K Line and partners to evaluate CCS opportunities in Alaska

Japanese companies Sumitomo Corporation and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) have signed a joint study agreement with the U.S.-based oil and natural gas producer Hilcorp to explore carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities in Alaska.

Under the agreement, the three companies will conduct a feasibility study to investigate possibility for building a CSS value chain in which CO2 is aggregated in Japan and transported by large liquefied CO2 vessels to Alaska for sequestration/storage.

The study will include technical research on CO2 storage including storage capacity, research on technical requirements for liquefied CO2 vessels, and review of the business environment in order to explore the feasibility of this project.

The total storage capacity of the CCS project is expected to be 50 gigatons, equivalent to Japan’s CO2 emissions over 50 years. The partners recognize Alaska as a promising base because of the data accumulated through oil and gas development and the existing infrastructure such as LNG terminals, port facilities, and pipelines.

According to K Line, this will be the first time for a Japanese company to conduct a joint study between Japan and the U.S. toward the commercialization of cross-border CCS. The three companies aim to commercialize it in cooperation with the Japanese and U.S. governments.

The two countries vowed to evaluate the potential for cross-border CO2 transport and storage hubs in the fact sheet of the Japan-U.S. Joint Leaders’ Statement issued in April 2024.