Australia gas producers eye role in carbon capture, hydrogen development.
Australia needs to create the right environment to attract regional partners to develop carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and to produce green hydrogen, the head of the country’s gas industry lobby group said.
Meg O’Neill, chair of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), said the association wanted to work with the Australian government to develop a national CCUS strategy, provide policy direction and prioritise carbon management hubs, according to a copy of her speech ahead of an industry conference which begins.
Meg O’Neill, chair of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association said:
Countries in the region with limited CO2 storage potential, such as Japan and South Korea, are looking for partners to establish hubs, to meet their net zero commitments.
“Our gas industry is well-placed to be that partner and develop CCUS, given our expertise in geological storage and large infrastructure projects.”
O’Neill added that Australia’s gas industry could play a lead role in decarbonising carbon-intensive sectors, which include cement, iron and steelmaking. They could be grouped into regional zones, such as the Pilbara in Western Australia, Central Queensland and the Cooper Basin in South Australia, in which CCUS projects could be deployed.
But this could happen only if the government “gets the investment environment right”, said O’Neill, who also heads Australia’s largest independent gas producer Woodside Energy Group WDS.AX.
“Other countries are leading the way,” she added, as almost two-thirds of planned CCUS investments globally are in the United States, Canada and Europe, supported by Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act and Britain’s 20 billion pound ($24 billion) investment in such projects over the next two decades.
Carbon-intensive industries from cement, to oil and gas and iron and steelmaking are relying on CCS to cut back on emissions.
Carbon emissions are captured and stored at a site to prevent its release into the atmosphere. Captured CO2 usually is permanently stored underground, but CCUS reuses the CO2.
Environmental groups, however, say this will unnecessarily prolong fossil fuel use.
Hydrogen production is another significant opportunity for the gas industry, but scaling up remains a challenge, O’Neill said.
While Australia’s A$2 billion ($1.36 billion) investment to scale up development of its renewable hydrogen industry is a good start, it would be strengthened by the inclusion of lower-carbon hydrogen from natural gas with CCUS, she said.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Australia gas producers eye role in carbon capture, hydrogen development, Adelaide, May 15, 2023
