Australian natural Gas company, Santos Ltd, has partnered with ICN NT to help identify Australian suppliers for the Bayu-Undan carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, as well as to raise awareness of the project.
The CCS project is planned to safely and permanently store up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year at a Darwin hub. This is equivalent to about 1.5 per cent of Australia’s annual carbon emissions.
It has the potential to be the largest of its kind in the world and will initially capture CO2 from the Darwin LNG facility, with potential future expansion. The captured CO2 will be transported to, and stored in, the offshore Bayu-Undan reservoir, in Timor Leste waters.
In March 2022, Santos announced it had started the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase for the project.
According to the Santos website, the company is working closely with the Timor-Leste Government to meet needed agreements and regulatory frameworks. The project will also need agreements between the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia, and some Australian regulatory arrangements.
With an Australian Industry Participation (AIP) Plan in place for the project, Santos is keen to maximise opportunities for local businesses.
“Bayu-Undan CCS could be the start of a valuable new carbon services industry for Timor-Leste. It would create new jobs and a new revenue stream for the nation once gas production from Bayu-Undan ceases,” Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said in a press release announcing the FEED phase.
“With about 80 per cent of the world’s energy still coming from hydrocarbons, including natural gas, and new supply investment still required to meet the world’s ongoing demand for these products, it is essential that we decarbonise their production. CCS offers a large-scale, low-cost and permanent way to progressively make these fuels cleaner.”
The project will involve additions and modifications to the Darwin LNG facility, as well as the repurposing of the:
- Bayu-Undan to Darwin gas export pipeline
- offshore processing facility
- facility wells.
Companies interested in learning more about the project are encouraged to register their interest on the Bayu-Undan carbon capture and storage (CCS) project Gateway page.
