In early 2025, Japanese engineering firm Chiyoda Corporation and Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC), a partnership between Japan’s NYK and Norway’s Knutsen Group, secured a contract to conduct a feasibility study for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Western Australia. The project is led by Australia’s Pilot Energy in collaboration with South32, a local mining and metals company. The study, launched in the first quarter of 2025, focuses on managing up to 700,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from South32’s Worsley Alumina operations, with the captured CO2 destined for Pilot’s Cliff Head CCS storage site.

A possible concept for the CO2 Export Terminal, offshore barge storage utilizing existing jetty facilities

The initiative stems from an agreement made in February 2025 between Pilot and South32 to explore the carbon supply chain, including capture, transport, and storage solutions to lower emissions. Chiyoda oversees the onshore facilities, while KNCC handles marine transportation. The study, expected to conclude by the third quarter of 2025, aims to lay the groundwork for future decarbonization efforts at Worsley Alumina and potentially other emitters in the region.

Pilot’s Chairman, Brad Lingo, commented: “Pilot has been engaging with emitters alongside the technical advancement of the Cliff Head Carbon Storage Project. This study marks a significant step forward in developing the project and its supply chain infrastructure. We are eager to work with South32, Chiyoda, and KNCC to advance this effort.”

Located 120 kilometers south of Geraldton on Western Australia’s mid-west coast, the Cliff Head CCS project repurposes existing onshore and offshore facilities from the Cliff Head oil field, a site nearing the end of its operational life. The reservoir is considered ideal for CO2 injection and long-term storage. The project targets an initial storage capacity of over 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) starting in 2026, expanding to 2.5 mtpa by 2029, and reaching over 100 million tonnes total capacity with an injection rate of 5 mtpa by 2030. Operations are projected to continue until 2050.

The Cliff Head CCS project is part of Pilot’s broader Midwest Clean Energy Project (MWCEP), which also includes the Midwest Clean Ammonia Export Plant. Both utilize Pilot’s existing infrastructure. As of December 2024, the CCS project received its first-stage regulatory approval from the Commonwealth Government and completed pre-FEED in August 2024. A $6.5 million government grant has also been awarded to support efforts to increase carbon storage capacity.

Moving forward, the project will enter the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase between 2025 and 2026, alongside applications for a carbon injection license and environmental permits. A final investment decision (FID) for the CCS facility is anticipated in late 2025, with the ammonia plant’s FID expected in mid-2026. The Cliff Head oil field, situated in the Perth Basin, 270 kilometers north of Perth and 12 kilometers off Dongara’s coast, ceased production in mid-2024 as planned.