CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE PROJECT UNDER ACHIEVING

 This article is from FoS Climate Science Newsletter - 2024 | Friends of Science

Flagship Gorgon CCS Collects Less CO2 in Worst Year

The Gorgon carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) system in Australia commenced operation in August 2019. Naturally occurring carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken from offshore gas reservoirs and injected into a giant sandstone formation two km under the ground. The project is operated by Chevron in joint venture with ExxonMobil and Shell. The Gorgon CCS project was expected to capture 80% of the CO2 emitted, or 4 million tonnes (MtCO2) a year. This report shows that it actually achieved just 1.6 MtCO2 in fiscal year 2024, which is only 30% of its target and the lowest performance since it started in 2019.  The project is costing the joint venture almost $1 billion more in 2023 than it did in FY2019-20 to offset the difference and pay for technical problems. The requirement to buy carbon offsets for under performance and problems injection into the sandstone reservoir rose from $2.5 billion in FY2019-20 to $3.2 billion in 2023. Australian Carbon Credit Units are currently priced around $40 a tonne. “The key reason behind Gorgon’s under performance is issues with the reservoir pressure, which has to stay within a certain range. Chevron has implemented measures to remove water from the reservoir and reduce the reservoir pressure.