The State Government has committed $26 million to assist the development of two carbon capture and storage projects, as it released WA’s first CCUS Action Plan.

A $15 million grant will support AGIG to develop an onshore transmission pipeline for an offshore multi-user CCS hub in the Pilbara.

The project will help transport carbon dioxide from facilities on the Burrup into depleted gas fields, sequestering up to five million tonnes of carbon dioxide in its first phases.

Another $11 million will support Mitsui E&P Australia and Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers to develop the Cygnus CCS Hub in the Mid West.

The project is proposed to initially store around 530 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the Waitsia Gas Plant and Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers' CSBP ammonia plant in Kwinana in a depleted gas reservoir.

Releasing the Action Plan, Premier Roger Cook said WA has numerous CCUS projects proposed for development over the next decade, with an initial combined capacity to store over 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year - around a quarter of WA's current scope one emissions.

The Action Plan aims to enhance policy certainty, attract further investment into the State, and accelerate the deployment of proven technology and infrastructure - leveraging WA's existing infrastructure, highly skilled workforce and suitable geological formations.

Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael said the Government was ready to launch a new industry to help industry to decarbonise.

“Industry stakeholders are now working closely with Government to develop and finalise the regulations governing how CCUS will operate in WA,” he said.

“CCUS is recognised as being part of the decarbonisation mix to reach net zero.”

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy said the plan identified the critical need for CCUS, particularly to support investment in hard-to-abate sectors, and recognised a role for industries including ammonia, cement, iron and steel and LNG processing.

“The net-zero challenge we face is huge,” Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Tomkinson said. “We need to decarbonise our economy in less than a generation while still maintaining energy security, jobs and our enviable standard of living.

“Achieving that goal will require every tool at our disposal. CCUS is one of those tools – and an especially valuable one in a State blessed with the natural geology to safely store carbon dioxide underground or under the seabed.”

Ahead of the release of the plan, The West Australian reported that a secret CCUS levy had been included in the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Towards 2029 strategy, available on the department’s website.

The strategy listed “implementation of a CO2 injection levy” as a priority of a 2024-25 focus, with a proposed time frame of one to five years.

The revelation prompted major gas producers to seek an explanation.

The West reported that a State Government spokesperson responded: “The Cook Government is committed to attracting (carbon capture) projects to WA and has no plans to introduce any levies on CCUS projects.”

The full CCUS Action Plan is available here.

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