Critics say Santos’ Barossa LNG should be halted until CCS scheme proven

Critics say Santos’ Barossa LNG should be halted until CCS scheme proven

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) believes the start of work on the Santos-led Barossa liquefied natural gas (LNG) development offshore northern Australia should be suspended as the associated carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme, proposed by the operator, remains problematic and will not cut emissions. Otherwise the CCS project should be viewed as nothing more than ‘green washing’ and a diversion while construction continues, said IEEFA.

Santos (ASX:STO) and its partners, which include Japan’s JERA and South Korea’s SK E&S, are developing Barossa, which has “twice the reservoir gas carbon dioxide (CO2) content of the equally highest currently developed Australian gas fields – Ichthys, Gorgon and Prelude,” according to IEEFA. The floating storage production and offloading (FPSO) unit for Barossa is currently being built in South Korea.

Santos plans to cut the high emissions from Barossa by injecting the CO2 into the nearly depleted Bayu Undan gas field in the Timor Sea offshore East Timor. This would involve a new Darwin harbour pipeline, which Santos is currently seeking approvals for.