Chevron Recognised on World Stage for Gorgon Project*s Carbon Dioxide Injection Plans (Australia)

The Chevron operated Gorgon Project received world recognition for its Gorgon Carbon Dioxide Injection Project when it was formally recognised by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) at its annual meeting in Warsaw, Poland on October 8, 2010.

To mark the significant occasion, Chevron Australia Managing Director Roy Krzywosinski was joined on the Gorgon Liquefied Natural Gas plant site on Barrow Island by the Australian Prime Minister, The Honourable Julia Gillard MP; the Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, the Hon. Martin Ferguson AM MP; the US Ambassador His Excellency Jeffrey Bleich; and Nick Otter, Chief Executive Officer, Global Carbon Capture Storage Institute.

The Gorgon Project is operated by an Australian subsidiary of Chevron and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (approximately 47 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent) and Shell (25 percent), Osaka Gas (1.25 percent), Tokyo Gas (one percent) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 percent).

Speaking at the event, Krzywosinski said: “Chevron welcomes the CSLF recognition of the Gorgon Project and the important role the carbon dioxide injection project will play in the large scale demonstration of greenhouse gas storage technology. The Gorgon Project and Australia are set to be global leaders in the application of underground carbon dioxide injection technology.

“The CSLF recognition is a reflection of the significant amount of technical work that has gone into understanding the details involved with successfully injecting, containing and monitoring the carbon dioxide as part of an ongoing reservoir management program,” Krzywosinski added. “We are committed to sharing information from the monitoring program to assist in building a greater understanding around this emerging and important technology.”

The Gorgon Carbon Dioxide Injection Project represents an investment of approximately AUD$2 billion. Chevron and the Gorgon Joint Venture Participants plan to separate carbon dioxide, which occurs naturally in the Gorgon produced gas, and inject it into a deep containment reservoir around 2.5 kilometres beneath Barrow Island.

This will reduce the Gorgon Project’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent. Once injection operations are at full capacity in 2015, the Gorgon Carbon Dioxide Injection Project plans to inject between 3.4 and 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The CO2 injected will be carefully monitored via a number of surveillance wells and repeated seismic surveying. The recognition follows the recent report by the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, of which Chevron is a foundation member, on the status of carbon capture and storage projects. The Gorgon Project is the only project that has moved into construction and satisfied the seven criteria established by the G8 nations at their meeting in L’Aquila in 2009.

These criteria were developed to assess whether the G8 goal of having 20 CCS Projects in operation by 2020 is achievable. The Australian Government has committed $60 million to the Gorgon Carbon Dioxide Injection Project as part of the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund (LETDF).

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Source: Chevron, October 11, 2010