Chevron Australia New Ventures has secured a greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment permit offshore Western Australia.
The permit, known as G-18-AP, encompasses an area of about 8,467km² with water depths ranging from 50m to 1,100m, and is located offshore from Onslow.
The newly acquired permit will be assessed for its potential as a carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub for third-party emissions, including those from Chevron’s operated liquefied natural gas assets.
Chevron will operate the permit through a joint venture (JV), holding a 70% participating interest while Woodside Energy will hold the remaining 30% stake.
Additionally, Chevron has agreed to divest a 5% stake in the permit to GS Caltex of Korea, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
This latest development bolsters Chevron's existing CCS interests in the region, which include non-operated stakes in permits G-9-AP, G-10-AP, and G-11-AP, as well as the operational Gorgon CCS project.
The Gorgon facility has already achieved a milestone by capturing and storing ten million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Chevron New Energies vice-president of CCUS Chris Powers said: “Chevron, along with our joint venture participants, have a unique set of assets, capabilities and customer relationships to support the further assessment, development and deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Australia.
“Together with the Chevron-operated Gorgon CCS project, one of the world’s largest integrated facilities, coupled with our existing GHG assessment permits, this new award has potential to expand Chevron’s portfolio of CCS assets in Australia.”
The International Energy Agency has highlighted the crucial role of CCS in achieving global net-zero emissions, stating that it would be virtually impossible without the technology.
Earlier this month, CCS specialists DeepC Store and Azuli secured two GHG assessment acreages in Australia's Bonaparte and Browse basins.
Furthermore, the partners entered into a joint study agreement with J-POWER, a company owned by the Japanese government, which plans to participate in the GHG acreages.
