INPEX has announced the Bonaparte CCS Assessment Joint Venture, operated by its subsidiary INPEX Browse E&P (53 percent) and also involving TotalEnergies CCS Australia (26 percent) and Woodside Energy (21 percent) has been awarded Major Project Status by the Australian Government. The Bonaparte CCS Project is the first offshore carbon capture and storage project to receive Major Project Status in Australia.
The awarding was announced today by Australian Minister for Industry and Innovation, Senator the Hon Tim Ayres and highlights the project’s recognised potential to support a lower carbon future as well as reflecting the Australian government’s acknowledgment of the project’s strategic importance in achieving Australia’s net zero goals.
Appraisal works in 2024 confirmed a high-quality saline aquifer reservoir suitable for safe and permanent carbon storage in the Bonaparte Basin, approximately 250 kilometers offshore Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. INPEX considers the project has potential to be one of the largest commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the world, and it could substantially contribute to decarbonizing northern Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Joint Venture intends to transport and store carbon dioxide (CO2) safely and permanently in the Bonaparte Basin, which has a potential carbon storage capacity of more than 10 million tons per year. The Joint Venture commenced preliminary front-end engineering design (FEED) work in April 2025 and plans to commence CO2 injection around 2030.
The Joint Venture is also now conducting detailed analysis of the reservoir appraisal data, to support a Declaration of Identified GHG Storage Formation application in advance of obtaining a greenhouse gas injection licence. On behalf of the Joint Venture, INPEX will continue engaging closely with the local community and the Australian and Northern Territory governments to advance the project.
Source: INPEX
