Partners testing feasibility of CO2 storage at mature oil field off Australia

Japanese engineering company Chiyoda Corporation and Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC), a joint venture between Japanese shipping major NYK and Norway’s vessel operator Knutsen Group, have won a contract for a feasibility study related to a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project Australia’s Pilot Energy is undertaking with compatriot mining and metals company South32 in Western Australia.

In February 2025, Pilot and South32 agreed to undertake a joint feasibility study of the carbon supply chain required to enable capturing and storing up to approximately 700,000 tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with South32’s Worsley Alumina operations. The captured CO2 is then slated to be delivered to Pilot’s planned storage site for the Cliff Head CCS project. 

The feasibility study kicked off in Q1 2025, aiming to find solutions for capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 to reduce Scope 1 emissions. Chiyoda has been put in charge of responsible for the onshore facility scope, while KNCC will be responsible for the marine transportation scope. 

Pilot’s Chairman Brad Lingo said: “Pilot has been engaging with emitters in parallel with the technical development of the Cliff Head Carbon Storage Project. This study represents an important milestone in the development of the project and future supply chain infrastructure. We look forward to progressing the study with teams from South32, Chiyoda and KNCC.” 

Once completed, which is expected in Q3 2025, the study may form a potential basis for further commercial and technical engagement on decarbonization options for Worsley Alumina. It will complement additional engagement with other emitters in Western Australia and assessments of the onshore carbon supply chain required for storage at the Cliff Head CCS project.

The proposed CCS project is located 120 kilometers south of Geraldton on the mid-west coast of Western Australia. It involves a brownfield redevelopment utilizing the existing onshore and offshore facilities associated with the Cliff Head mature oil field with a ready, end-of-life, offshore reservoir, which the developer believes is suited to CO2 injection and permanent storage.

The project is envisaged to provide over 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of permanent CO2 storage, growing to 2.5 mtpa by 2029. After that, the storage capacity is expected to increase to over 100 million tonnes and the injection rate to 5 mmtpa by 2030. With the first CO2 injection targeted in 2026, the project is expected to remain in operation until 2050.

Cliff Head CCS is one of the two projects forming part of what Pilot calls its flagship clean energy transition project, the Midwest Clean Energy Project (MWCEP), with both leveraging Pilot’s existing infrastructure. The second one is the Midwest Clean Ammonia Export Plant.

As stated by Pilot, as of December 2024, the first stage Commonwealth Government regulatory approval has been received, and pre-FEED was completed in August 2024. The Australian player also secured a $6.5m Commonwealth grant supporting work to aggregate carbon storage volumes. 

The next stage is starting the project FEED and lodging the carbon injection license application and environmental approvals. As FEED work is foreseen to be finished between 2025 and 2026, a final investment decision (FID) for the CCS plant is expected in late 2025 and for the ammonia plant in mid-2026.

The Cliff Head oil field is located in the Perth Basin about 270 kilometres north of Perth and 12 kilometres off the coast of Dongara in Western Australia. Last year, the cessation of production at the field was expected to take place in mid-2024.