Inpex-led Bonaparte CCS project awarded Major Project Status
The Inpex Corp.-led Bonaparte carbon capture and storage project is the first offshore carbon capture and storage project to receive Major Project Status in Australia.
Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres noted the award to the large-scale development in a release July 3.
The Bonaparte Carbon Capture and Storage Project, offshore northwest of Darwin, will support emissions reductions in hard-to-abate sectors such as metal and chemical refining, the regulator said. The project could potentially enable the development of low-carbon industries in the region, creating 370 construction jobs and 40 ongoing positions, it continued.
Major Project Status recognizes “the strategic and economic significance of a project to a Future Made in Australia and provides companies with extra support to navigate the regulatory system,” according to the release.
The Bonaparte CCS Assessment joint venture (JV) is operated by Inpex subsidiary Inpex Browse E&P Pty Ltd. (53%). Partners are TotalEnergies CCS Australia Pty Ltd. (26%) and Woodside Energy Ltd. (21%).
Appraisal works in 2024 confirmed a high-quality saline aquifer reservoir suitable for safe and permanent carbon storage in the Bonaparte Basin, about 250 km offshore Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia, Inpex said in a separate release.
The JV intends to transport and store carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Bonaparte basin, which it said has potential carbon storage capacity of more than 10 million tonnes/year.
Preliminary front-end engineering design (FEED) work began in April 2025. The JV is now conducting detailed analysis of the reservoir appraisal data, to support a Declaration of Identified GHG Storage Formation application in advance of obtaining a greenhouse gas injection license.
CO2 injection is anticipated to begin around 2030.