Gorgon lessons for emissions pathway

The UK government’s independent committee on climate change says the adoption of carbon capture and storage in meeting net zero targets is “a necessity, not an option”.

Simply put, CCS involves the capture of carbon dioxide from industrial processes and fuel combustion, the compression and transportation of the gas to a suitable site for storage, and its injection underground, where it is stored in rock formations.

The Gorgon CCS facility is globally significant in that it is the world’s largest CCS installation of its kind, with an estimated 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide injected over the life of the project.

Last month, Chevron failed to meet its five-year target of injecting 80 per cent of reservoir carbon dioxide from its Gorgon gas field under Barrow Island.

This multi-billion-dollar project has had well-documented cost overruns and project delays.

However, unlike other difficulties Chevron has faced on Gorgon, the difference here is that the CCS technology itself is being challenged and questioned, atop Chevron’s ability to execute the project.

It’s common for major capital projects to face problems.

Rather than taking a whack and suggesting the technology should be on the scrap heap, lessons should be taken from Gorgon and applied elsewhere if global decarbonisation efforts are to be met.

This should be done at both a national level and with other jurisdictions that are likewise on a CCS pathway.

We shouldn’t be writing the technology off, given that achieving net zero by 2050 will require the use of technology that either doesn’t exist yet or isn’t used commercially.

Indeed, keeping technological options open is reflected at a global level and all the way down to the state level.

The International Energy Agency’s net zero pathway identifies CCS as a critical technology, particularly as a solution in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement production.

Last month’s New Energy Outlook from Bloomberg New Energy Finance provides three pathways to achieve net zero by 2050, each emphasising a different technological solution.

The report recognises that it’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach, and a mix of solutions will be required across the globe.

The technology is embedded as a priority low-emissions technology under the Australian government’s Technology Investment Roadmap.

Along with technologies such as energy storage and clean hydrogen, CCS has been identified as a technology holding comparative advantages for Australia that can deliver both emissions reduction and economic opportunities.

Specifically for Western Australia, CCS in the context of hydrogen production from natural gas was referenced in the government’s first State Infrastructure Strategy, recognising its importance as a transitional energy source, leveraging WA’s liquefied natural gas capabilities and filling a competitiveness gap of green hydrogen.

CCS also forms an important part of the state government’s LNG Jobs Taskforce.

Under the Paris Agreement Framework, countries are free to pursue decarbonisation options that reflect their geography and economy.

As a country that has been blessed with an endowment of energy resources, Australia should be focused on a decarbonisation pathway that reflects its position.

Australia has some of the world’s most favourable conditions for wind and solar energy plants.

Taking advantage of this is reflected in a plethora of proponents looking to establish green hydrogen facilities, and the installation of renewable energy facilities that is 10 times faster than the world average on a per-capita basis.

Given Australia’s endowment of natural gas reserves, the importance of gas in supporting the economy and stable geological formations suitable for carbon dioxide injection, there is logic to a CCS abatement pathway, and similarly it is in our interest to pursue such an option.

And what of the consequences for missing abatement targets?

Chevron is currently working with the government on ways to satisfactorily address the shortfall.

In an encouraging step during the past few weeks, Chevron is taking greater public ownership in explaining the importance of the technology and the significant emissions reduction it would deliver over the life of the project.

A blueprint may still emerge from Barrow Island, warts and all.

Indeed, the warts may prove the most valuable.

• Joe Doleschal-Ridnell is director at JDR Advisers, where he works with clients in mining, energy and industry