Australian government releases new greenhouse gas storage acreage

In its continued efforts to trim emissions, the Australian government has released new areas for exploration for offshore greenhouse gas storage, with the latest release offering 10 areas across seven basins to explore for carbon capture and storage sites in the commonwealth waters off Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Bidding for the 10 acreage areas across the seven basins -- Bonaparte, Browse, Northern Carnavaron, Perth, Otway, Bass, Gippsland -- is available, with the bidding scheduled to close Nov. 28, the country's Department of Industry, Science and Resources said on its website Aug. 29.

In a statement, Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King said the areas had been chosen for their geology and storage potential.

Consultations had been carried out and following public feedback, the areas had been shaped to minimize impacts to other marine users and the marine environment, King said.

The move comes after the Albanese government's second budget provided about A$12 million ($7.73 million) to review the environmental management regime and examine ways to improve regulations to support offshore CCS projects.

In a separate statement Aug. 29, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, or APPEA, said the opening of bids for the next round of commonwealth offshore GHG storage was a welcome milestone as it would accelerate the transition to net zero.

"With places like the US and UK announcing major cleaner energy packages focused on this technology, Australia needs to ensure it is not missing out on securing emissions reductions and the economic benefits that will come with these new industries," APPEA Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said.

Earlier this year, APPEA had also called for a national CCUS road map to provide policy direction and incentivize investment, progress carbon management hubs and promote Australia as a regional storage leader while also recommending nine net-zero zones based on shared infrastructure to hasten decarbonization.

"CCUS will be particularly important to address emissions in hard-to-abate industries like cement, iron and steel and chemical production where few alternatives exist, as well as in scaling up low-carbon hydrogen, where natural gas with CCUS is the lowest cost production method today," McCulloch said.

According to International Energy Agency estimates, by 2030 globally, renewable energy will account for about 60% of hydrogen production, while the remainder 40% will come from natural gas with CCUS.