The Woodside Energy-operated Angel CCS joint venture plans to develop a large scale multi-user carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub to help decarbonise Australian and international industry.
Under an MOU, the JV will collaborate with Yara Pilbara Fertilisers to study the feasibility of using CCS to decarbonise existing operations in the Burrup Strategic Industrial Area near Karratha, Western Australia.
The hub could have processing capacity of up to 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, subject to technical, regulatory and commercial studies, making it one of the largest of its kind in Asia-Pacific.
Jayne Baird, Woodside Vice President Carbon Solutions, said the non-binding MOU demonstrated the role CCS could play in decarbonising existing and new industries.
She said, “A multi-user hub near Karratha would be ideally located to aggregate emissions from various existing industrial sources across the Pilbara, providing users with advantaged access to a local, low-cost and large scale emissions abatement solution – a competitive advantage as jurisdictions around the world implement emissions reduction targets.”
She added that in addition to decarbonising existing industry, a CCS hub would also have the potential to facilitate the development of new lower-carbon industries, such as the production of hydrogen, ammonia and green steel, supporting the diversification of the Western Australian economy.
Yara Pilbara Fertilisers is one of the world’s largest ammonia production facilities, with a production capability of approximately 850,000 metric tonnes annually. Alongside serving the domestic market, it exports to Korea, Indonesia and South-East Asia.
In addition to domestic applications, the Angel CCS JV is also continuing to explore the potential for the CCS hub to service international customers, helping reduce emissions of key trading partners, while also creating a new export opportunity.
Last month Woodside completed the sale of a 10% non-operating participating interest in the Scarborough Joint Venture to LJ Scarborough Pty Ltd (LNG Japan).
