Pilot Energy Limited and Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers AS (KNCC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on offering a solution for marine transportation and offshore injection of CO2 at the Cliff Head CCS Project offshore Western Australia.

The objective under the MoU is the development of solutions which will enable large scale industrial emitters to transport via ship, ambient temperature liquid CO2 (LCO2) and to inject and permanently store CO2 at the Cliff Head CCS Project.

Pilot’s Cliff Head CO2 storage project is a major component of its Mid West Clean Energy project (MWCEP).

The Cliff Head CCS Project involves the conversion of the operating Cliff Head offshore oil field into a permanent CO2 storage operation capable of storing over 1mmtpa of CO2 on a continuous basis through to 2050 with over 50 million tonnes of potential total storage capacity.

The MWCEP aims to produce over 1.2 mmtpa of low cost, clean ammonia for export with approximately 99 per cent carbon capture through fully integrated carbon capture and storage utilising the Cliff Head CCS Project.

During the initial three year term of the MoU (which can be extended or terminated by the parties) Pilot and KNCC will work together to assess the technical and commercial solution to initially target the provision of a CO2 transportation service to emitters based in the Western Australian Kwinana Industrial Area.

Pilot and KNCC will initially target the decarbonisation of approximately eight million tonnes per annum of CO2 emissions from the Western Australian Kwinana Industrial Area.

Pilot Energy Limited Chairman Brad Lingo said KNCC’s 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.

“We are extremely enthusiastic about this new collaboration and being able to offer a one-stop shop solution…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.”