History made as Santos awarded record number of credits for Moomba carbon storage project
Santos has made history by receiving a record number of carbon credits for its Moomba project in SA’s far north, which it says proves the viability of the technology that’s derided by some.
Santos has received the country’s largest-ever bounty of carbon credits from its Moomba carbon capture and storage project, a major milestone that the oil and gas company said proves the untapped potential of the abatement technology.
Santos said the Clean Energy Regulator had granted it 614,133 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) – the first time credits of that scale have been awarded to a project of its kind. The allocation covers Moomba’s initial six months of operation, from September 2024 to March 2025.
The award will allow Santos to meet its own abatement targets and potentially sell any excess credits to others governed by the safeguard mechanism – the federal government’s signature policy to ensure the country’s largest emitters are reducing their carbon emissions.
For Santos the project, located in South Australia’s Cooper Basin and which marked its first full year of operation in October, is a chance to prove the viability of the technology.
CCS, as it is known, has been much maligned predominantly due to the issues encountered in Western Australia by Chevron. But Moomba has now permanently stored 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) so far.
And Santos says Moomba can store as much carbon every four days as 10,000 electric vehicles would avoid in a year – the equivalent of capturing roughly 1.7 million tonnes annually.
Chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the result proves CCS can deliver real, large-scale emissions cuts more rapidly than many alternative technologies.
“Policymakers should seize the opportunity to deploy CCS to reduce emissions faster, at scale and cost competitively,” Mr Gallagher said. “Australia has a unique and natural advantage in carbon capture and storage, complemented by a world-class regulatory regime.”
He said independent research from consultancy Wood Mackenzie found Australia could unlock up to $600bn in revenue by developing a CCS industry capable of serving the broader region.
“This is a real industry opportunity for Australia and for South Australia,” Mr Gallagher said. “It’s a pathway to ‘green’ steel and green manufacturing today, and an opportunity to create real jobs of the future that are skilled, well-paid and secure.”
The Moomba CCS project, which stores captured CO₂ in depleted gas reservoirs, is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is a key plank in Santos’ decarbonisation strategy, as the company seeks to offset emissions from oil and gas while continuing to supply energy to domestic and export markets.
Santos has long argued that CCS will be essential to achieving net-zero goals, especially for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, and heavy industry. But the technology is controversial, as environmental groups question its long-term efficacy and claim it risks extending the lifespan of fossil fuel projects.
For Santos, the carbon credit issuance offers validation of its investment in CCS, and its “just transition” commitment. Mr Gallagher framed the Moomba milestone as both a commercial and symbolic win.
“We’ve made history out at Moomba,” he said. “It’s a first for Santos, a first for South Australia, and a first for Australia in terms of large-scale, onshore CCS.
“In bringing this project to fruition, we’ve started an incredible new chapter in Australia’s energy transition – one that could make us a carbon capture and storage superpower.”
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Originally published as History made as Santos awarded record number of credits for Moomba carbon storage project
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