Australia has designated an offshore seabed site near its northern coast where Japanese energy company Inpex plans to store up to 443 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. The decision advances one of the region's largest proposed carbon capture and storage projects without constituting final approval to begin injection.
The project would start in Darwin and extend about 260 kilometres offshore to the West Peron deep saline aquifer. Inpex says the reservoir could operate for 35 years, with the nearby Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility as the first major customer and other companies potentially using the site later.
Carbon capture and storage separates CO₂ from industrial emissions, transports it and injects it underground. Supporters argue that the technology can reduce pollution from steel, cement, refining and shipping, sectors where electrification or hydrogen may be technically difficult or expensive.
The International Energy Agency includes CCS in its net-zero pathway but expects it to account for less than five per cent of global emissions reductions by 2050. Critics argue that investment in capture can delay the direct phaseout of fossil fuels and offer companies a justification to continue high-emission production.
Inpex must complete environmental-impact assessments and obtain additional licences before a final investment decision. Resources Minister Madeleine King called the designation an important step for hard-to-abate industries, while environmental groups said the government had moved before resolving major ecological risks.
The area overlaps habitat used by dugongs, turtles, whales, seabirds and other threatened or migratory species. Conservation advocates warn that dredging, drilling, piling, chemical discharges, heavier ship traffic and repeated seismic surveys could disturb sediment, water quality and marine life for decades.
Japan views CCS as essential to cutting emissions 60 per cent by 2035 and 73 per cent by 2040 from 2013 levels while preserving industrial output and energy security. The Australian project will test that strategy. Its climate value depends on verified permanent storage, low leakage and proof that capture supplements rather than postpones real emissions reductions.
