Beach Energy moves ahead with Victorian CCS plan

Sydney-listed Beach Energy has completed a pre-feasibility study on carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunity adjacent to its Victorian Otway basin operations and is now moving into the next phase, it said on October 12.

In the assessment phase Beach will refine the pre-feasibility study, focusing specifically on storage capacity, reservoir selection, injectability, integration and environmental approvals to establish a facility that can capture about 200,000 metric tons/year of CO₂, an amount that would be greater than Beach’s current Otway Basin scope 1 and 2 emissions combined.

The next stage is anticipated to be completed by the end of June 2023. Later stages will examine the potential for the facility to become a regional hub for third-party CO₂ sequestration, Beach said.

Beach plans to achieve net zero by 2050 and in August this year announced a target to achieve a reduction in net equity emissions intensity across its operated and non-operated portfolio of 35% by 2030 when measured against a 2018 baseline.

“The company views CCS as a key component to achieve this target and is already a participant in the Moomba CCS project in the Cooper basin with joint venture partner and operator Santos, with the facility currently under construction and targeting the first CO₂ injection in 2024,” it said.

Beach is planning a second-stage membrane separation unit at the Beharra Springs gas plant in Western Australia, along with further fuel, flare and vent projects across its operated portfolio. It is also assessing electrification of the Lang Lang gas plant to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the near term.