An expert, independent of government and industry, explains how prolonged industrial activity on the Burrup Peninsula in WA endangers an Australian marvel.
Chevron's CO2 injection on Barrow Island for the Gorgon LNG project is WA's only carbon capture and storage project. It is the world's largest CCS project dedicted to burying greenhouse gases, not increasing oil production.
Gorgon LNG's carbon emissions will jump by more than one million tonnes a year until Chevron fixes an underground pressure management problem that caused WA's safety regulator to curtail CO2 injection by two-thirds.
A year after Inpex rejected carbon capture and storage at Ichthys LNG as unaffordable it is an essential element in its new drive to slash emissions by 2030.
The WA safety regulator has told Chevron to turn down Australia's $3.1 billion showpiece Gorgon LNG carbon capture and storage system until problems are fixed, meaning carbon emissions will rise.
Gorgon LNG has emitted 7 million tonnes of climate-warming CO2 more than permitted but Chevron is unlikely to suffer at the hands of lax Australian governments.
Chevron's ambitious injection of Gorgon CO2 shaped the $US54B LNG project and a year after starting up 2.5 years late its long-term performance remains to be proved.
