SK Earthon Acquires Exploration Rights for Australian 'Carbon Storage Site'... Accelerating CCS Business Expansion

6-Year G-15-AP Block Feasibility Assessment
"Synergy Creation with SK E&S Also Expected"

SK EarthOn has secured exploration rights for an offshore carbon dioxide storage site in Australia. Based on this, SK EarthOn plans to strengthen its core resource development business while expanding its carbon capture and storage (CCS) business, which is being promoted as an additional growth engine.

Location of the G-15-AP block in the Carnarvon Basin, northern offshore Australia.
[Photo by SK Earth On]

On the 8th, SK EarthOn announced that it won the joint exploration rights for the G-15-AP block located in the Carnarvon Basin off the northern coast of Australia in the offshore carbon storage exploration bid. SK EarthOn holds a 20% stake and will participate in development alongside CCS specialist companies Incapture (75%) and CarbonCQ (5%).

SK EarthOn will conduct evaluations of the storage capacity and business feasibility of the block over six years and decide whether to develop the carbon dioxide storage site. If feasibility is verified, the company is expected to secure development and injection rights from the Australian government without additional bidding and proceed with full-scale carbon dioxide injection operations starting in 2030. Based on the resource development experience and technical capabilities it has built so far, it plans to enhance the sustainability of its resource development business as well.

If SK EarthOn succeeds in securing the carbon dioxide storage site in the block, it will actively respond to local demand in Australia and collaborate with domestic carbon dioxide capture companies to establish sustainable solutions between Korea and Australia.

The company also expects synergy with SK E&S, which is preparing for a merger with SK Innovation. By leveraging the resource development and CCS technical capabilities of both SK EarthOn and SK E&S, the likelihood of successfully establishing a global CCS hub in offshore Australia and other areas is expected to increase.

It also appears possible to build a CCS hub linked to the CCS project SK E&S is conducting at the Bayu-Undan gas field in the Timor Sea. This project involves storing carbon dioxide generated from the development of the Barossa-Caldita gas field in Australia and blue hydrogen production in the depleted Bayu-Undan gas field in the Timor Sea.

Earlier, at the end of 2022, SK EarthOn signed a participation agreement for the Shepherd CCS project for carbon capture and storage between Korea and Malaysia with Petronas and others. Domestically, it is focusing on strengthening CCS technical capabilities by participating in national projects for high-performance offshore carbon dioxide storage monitoring and large-scale CCS infrastructure projects. Through this, it aims to secure carbon dioxide storage capacity of 2 million tons by 2030, 5 million tons by 2040, and over 16 million tons by 2050.

Myeongseong, CEO of SK EarthOn, said, "Starting with securing the carbon dioxide storage exploration rights, SK EarthOn plans to create synergy between its two pillars, the resource development business and the CCS business, to promote sustainable growth."