Chevron's Singapore chairman of JV management and growth, Law Tat Win said.
