Several big green hydrogen projects have been shelved. An expert explains why Australia’s sky-high ambition for the industry is struggling to reach fruition.
Japanese Inpex operates the Ichthys LNG project with offshore facilities off the Kimberley coast, an LNG plant in Darwin and headquarters in Perth.
It also has a stake in Shell's Prelude floating LNG vessel.
Australian LNG producers are under pressure on emissions and decommissioning, and Santos wants to tackle both problems in one swoop at Bayu Undan, but it needs everyone to play along.
TotalEnergies shipped a carbon-neutral LNG cargo from Ichthys in late 2020 when the Inpex-operated project had massive flaring of gas but will not confirm if the above normal emissions were offset.
Santos and ENI are looking for solutions for CO2 and removing old facilities in the waters north of Darwin. Time will tell if the problems are solved or just delayed.
Inpex pledged in January 2021 to cut its emissions 30 per cent this decade while it was planning to boost CO2 from Ichthys LNG, which accounts for three quarters of its carbon footprint, by 30 per cent.
Ichthys LNG is giving Inpex and Australia a huge carbon pollution problem that is likely to grow as the Japanese company looks to troublesome carbon capture and storage to limit the environmental and financial damage.
After 200 tonnes of large pipe fell out of control Inpex and Maersk cannot drill for more gas at Ichthys until they convince the regulator that there will be no potentially fatal incidents.
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.
Inpex thinks the value of Prelude floating LNG has dropped 37% this year, joining the queue of companies seeing much less value in Australia's LNG future.
Delays in offshore oil and gas maintenance after COVID-19 workforce cuts worries safety regulator NOPSEMA and unions, who have pointed to Inpex's Ichthys LNG project as a concern.
