Australia Approves First Offshore Carbon Store

Australia has declared the offshore West Peron formation suitable for carbon dioxide storage, a first for an offshore saline aquifer in the country and a regulatory milestone for Inpex’s Bonaparte carbon capture project. The project could store up to 443 million tonnes of CO₂ over as many as 35 years, initially taking emissions from the Ichthys LNG operation and potentially serving other industrial facilities later. Inpex says the project could cut Ichthys’ emissions by about 40%; first injection is targeted for the early 2030s, subject to further regulatory approvals and commercial agreements. Australia’s resources minister described the move as support for technologies that can reduce emissions from hard-to-abate industries, while project partners continue technical, environmental and commercial work.