© Image - Google 2018

• Pelican drilling update
• Golden Beach drop-in sessions
• World's first liquefied hydrogen carrier launched in Japan
• Global CCS Institute annual report released at COP25, Madrid
• CCS for cement production in Canada
• Carbon negative UK power station
• CCS news from around the world
• Upcoming events

Image designed by BiZkettE1/Freepik

The Noble Tom Prosser drilling rig commenced drilling Victoria's first ever offshore appraisal well for future carbon storage on Saturday 7 December. The rig is located approximately 8km offshore from Gippsland in Commonwealth waters.

More than 100 crew will work in shifts over the next 45 to 60 days to complete the drilling.

The crew is truly global; eighty-three per cent are from Australia, and are supported by specialists and crew from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Operations will be 24/7 for the duration of drilling, and on Christmas Day the crew will enjoy a traditional lunch and dinner with plenty of tinsel and decorations lining the galley.

Watch a video of the rig being floated off from the OHT Osprey (heavy lift vessel) in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne.

Image: An AGR crew member alongside the drill bit, ahead of drilling commencement. Image copyright CarbonNet.

An Environment Plan (EP) for the offshore appraisal well was approved by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) in April 2019. An EP Summary is available on the NOPSEMA website.

Along with the data acquired from the marine seismic survey the well will verify the properties of rock layers below the seabed and confirm its suitability to store carbon dioxide.

During the operational phase if stakeholders have any questions or concerns they can contact CarbonNet's Drilling Management Contractor AGR on 1800 312 966.

Image: The Noble Tom Prosser on site at Pelican, December 2019. © CarbonNet.

Last week more than 3,000 people gathered in Kobe, Japan to witness the launch of Kawasaki Heavy Industries' world-first liquefied hydrogen carrier.

The vessel will carry the globe's next generation fuel - hydrogen - from Victoria's Latrobe Valley pilot project to Japan in the early 2020s.

The vessel - Suiso Frontier - is 116 metres long and weighs approximately 8,000 tonnes. It will transport liquefied hydrogen at 1/800 of its original gas-state volume, cooled to –253°C, safely and in large quantities over long distances by sea.

Kawasaki plans to install a 1,250 m³ vacuum-insulated, double-shell-structure liquefied hydrogen storage tank on the ship and complete the vessel's construction by late 2020.

Once complete, the Suiso Frontier will be used for technology demonstration testing in Japanese FY 2020, aimed at the establishment of an international hydrogen energy supply chain in which liquefied hydrogen produced in Australia will be shipped to Japan.

Hydrogen is gaining popularity as a key next-generation energy source to combat global warming. It does not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases during use, and expected applications include power generation, fuel cell vehicles and more.

Read more about the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier and watch the launch of the Suiso Frontier in Japan.

Image: Kawasaki Heavy Industries

The Global CCS Institute released its report 'Global Status of CCS 2019: Targeting Climate Change' at COP25 in Madrid this week. The report documents a range of important milestones for CCS over the past 12 months, its status across the world and the key opportunities and benefits the technology presents.

The report includes information on, and analyses of, the progress and opportunities across:

• the global CCS facility pipeline
• CCS policy
• geological storage of CO₂ and
• the legal and regulatory environment.

In addition, detailed regional updates and a CCS Technology section further demonstrates the global development and versatility of CCS across a variety of applications and industry sectors.

The CarbonNet Project was identified as being one of the next wave of facilities based around CCS hubs and clusters. The Institute noted that the hub or network approach significantly reduces the unit cost of CO₂ storage through economies of scale, and offers commercial synergies that reduce investment risk.

Download the 'Global Status of CCS 2019: Targeting Climate Change' report.

Image: Global CCS Institute

Lehigh Cement has launched a feasibility study of a full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, working with the International CCS Knowledge Centre, to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its Edmonton-based cement plant.

The project aims to capture 90 to 95% of carbon dioxide currently emitting from the plant’s flue gas, for an estimated total of 600,000 tonnes annually. The study will include engineering designs, cost estimations and business case analysis.

Read more about reducing emissions at the Lehigh cement plant.

Image: Lehigh Cement Company

Drax Power Station, which was once the UK's biggest coal-fired power station, is aiming to become carbon negative by 2030. The company plans to apply bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology to the biomass generating units at its power station near Selby. In doing so it will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while producing enough electricity for four million households.

Drax's BECCS pilot is already successfully capturing one tonne of carbon dioxide a day.

Read more about Drax's plans to become carbon negative by 2030.

Image: Drax

Porthos a step closer: four companies prepare CO₂ capture
(Rotterdam CCUS)

2 December 2019 - 'Project organisation Porthos has signed an agreement with four companies to work in parallel over the coming nine months on preparations for the capture, transport and storage of CO₂. These companies are ExxonMobil, Shell, Air Liquide and Air Products. The capture is to take place at these refineries and hydrogen producers in Rotterdam. Transport to and storage beneath the North Sea is being prepared by Porthos, a project organisation from EBN, Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.'

Read more about the Port of Rotterdam carbon capture and storage agreement.

Carbon capture technologies ready to make major contribution to climate goals
(International Energy Agency)

5 December 2019 - 'Substantial progress has been made in advancing carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) around the world, but current trends still fall well short of what would be needed to meet global sustainable energy goals.

Today, CCUS facilities around the world are capturing more than 35 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, equivalent to the annual CO₂ emissions of Ireland. Recent announcements and commitments have the potential to more than double current global CO₂ capture capacity...the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario, which charts a path towards achieving the world’s stated climate ambitions, calls for a 20-fold increase in annual CO₂ capture rates from power and industrial facilities in the next decade.'

Read more from the International Energy Agency.

Norway employs West Hercules rig to find dry well for CO₂ storage
(Offshore Energy Today)

'Equinor, Shell, and Total have begun drilling the 31/5-7 Eos wildcat well to investigate whether the reservoir in the deep Johansen Formation was suitable for storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as part of the Northern Lights project.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Thursday that this would be the first exploration well drilled where the objective was not to find oil or gas.'

Read more about the Eos wildcat well.
 

Maturing global CO₂ storage resources on offshore continental margins to achieve 2DS emissions reductions
(Scientific Reports)

29 November 2019: 'Most studies on CO₂ emissions reduction strategies that address the ‘two-degree scenario’ (2DS) recognize a significant role for CCS. For CCS to be effective, it must be deployed globally on both existing and emerging energy systems. For nations with large-scale emissions, offshore geologic CO₂ storage provides an attractive and efficient long-term strategy.'

Read more about achieving 2DS.
 

MIT engineers develop a new way to remove carbon dioxide from air
(MIT News)

24 October 2019: 'A new way of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of air could provide a significant tool in the battle against climate change. The new system can work on the gas at virtually any concentration level, even down to the roughly 400 parts per million currently found in the atmosphere.The technique is based on passing air through a stack of charged electrochemical plates.'

Read more about removing carbon dioxide from the air.

Research shows ramping up carbon capture could be key to mitigating climate change
(UT News)

9 December 2019: 'As the world gathers in Madrid to discuss how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, a newly released study makes the case that trapping emissions underground could go a long way toward solving the problem.'

Read more about how CCS can mitigate climate change.

• The CarbonNet Community Reference Group meeting scheduled for 12 December 2019 has been postponed until 28 January 2020.

For further information about the CarbonNet Project:

Phone: 136 186

Email: carbonnet.info@ecodev.vic.gov.au

Web: earthresources.vic.gov.au/carbonnet