The Australian subsidiary of American supermajor Chevron Corp. announced Thursday the start up of a carbon dioxide injection system, aimed at storing underground CO2 coming from natural gas liquefaction at the Gorgon project.
It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, according to the company.The largest of its kind in the world, the facility will inject between 3.4 and 4 million tons of reservoir CO2 each year, for a total of 100 million tons over its operating life.
Once the CO2 is injected, it will migrate through a deep reservoir until it becomes trapped. During the liquefaction process, natural gas is cooled to -259° F, and CO2 is separated to avoid solidification. Standard industry practice is to vent it into the atmosphere.
The Gorgon Project is a joint venture between Chevron Australia, which owns a 47.3% operating interest, fellow supermajors Royhal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, with 25% each, Japanese firms Osaka Gas with 1.25%, Tokyo Gas with 1% and JERA with 0.417%.
In 2018, Gorgon's total daily production averaged 2.6 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas and 18,000 barrels of condensate. Its processing facility is designed to produce 15.6 million tons liquefied natural gas per year.
The facility's located on Barrow Island, off Western Australia.
