Pilot Energy secures shipping solution for Mid West CCS project

Pilot Energy is rapidly ticking the boxes as it works towards converting its late-stage Cliff Head oil field into one of Australia’s first offshore carbon capture and storage projects.

Just days after announcing it secured a key deal with Australian carbon technology developer KC8 Capture Technologies, Pilot Energy (ASX:PGY) has now also signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway-based CO2 shipping company Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC).

With the capturing part of the process taken care of under an earlier deal inked with Canada’s Svante Technologies, another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place, with KNCC to provide the marine transportation and offshore injection solution for Pilot’s Cliff Head CCS project in Western Australia’s Mid West.

KNCC will join Pilot and Svante in working to decarbonise one of WA’s largest emissions centres, the Kwinana Industrial Area – which produces around 8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

KNCC’s proprietary Liquified CO2-Elevated Pressure technology (LCO2-EP) enables the transportation of liquified CO2 at a safe, ambient temperature to offshore CO2 storage reservoirs.

“KNCC’s innovative LCO2-EP containment system for the transportation of liquefied CO2 at ambient temperatures is an ideal solution to efficiently transport captured CO2 emissions from the Kwinana Industrial Area and provide a low-cost direct offshore CO2 unloading and injection system for permanent storage in the Cliff Head CCS project,” Pilot Energy chairman Brad Lingo explained.

KNCC is now ready to order flexible, scalable, and low-cost LCO2 carriers after last week being granted “General Approval for Ship Application” from international classification body DNV.

This approval allows KNCC to order vessels using its technology once the commercial and financial terms are agreed for the whole CCS value chain of Pilot’s Cliff Head CCS project.

With the Svante and KNCC partnerships, Pilot now has all the key components in place to deliver a carbon capture, transportation, and storage solution at its Cliff Head CCS project.

“We are extremely enthusiastic about this new collaboration and being able to offer a one-stop shop solution, in conjunction with Svante, for the capture, the transportation, and permanent storage of CO2 emissions, enabling Pilot to support a major reduction in industrial CO2 emissions for such an important industrial centre as Kwinana,” Lingo said.

Paving the way for clean ammonia production

While Pilot’s immediate focus is on helping industry drastically reduce its existing emissions, the CCS project will provide a strong foundation for the eventual production of clean ammonia.

The first stage of the Mid West Clean Energy project involves converting the operating Cliff Head offshore oil field into a permanent CO2 storage operation capable of storing over 1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of CO2 on a continuous basis through to 2050.

The CCS project will have over 50 million tonnes of potential total storage capacity.

“We will contribute to the Cliff Head CCS project’s realisation by utilising our cost efficient, flexible, and scalable LCO2-EP technology to transport the LCO2 in ambient temperature and inject to the CO2 reservoirs offshore from our CO2 carriers,” Anders Lepsøe, CEO of KNCC, said.

This will pave the way for Pilot to ultimately produce over 1.2Mtpa of low-cost, clean ammonia for export while capturing around 99% of the carbon emissions generated.

This article was developed in collaboration with Pilot Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.