Major milestone for Inpex’s Bonaparte Basin carbon capture storage plans

Inpex’s proposed Bonaparte offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) project has taken a major step forward. Read why.

Inpex has reached a major milestone with its proposed Carbon Capture Storage plans of the coast of Darwin

Preliminary front engineering and design (pre-FEED) work is underway for Inpex’s proposed Bonaparte offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

It follows the successful completion of both the selection of engineering concept and a comprehensive appraisal program that included 1,800 square kilometres of new 3D seismic surveying and two carbon dioxide storage appraisal wells.

Inpex said the appraisal program confirmed the presence of a high-quality saline aquifer reservoir in the Bonaparte Basin together with thick sealing formations considered suitable for safe and permanent long-term carbon storage.

Inpex managing director and country chair Australia Tetsu Murayama said achieving the Bonaparte CCS pre-FEED milestone is an important step towards a lower carbon future.

INPEX Senior Vice President Corporate Tetsu Murayama. Picture: INPEX

“The Bonaparte CCS appraisal results are outstanding and have exceeded our expectations,” he said

“The G-7-AP acreage is proving up to be one of the most promising CO2 storage sites globally. “

The Bonaparte CCS joint venture, formed in 2022, is led by Inpex (53 per cent) alongside TotalEnergies (26 per cent) and Woodside Energy (21 per cent).

Together, they aim to develop a facility and transport and store CO2 safely and permanently offshore northern Australia in the Bonaparte Basin, 260 kilometres offshore Darwin.

It will be capable of permanently storing more than 10 million metric tons of CO2 annually.

Anchored by Inpex’s Ichthys LNG project, the Bonaparte CCS development is positioned to play a major role in decarbonising northern Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

With a plan to start CO2 injection around 2030, the Bonaparte CCS assessment joint venture is now conducting detailed analysis of the reservoir appraisal data, to support a declaration of identified greenhouse gas storage formation, a key step toward securing a greenhouse gas injection license.

Inpex also envisions the future Darwin CCS Hub — planned for the Middle Arm — as a central infrastructure point for aggregating carbon dioxide from multiple emitters.

The hub could include facilities for importing CO2 from international sources, streamlining its transfer to the offshore storage site.

Originally published as Major milestone for Inpex’s Bonaparte Basin carbon capture storage plans