Expert due diligence of CO2 storage site leads to next step at world’s first total Blue Hydrogen supply chain project

A group of major Australian and Japanese energy companies joined forces to form the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) consortium which develops the world’s first completely integrated Blue Hydrogen supply chain project.

The pilot of the project was successfully completed in 2022. During its duration, the aim was to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen gas production via the gasification of Latrobe Valley coal, transport it to the Port of Hastings for liquefaction and then undertake the shipment to Japan aboard the world’s first purpose-built liquefied hydrogen carrier Suiso Frontier.

The successful capture of CO₂ during the hydrogen production and its storage in rocks 1.5km beneath the Bass Strait is essential to the full commercialisation of the blue hydrogen production. The Victorian and Commonwealth Governments in Australia are involved in the project through CarbonNet Project which AGR assisted on drilling the project’s first CO₂ storage well.

Client challenge

Sumitomo Corporation, acting on behalf of the participating partners in HESC, approached AGR to evaluate the challenges of achieving ‘safe’ and ‘stable’ sequestration of 125Mt / 5Mtpa-CO₂ at the carbon capture and supply site, which is critical to the project.

This was a critical evaluation in the complex fitting together of so many interdependent parts of the project. The carbon capture and storage part of the equation demanded the most rigorous investigation, conducted by a world-class team expert in a range of skills.

Our solution

The team sourced and selected by AGR for the assignment worked with the technical documentation in the CarbonNet data room. Additionally, CarbonNet presented the work they had performed to evaluate the storage site and the potential injection wells.

AGR team’s assessment covered:

• CCS qualification for the site
• CO₂ site storage characterisation, produced by a simulation model of the injection indicating the movement of CO₂
• A geological evaluation of parameter distribution of the reservoir
• Tectonic risk analysis
• An evaluation of dynamic reservoir parameters, their distribution in the reservoir and resulting distribution of CO₂ in the period of injection and thereafter
• An analysis of the risk of leakage from the reservoir and old wells in the area

Our recommendations

The findings from our rigorous due diligence process were listed in a risk register. Sumitomo Corporation was given clear advice on the positive and negative sides of the storage project and an overview of the total storage potential in the area. These were based on rigorous scientific evaluation, carried out by experts, whose investigations could be trusted.

The client was armed with clear independent feedback to provide to HESC and CarbonNet on issues to address for the development project to progress.