Santos mulls FID on Australian CCS
Apr 16, 2021 5:26:pm
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by: Daniel Graeber
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Santos mulls FID on Australian CCS
The chair of Australian energy company Santos said April 15 the company planned by year’s end to make a final investment decision (FID) on a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility that it said would be amongst the largest in the world.
Keith Spence told shareholders during the company’s annual general meeting that its US$155mn Moomba CCS project could move forward once new legislation comes through from the federal government in Canberra.
“The 1.7 million tonne per annum project is waiting on a methodology to be approved under the Clean Energy Regulator’s framework so that CCS projects can generate Australian Carbon Credit Units,” he said. “We anticipate this will be in place by September this year, paving the way for what will be the second-largest, and the lowest-cost, CCS project in the world.”
“The assurance that we have is that this will be in place by September this year.”
Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher added that an approved methodology for CCS projects to generate ACCUs was essential to ensuring the economics of the project stacked up, noting that the cost of abatement was still estimated at A$20 to A$30 (US$15.43 to US$23.15) per tonne.
Competitive advantage
Gallagher added that he believed the company had a “unique competitive advantage for CCS in the Cooper basin”, which he said set Santos apart from its peers.
“We already have a relatively pure CO
2 stream at Moomba, meaning much of our carbon is already separated and doesn t require the technology that is needed for post-combustion capture,” he explained.
13 April 2021
The Australian carbon market is undergoing a “fundamental repricing” on the prospect of a national net-zero emissions goal;
Prices for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) could more than double by 2030, rising to a range of $20-45/t
While a net-zero target will be a supportive factor for local prices, offsets are unlikely to be used as a permanent replacement for emissions reductions. This could result in more muted demand, and prices at the lower end of the anticipated range.
In our latest Carbon Market Outlook, last week, we present our expectations for Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) prices, supply, and demand from 2021-30, including scenarios for the adoption of a net-zero emissions target for industry.
No need for coal, but 100pc renewables âtoo expensiveâ: Grattan
Apr 11, 2021 â 9.00pm
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Australia does not need coal-fired power stations to keep electricity bills down, but rushing to 100 per cent renewable energy will be âexpensiveâ without major technology breakthroughs to provide back-up power during long winter wind droughts.
The findings from the Grattan Institute debunk the myth that cheap coal power stations need to be kept running to ensure power bills do not skyrocket. But they also sound a distinct note of caution against a full-on shift to an all-renewable electricity supply system.
Energy program director Tony Wood said the findings underscore that Australia should at this stage commit only to ânet zeroâ emissions in the National Electricity Market by the 2040s, rather than âabsolute zeroâ or 100 per cent renewable energy.