China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) [0883:HK] has commissioned the country’s first offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project, as reported by the SCMP on June 1. The project captures and processes large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from the Enping 15-1 oilfield, Asia’s largest offshore oil production platform located in the Pearl River Mouth Basin. CNOOC will inject the captured CO2 into the saline water layer at around 800 meters under the seabed for long-term storage. According to CNOOC, the project could store roughly 300,000 tons of CO2 a year and more than 1.5 million tons in total, equivalent to planting nearly 14 million trees.

The demonstration scheme will support CNOOC’s efforts to increase reserves and pursue green and low-carbon development. CCS technologies are seen not only as key to decarbonizing the oil and gas industry, but also as protection for offshore oil extraction facilities. The CO2 produced from oil exploitation, if not captured, would corrode the offshore platform facilities and subsea pipelines. In addition, CNOOC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shell [SHEL:LN], ExxonMobil [XOM:US], and the Guangdong Provincial Government in June 2022 to develop a CCS hub in the Daya Bay Petrochemical Industry Park. The planned world-scale project will capture CO2 emissions from enterprises in the Daya Bay area and transport them to the Pearl River Mouth Basin for storage. A report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) indicates that the basin has the potential to sequester more than 308 billion tons of CO2.

Sources:

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3222634/cnooc-commissions-chinas-first-offshore-ccs-project-filling-gap-and-helping-country-its-emission

https://www.caixin.com/2023-06-04/102061836.html

https://www.shell.com.cn/en_cn/media/media-releases/2022-media-releases/shell-partners-with-cnooc-guangdong-government-exxonmobil-on-offshore-carbon-capture-and-storage-hub-in-china.html