The Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operation continues to progress, with Beach Energy announcing the successful commissioning of the project, which is one of the largest in the world.
All facilities, pipelines and injector wells have been commissioned and brought online. Beach Energy said that following first CO2 injection on 30 September 2024, daily injection has reached capacity rates, exceeding expectations for the commissioning phase and indicating the project’s potential to capture and store approximately 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.
Moomba CCS is adjacent to the Moomba Gas Plant in South Australia’s Cooper Basin. The project comprises a four-stage compressor, five injection wells, CO2 dehydration and CO2 pipelines. Depleted underground reservoirs in the Strzelecki and Marabooka fields will safely store vented reservoir CO2 from the Moomba Gas Plant.
Beach Energy Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Brett Woods, said that the commissioning of Moomba CCS is a pivotal moment in Australia’s emissions reduction journey.
“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 Energy’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 International Energy Agency has stated that it will be near impossible to reach net zero by 2050 without CCS,” Mr Woods said.
“Thanks to Beach’s significant investment in Moomba CCS, we are now well on track to reach our targeted net Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity reduction of 35 per cent by 2030.”