MELBOURNE, Australia--Chevron Corp. said on Aug. 8 it has launched one of the world's largest carbon capture and storage projects, injecting CO2 into a deep reservoir under an island off Western Australia at its Gorgon LNG project.
The carbon storage project was delayed by more than two years after Chevron discovered problems with valves and pipeline equipment during commissioning of the $1.7 billion injection system.
Gorgon is the biggest emitter of carbon emissions out of Australia's 10 LNG plants, with gas from the Gorgon field containing 14% CO2. Growth in LNG exports has been a big contributor to Australia's rising CO2 emissions, according to the Environment and Energy Department.
"We are pleased to reach the first milestone of safely starting the operation of the Gorgon carbon dioxide injection system, one of the world's largest greenhouse gas mitigation projects ever undertaken by industry," Chevron Australia Managing Director Al Williams said in a statement.
The facility, which will be ramped up over several months, will reduce Gorgon's emissions by 40% over the life of the project, the company said.
Western Australia's state government approved the $54 billion Gorgon project in 2009 on condition that some CO2 from its gas processing operations would be stored.
Once fully up and running, between 3.4 million and 4 million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide will be buried, Chevron said.
Gorgon LNG is owned by Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell, and Japan's Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and JERA.
Recommended Reading
Aris Takes on the Permian’s ‘Wall of Water’
2025-04-21 - Aris Water Solutions CEO Amanda Brock rings the alarm bell on the Permian’s water takeaway and recycling challenges and how they can be solved.
Produced Water: One Man’s Garbage is Another Man’s Gold
2025-06-10 - It will take time to figure out which solutions to the produced water problem scale up the best. Good legislation is going to be crucial, experts say.
Exclusive: Halliburton's E-Fleets Lower Haynesville Completions Costs
2025-04-14 - Halliburton’s Neil Modeland, senior business technology development manager, shares insight into the company’s electrification services and efforts to minimize associated completions costs in the Haynesville Shale, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
Darcy Partners Keeping Tabs with Oil, Gas’ Next Tech Startups
2025-05-20 - Darcy Partners evaluates technology that its members, particularly in the oil and gas industry, may want to put to use— from AI to a new, cool drill bits.
Plan to Convert Frac Water into Hydrogen Could Bring $5MM/Year
2025-06-18 - A group of collaborators are working to convert frac wastewater into clean hydrogen in an initiative that could lead to hydrogen sales of up to $5 million annually.