SK E&S Acquires Offshore Carbon Dioxide Storage Field Operating Rights in Australia

Successful Acquisition of Joint Operating Rights for Blocks with Chevron and Santos
Verification of Carbon Dioxide Storage Capacity and Project Feasibility

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] SK E&S has acquired the exploration rights for an offshore carbon dioxide storage site in Australia. This is expected to give momentum to its carbon capture and storage (CCS) business.

SK E&S announced on the 6th that it formed a consortium in March with global energy companies such as Santos and Chevron from Australia and participated in the bidding, successfully securing the 'G-11-AP' block in the Bonaparte Basin offshore northern Australia.

The Australian government announced bids for five blocks earlier this year, and SK E&S, along with global energy companies including Chevron, BP, Total, and Santos, were awarded the blocks.

The 'G-11-AP' block is located offshore northern Australia and is considered an optimal area for CCS projects due to the widespread presence of deep saline aquifers that facilitate CO2 injection and storage. The company explained that since multiple gas field exploration and production (E&P) activities have already been conducted in adjacent blocks, there is abundant accumulated geological data, making exploration relatively easier.

SK E&S secured a 30% stake and, together with Santos (40%) and Chevron (30%), will conduct evaluations of the potential CO2 storage capacity and feasibility of the block over the next approximately three years. They will then decide whether to develop the block as a carbon dioxide storage site. If feasibility is verified through exploration, they can secure development and injection rights from the Australian government without additional bidding.

In May, during the World Gas Conference (WGC) held in Daegu, SK E&S met with executives from Santos and Chevron who visited Korea and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore various collaboration opportunities in CCS and carbon-neutral energy business sectors. The acquisition of the Australian exploration rights is a concrete result of these cooperative efforts.

If SK E&S succeeds in securing the CO2 storage site in the G-11-AP block, it plans to utilize it as a global CCS hub by linking it with the CCS project underway at the nearby Bayu-Undan gas field, transporting and storing carbon generated in Korea to northern Australia and the East Timor Sea.

Moon Sang-yo, head of SK E&S LNG (liquefied natural gas) division, said, "There was fierce competition with major overseas energy companies to secure the CO2 storage exploration and operation rights," adding, "We will proactively prepare for the rapidly increasing CCS demand expected domestically and internationally, while actively seeking additional CCS-related business opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.