CTSCo Project

In 2019, CTSCo secured the EPQ10 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) exploration permit located in the southern Surat Basin. The project currently has approval to undertake exploration work over the permit area.

Exploration activities include:

• drilling wells to determine geology and water quality
• environmental and social baseline studies to support the approvals process
• seismic surveys determine geological structures and features.

The CTSCo project will be seeking approval for a small-scale CO₂ injection testing via an injection well deep into a rock formation more than two kilometres below the surface.

CTSCo is partnering with the China Huaneng Group (CHG), shareholder in the Millmerran Power Station in Queensland, to develop CO₂ capture technology for existing power stations.

We have completed feasibility and front-end engineering design studies into delivering an integrated post-combustion capture (PCC) plant at Millmerran.

The plant will capture 110,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, ready for transport.

CTCo's injection testing of the CO₂ storage is a potential pathway to an industrial scale storage hub in Queensland, capable of servicing multiple industries, including power generation, hydrogen production, cement manufacturing, steel manufacturing, fertiliser production and chemical manufacturing.

In December 2019, the Queensland Government granted CTSCo a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) exploration permit – at EPQ10 – in the southern part of the Surat Basin. Since then, we have conducted exploration and appraisal activities within the tenement, including successful drilling of wells.

These activities aim to confirm the location for the injection testing project and provide foundation data for future industrial-scale CO₂ storage.

With funding support from the Australian Government, Low Emission Technologies Australia (LETA) (formerly COAL21), Australian National Low Emissions Coal (ANLEC) R&D Limited, Marubeni Corporation and Electric Power Development Co (J-POWER), Glencore expects to make a final investment decision on the CTSCo Project following approvals processes.

We are also grateful for the specialist researchers who support us, including scientists and leading technical experts who have been engaged to undertake specific scientific studies and programs in the areas of geology, geophysics, storage and water.

Leading institutions involved include University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Texas, Simon Fraser University (Calgary), CSIRO and Institute of Mine Seismology Pty Ltd.

The CTSCo Project is located in the southern part of the Surat Basin in Queensland, more than 400 kilometres west of Brisbane, making it close to a number of industrial emission sources.

The Australian Government’s National Carbon Storage Taskforce report and the Queensland Government Greenhouse Gas Storage Atlas identified the Surat Basin as a key geological storage area for CO₂. The Atlas concluded that there are almost three billion tonnes of theoretical CO₂ storage potential available in the Basin. The Precipice Sandstone (aquifer) accounts for 1.3 billion tonnes of this theoretical storage potential.

The CTSCo Project is subject to a range of assessments and approvals under Local, State and Commonwealth Government regulations. We are committed to working closely with local communities to consider the potential economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of the project.

CTSCo’s current community and stakeholder engagement is informed by key learnings from CCS projects within Australia and overseas. We have also considered the insights and feedback from CTSCo’s studies in EPQ7 near Wandoan. We have applied these learnings to our local community and stakeholder engagement program in EPQ10.

Our community engagement program is based on the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement and the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) principles of stakeholder engagement.