Australia’s Moomba CCS project moves to FID

Injection into depleted gas fields expected to start in 2024 as project qualifies for Australian carbon credits

Australian independent oil and gas producer Santos and joint venture partner Beach Energy have taken FID on the $165mn Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia, with first injections scheduled for 2024. Santos forecasts a full lifecycle cost of less than $24/t CO₂, including cash operating costs of $6-8/t. The 1.7mn t/yr Moomba project will inject CO₂ into depleted gas reservoirs. “This carbon reduction project in the South Australian outback will be one of the biggest and lowest cost in the world and will safely and permanently store 1.7mn t CO₂/yr in the same reservoirs that held oil and gas in place for tens of millions of years,” says Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher.