Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Nov. 28 -- Chevron Australia's Gorgon gas project is still alive following an Australian government grant of $60 million (Aus.) towards the company's proposed carbon capture storage project on Barrow Island.
The $850 million (Aus.) carbon dioxide geosequestration project is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world.
The plan is to inject 125 million tonnes of excess CO2 produced during the life of the Gorgon LNG project planned for Barrow Island off Western Australia.
The offshore Gorgon gas field has about 12% CO2 content, a figure that prompted the geosequestration project.
Environment Minister Ian Campbell says the underground storage of Gorgon CO2 has the potential to reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions by as much as 3 million tonnes/year.
The government's funding will provide for a commercial-scale demonstration project that liquefies the CO2 stream and injects it into reservoirs 2.5 km under the island.
The project includes long-term monitoring to ensure the integrity of the storage.
The funding, however, is conditional on the Gorgon Gas project meeting environmental approvals.
