Imagine a pristine coastline transformed into the world's largest carbon dumping ground. That's the stark warning from environmentalists as oil and gas giant Inpex proposes Australia's most ambitious carbon capture project near Darwin. But here's where it gets controversial: while touted as a climate solution, critics argue it's a smokescreen for continued fossil fuel expansion. And this is the part most people miss: the project, if successful, would still only capture a tiny fraction of global emissions from oil and gas.
Inpex's Bonaparte carbon capture and storage (CCS) project aims to pipe and store a staggering 8 to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually into an underground aquifer located 250 kilometers offshore from Darwin. This would make it one of the largest CCS projects globally, according to analysts. However, they caution that many such projects fail to meet their ambitious targets. The CO2 would come from various industrial sources in the region, including liquefied natural gas plants, and potentially even imports from the Asia Pacific. The emissions would travel through a pipeline crossing Darwin Harbour before being stored offshore.
Here’s the catch: while CCS is often presented as a silver bullet for climate change, experts like Josh Runciman, a leading gas analyst, point out that most captured CO2 is actually used for enhanced oil recovery – a technique to squeeze more fossil fuels from the ground. In other words, it’s often a tool to prolong the life of the very industry driving climate change. Runciman highlights that CCS projects designed solely for carbon storage have historically underperformed, with many shutting down prematurely.
Australia currently has two commercial-scale CCS projects: Santos’s Moomba project in South Australia and Chevron’s Gorgon facility in Western Australia. The Bonaparte project, a joint venture between Inpex, TotalEnergies, and Woodside Energy, would dwarf these in scale. Yet, even if it meets its 10 million tonne target, it would only offset a minuscule portion of global oil and gas emissions. For context, the Gorgon facility, operational since 2019, has captured less than half its intended volume, at a cost exceeding $200 per tonne.
Inpex’s managing director, Tetsu Murayama, has stated that the Bonaparte project could significantly contribute to decarbonizing northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. However, environmentalists are skeptical. The Environment Centre NT warns that the project risks turning the Northern Territory into a global carbon dumping ground. Bree Ahrens, the group’s senior climate campaigner, calls it a “dirty deal to import the world’s pollution” and urges the Albanese Government to reject it.
The project is part of a broader plan to transform Darwin’s Middle Arm Peninsula into a carbon import and storage hub, with Dutch company Vopak developing a dedicated terminal for liquefied CO2. Critics argue that CCS is being used as a greenwashing tactic to justify a massive expansion of gas production in the region.
Here’s a thought-provoking question: Is carbon capture a genuine step toward a sustainable future, or is it merely a Band-Aid solution that allows the fossil fuel industry to continue business as usual? Weigh in below and let’s spark a conversation about the real costs and benefits of projects like Bonaparte.
