Japanese CO2 could be headed our way

AN AGREEMENT signed in Houston, USA on Monday [18 March] could see carbon dioxide shipped from Japan to Australia for placement in greenhouse gas storage facilities.

JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation and Chevron New Energies (a division of Chevron USA) signed a MOU to evaluate the export of CO₂ from Japan to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects located in Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The main objective of the MOU is to evaluate the feasibility of the CCS value chain, including capture of CO₂ emitted from industries located in Japan, including JX’s affiliates, and transportation by ship from Japan to Chevron’s greenhouse gas storage portfolio in Australia. The collaboration will also explore the opportunity to develop suitable transboundary policies and the potential development of CO₂ storage sites in other countries in the Asia Pacific region, the partners said.

 “We look forward to building off our long-standing relationship with JX and ENEOS Group, the largest Japanese global petroleum and metals conglomerate, and hope that this joint study ultimately contributes to the further development of large-scale CCS hubs throughout the Asia Pacific region,” Chris Powers, VP of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) at Chevron, said. “We believe large-scale CCS value chain projects will play a key role in advancing Asia Pacific’s lower carbon aspirations, and that long-term collaborations are necessary to meet these aspirations.”

Tetsuo Yamada, EVP of JX, attributed the MOU to the significant oil and LNG relationship with Chevron that JX has had over seven decades, and said it “further demonstrates the commitment and dedication of the companies in helping advance lower carbon solutions”.  

“JX has positioned CCS as an important initiative in its business strategy under its “Two-Pronged” approach, in which, in addition to the conventional oil and natural gas development business, decarboniSation initiatives centred on CCS/CCUS are another prong of the company’s operations.”