SYDNEY, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Australia on Friday designated the West Peron undersea rock formation, off the country’s north coast, as a storage site for the 8 million metric ton-per-year Bonaparte carbon capture and storage project proposed by Japan’s Inpex.
• The Bonaparte project is initially expected to receive carbon dioxide from Inpex’s Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project before eventually expanding storage services to multiple industrial facilities.
• Inpex proposes to permanently store up to 443 million tons of carbon dioxide deep underground in the West Peron formation over a period of up to 35 years. The formation is a layer of porous rock located deep beneath the seabed.
• Australia Resources Minister Madeleine King said the decision demonstrated the government’s support for technologies aimed at reducing emissions from industries where cutting greenhouse gas emissions remains difficult.
• “Carbon capture and storage will play an important role in reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries, supporting Australia’s transition to net zero,” King said.
• Australia has a legislated target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
