Moomba Goes Live
Moomba: One of the largest Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) projects on the planet.
This world class, highly anticipated emissions reduction facility is now live, and it’s injecting.
Operating out of the Cooper Basin in South Australia, the first CO2 injection was completed on September 30. Expectations for capacity were exceeded, indicative of a potential to capture 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
To put that number in perspective, that’s the weight of 3,035 Airbus A380s. Every year. A material greenhouse gas reduction for the industry’s vital activities.
The CO2 is stored deep underground in depleted underground gas reservoirs, the Strezlecki and Marabooka fields.
Highly anticipated, the Moomba CCS project is next to the Moomba Gas Plant.
The Moomba CCS facility works by capturing CO2 from the nearby gas plant and compressing it. The carbon emissions are then dehydrated and transmitted via pipeline to injection wells where the CO2 is injected into the depleted fields below.
Learn more about the how and why of CCS here.
Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher has called the project a “game changer” for decarbonisation in Australia.
“The successful start-up of Moomba CCS phase one is a potential game changer not only for Santos, but for hard-to-abate industries across Australia,” he said.
“With a lifecycle cost under US$30 per tonne of CO2, CCS can no longer be ignored. This is a real carbon management industry opportunity for Australia, generating real jobs that are high-skilled, long-term and well-paying in South Australia.”
There is strong regional interest in the project, he added, noting that customers throughout Japan and other regional neighbours were also closely watching Moomba CCS for its potential to store third-party emissions as it progresses to Phase 2.
“There is strong customer interest in our Moomba CCS project and Santos has recently signed a series of MOUs with domestic and international third parties to evaluate the potential to capture, transport and sequester their emissions at Moomba. This provides strong momentum for Moomba CCS phase two as a commercial service,” Mr Gallagher said.
Beach Energy managing director and CEO Brett Woods said, “At full rates, Moomba CCS will safely store all vented reservoir CO2 from the Moomba Gas Plant and will abate approximately one-third of Beach’s current equity emissions.
“It is widely accepted that natural gas will play a critical role in the energy transition and that CCS is a necessary enabler for low emissions energy supply.
The Cooper Basin in SA and the Eromanga basin in Queensland offer massive potential, with storage space for up to 20 million tonnes of CO2 per year, for 50 years.
Learn more about CCS, CCUS and how it’s helping Australia reach net-zero below.
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