DILI, 14 june 2022 (TATOLI) – At the 4th Timor-Leste Energy and Mining Summit, the Managing Director and CEO of Australian Santos Ltd, Kevin Gallagher revealed that Bayu-Undan Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects will be captured 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
In September 2021, the National Petroleum and Minerals Authority (ANPM) and Santos signed an agreement on the Bayu-Undan Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project at Bayu-Undan Field.
“We are looking at a storage capacity of around 10 million tonnes of CO2 per year – using existing infrastructure, once production from the field ceases,” said Managing Director and CEO of Australian Santos Ltd, Kevin Gallagher, at the 4th Timor-Leste Energy and Mining Summit, held at City-8, in Dili, today.
“Together with the Timorese Government and the ANPM, that critical work has led us to develop a plan for the world’s largest CCS project.”
The biggest CCS project in the world is in Australia at Gorgon’s LNG project in Western Australia. It has successfully stored six million tons of CO2 since it started up in 2019.
“And at Santos, we are building a 1.7 million ton per year CCS project at Moomba, in South Australia’s Cooper Basin. While for Santos, our Moomba project is the first out of the blocks, our project here in Timor-Leste at Bayu-Undan is not far behind,” said Gallagher.
He stressed that before the CCS project and at the cessation of production, the first step would be to make the facility safe and clear of hydrocarbons through a “Suspension of Operations” phase.
“Once safe, removal of facilities such as the floating storage offtake vessel and associated in-field infrastructure can occur. Decommissioning the FSO will create significant opportunities for the local community. We will have a focus on local content during this phase, particularly for the cleaning prior to the disposal of equipment,” Gallagher explained.
“It will be critical to ensure the appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place for this work and we are currently working with the Government and regulator ANPM on this.”
Gallagher emphasized that: “Following the suspension of operations phase, the Bayu-Undan facility would be in a state ready to transition to a CCS project if that is what our Joint Venture partners and the Government of Timor-Leste support.”
Given that the wells and the facilities are already in place, Bayu-Undan CCS could be a low-cost, large-scale, commercial CCS project that could store CO2 from regional projects, including any future Timor Leste developments.
This CO2 storage capacity at Bayu-Undan has the potential to provide a carbon solution for undeveloped fields in the region.
“Bayu-Undan CCS has the potential to be the catalyst for the development of other fields. Santos’ Barossa project could be the foundation customer, delivering 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making Barossa one of the lowest-carbon intensity LNG projects in the world,” he added.
Barossa is due to start pumping gas in 2025, and Santos has said it expects Bayu Undan CCS to be ready when the field starts up.
The Bayu-Undan Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project is estimated to cost US$1.6 billion.
The gas production from the Bayu-Undan offshore field is expected to run dry by october 2022.
The role of CCS technology in reducing CO2 emissions
In his statement at the signing of the agreement on the Bayu-Undan Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, the President of ANPM, Florentino Soares Ferreira said that the project will put Timor-Leste on the world map as one of the leading countries on the decarbonization efforts towards a net-zero target by 2050: “I look forward to the benefits that this project would bring for Timor-Leste, including job creation, revenue to the government, partnership opportunities, and knowledge transfer as well as capacity building in Timor-Leste – particularly a partnership with our National Oil Company TIMOR GAP, E.P.”
Gallagher also said that if both parties are serious about decarbonization and keeping economies strong, saying it’s important to find ways – through technology – to make natural gas and other hydrocarbons cleaner.
“With this demand for natural gas remaining strong, we must explore ways to make that gas lower emissions. This where carbon capture and storage will be a game-changer and we believe could be a significant new industry for Timor-Leste,” he said.
“Carbon capture and storage will enable us to reduce emissions from the production of natural gas and LNG, but more importantly, it provides the opportunity to help our customers reduce or offset emissions from consumption.”
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
