Momentum is growing for carbon capture and underground storage solutions according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Plans for more than 30 new integrated Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) facilities have been announced since 2017. The vast majority are in the United States and Europe, but projects are also planned in Australia, China, Korea, the Middle East and New Zealand. If all these projects were to proceed, the amount of global CO2 capture capacity would more than triple, to around 130 Mt per year.

To support the development of these facilities, Ventia's drilling and well-servicing business is providing drilling services for one of Australia's most significant carbon capture and storage projects.

CTSCo's Integrated Surat Basin Project

Glencore's Carbon Transport and Storage Company (CTSCo) reached a new milestone in the development of its CCUS project in Queensland in August 2020 with the first of two appraisal wells drilled using one of Rig and Well Services' Advantage Drilling Rigs.

The project aims to assess and, if possible, demonstrate the technical viability, safety and suitability of CCUS in the Surat Basin region.

The project is intended as a first step toward large scale CCUS within the Surat Basin, with the potential for emissions from multiple generators and other industrial sources to be captured and safely stored.

Certain sandstone formations within the Surat Basin provide suitable geological conditions to allow long-term sequestration of large quantities of CO2. CTSCo is currently pursuing an appropriate and viable storage option and construction of a post-combustion capture plant from a coal-fired power station in the region.

Rig and Well Services is continuing to support CTSCo's CCUS project drilling another appraisal well using an Rig and Well Services Advantage Drilling rig in July 2021 to assist in assessing the potential of an industrial-scale CO2 storage hub in the Surat Basin.

Rig and Well Services General Manager, Kyle Koziol said the company is excited to support projects that reduce carbon emissions.

Projects such as CTSCo's Integrated Surat Basin project will bring valuable insight into the development of CCUS in an industrially scalable, safe and cost-effective manner for all large-scale emitters of CO2, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.

For more information about CTSCo's Integrated Surat Basin project visit: http://ctsco.com.au/who/