Santos, Beach take FID on Moomba CCS project
Santos and joint venture partner Beach Energy on November 1 announced a final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the A$220mn ($165mn) Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia, with startup expected in 2024.
Santos has successfully registered the Moomba CCS project with the Clean Energy Regulator. The regulator’s CCS method provides a crediting period of 25 years, over which the project will qualify for Australian Carbon Credit Units for emissions reduction from Moomba CCS, Santos said.
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“We forecast a full lifecycle cost of less than $24/metric tons of CO2 including cash costs in operation of $6-8/mt of CO2, with first injection targeted for 2024,” Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said.
“This decision is a critical step in decarbonising natural gas on our path to new low-emissions and clean-burning fuels such as hydrogen,” he added.
Gallagher said that Santos is already receiving significant international interest in its CCS and hydrogen plans.
“Just as Australian LNG is valued in Asian markets without their own energy resources, carbon storage is now valued because many other countries lack the geological storage or land required for nature-based offsets,” he said.
Beach Energy CEO Matt Kay said the Moomba CCS project would deliver a step-change in Beach’s CO2 emissions profile.
“Once operational, this project will deliver a material reduction to Beach’s emissions and forms a key pillar of our aspiration to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” Kay said.
“Natural gas will continue to be a critical source of energy, even in a lower carbon future, and we are committed to playing our part in reducing our emissions footprint – our participation in the Moomba CCS project is a clear indication of that,” he added.
Santos has a 66.7% interest in the Moomba CCS project and is the operator. The remaining interest is held by Beach. The project will store 1.7mn mt/yr of CO2 with a capacity of up to 20mn mt/yr across the Cooper basin. It was awarded a A$15mn grant earlier this year from the Australian government's Carbon Capture Use and Storage Development Fund.