Chevron New Energies, a division of Chevron USA, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (JX Nippon) to collaborate on the development of a CCS value chain.  

This agreement aims to explore the feasibility of exporting CO₂ from Japan to CCS projects in Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries. 

It will assess the potential of capturing CO₂ emissions from industrial activities in Japan, including those of JX Nippon's affiliates, and transporting them by ship to Chevron's greenhouse gas storage sites in Australia.  

The collaboration is also set to examine the creation of transboundary policies and the possibility of establishing CO₂ storage locations in other Asia-Pacific nations. 

Chevron vice-president of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) Chris Powers said: “We look forward to building off our long-standing relationship with JX and ENEOS Group, the largest Japanese global petroleum and metals conglomerate, and hope that this joint study ultimately contributes to the further development of large-scale CCS hubs throughout the Asia-Pacific region.”  

“We believe large-scale CCS value chain projects will play a key role in advancing Asia-Pacific’s lower carbon aspirations, and that long-term collaborations are necessary to meet these aspirations.” 

JX Nippon executive vice-president Tetsuo Yamada said: “JX Nippon has positioned CCS as an important initiative in its business strategy under its 'Two-Pronged' approach, in which, in addition to the conventional oil and natural gas development business, decarbonisation initiatives centred on CCS/CCUS are another prong of the company's operations such as the Petra Nova CCUS project in Texas, US.  

“JX Nippon will contribute to the realisation of a carbon-neutral society by leveraging the knowledge we have accumulated through our various CCS/CCUS-related businesses.” 

This MOU follows Chevron's earlier agreement with Japan's Jera, which discussed potential CCS project collaborations in the US and Australia.  

The partnership with Jera also opened the door to expanding their relationship in the liquid natural gas sector and advancing lower-carbon energy solutions. 

Recently, Chevron also signed an arrangement with Indonesia's Pertamina to evaluate the feasibility of implementing CCS and CCUS technologies in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.