Full-scale Commencement of Japanese CCS Projects

1. Background

In October 2020, the Government of Japan set a goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions to realize carbon neutrality by 2050, and in April 2021, declared that it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to FY2013 by FY2030. In addition, in the Basic Policy for Realization of GX (Note 1), the Government of Japan indicates that it will support advanced projects that will become role models for developing the business environment toward the start of CCS projects by 2030.

Furthermore, through the framework of the Asia CCUS Network (Note 2), Japan will make use of its CCUS technologies, systems, and know-how to promote knowledge sharing and improvement of the business environment throughout the Asian region.

2. Outline

With the aim of contributing to the stable supply of energy resources in Japan and its achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, JOGMEC positions role model projects making continuous efforts for business scale-up and cost reduction as Japanese Advanced CCS Projects and provides support to such projects with the entire CCS value chain from CO2 separation, capture, transportation, to storage.

As the first initiative for Japanese Advanced CCS Projects, JOGMEC selected seven projects which will start storing CO2 emitted in Japan by FY2030.

3. Key points of the selected projects

The seven selected projects target a wide range of industries such as electric power, oil refineries, steel, chemical, pulp/paper, and cement, and capture CO2 emitted from industrial clusters in Hokkaido, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Setouchi and Kyushu regions, etc., while also aiming to store approximately 6 to 12 Mtpa of CO2 in total by 2030. The projects (five of which plan to store CO2 in Japan, and the remaining two to do so in Asia and Oceania) aim to secure total storage of approximately 13 Mtpa of CO2. Through these projects, JOGMEC will seek to achieve approximately 120 to 240 Mtpa of CO2 storage by 2050, eventually contributing to the stable supply of energy resources and carbon neutrality in Japan.

(Note 1) Cabinet Decision Made on the Basic Policy for Realization of GX (Website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan) (February 10, 2023)
(Note 2) "Asia CCUS Network" has launched (June 22, 2021)
*13 member countries (10 ASEAN member countries, Australia, the United States, and Japan)

(Locations of the selected projects and companies that proposed them)

(Overview of the selected projects (listed from north to south))

1) Tomakomai Area CCS

Companies	Japan Petroleum Exploration Com Ltd. (JAPEX), Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., Hokkaido Electric Power Co.,Inc.
Area of CO2 Storage	Tomakomai Area (Oil and gas field or saline aquifer)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 1.5 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Oil refinery, electric power plant in the Tomakomai Area
Transportation	Pipeline
Project Outline	CCUS project pursuing future collaboration with CCU/ carbon recycling that is to reuse CO2 as a resource and BECCS that is to combine CCS with a biomass power plant, which would be connected to a CO2 pipeline.

2) Tohoku Region West Coast CCS

Companies	ITOCHU Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., ITOCHU Oil Exploration Co.,Ltd., INPEX Corporation, Taisei Corporation
Area of CO2 Storage	Tohoku west coast offshore region, etc. (Offshore saline aquifer)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 2 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Wide-area CO2 emissions in Japan Steel plants, cement plants and local emitters near the CO2 storage
Transportation	Ship and pipeline
Project Outline	Project with high scalability in a wide area combining various sources of CO2 emissions such as steel industry and cement industry by CO2 shipping.

3) East Niigata Area CCS

Companies	Japan Petroleum Exploration Com Ltd.（JAPEX）, Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc., Hokuetsu Corporation, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
Area of CO2 Storage	Niigata Prefecture (Oil and gas field)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 1.5 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Chemical plants, pulp mills, electric power plants in Niigata Prefecture
Transportation	Pipeline
Project Outline	Project expecting additional value such as decarbonized fuels and environmental value, utilizing existing oil and gas fields to store CO2 from chemicals, pulp and electric power plants, etc.

4) Metropolitan Area CCS

Companies	INPEX Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd.
Area of CO2 Storage	Metropolitan areas, etc. (Offshore saline aquifer)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 1 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Multiple industries including steel plants in metropolitan areas
Transportation	Pipeline
Project Outline	Project with high scalability targeting emission sources of major coastal industrial complexes in metropolitan areas.

5) Northern to Western Kyushu Offshore CCS

Companies	ENEOS Corporation, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation, Electric Power Development Co.,Ltd. (J-POWER)
Area of CO2 Storage	Offshore northern to western Kyushu (Offshore saline aquifer)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 3 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	CO2 emissions in the Setouchi/ Kyushu regions Oil refineries, electric power plants in West Japan
Transportation	Ship and pipeline
Project Outline	Project with offshore large-scale CO2 storage targeting a wide area in West Japan, including the Setouchi region.

6) Offshore Malay CCS

Company	Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Area of CO2 Storage	Offshore the east coast of the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia （Offshore depleted oil and gas field, saline aquifer）
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 2 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Multiple industries including chemicals / oil refineries in the Kinki/ Kyushu regions, etc.
Transportation	Ship and pipeline
Project Outline	Project promoting cooperation with Malaysia’s National Oil Company which maintains positive discussions on accepting CO2 from Japan.

7) Oceania CCS

Companies	Mitsubishi Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
Area of CO2 Storage	Oceania (Offshore depleted oil and gas field, saline aquifer)
CO2 Storage Volume	Approximately 2 Mtpa
CO2 Emission Sources	Multiple industries including steel plants in the Chubu region（Nagoya, Yokkaichi)
Transportation	Ship and pipeline
Project Outline	Project in offshore Oceania targeting a broad range of industries in the ports of Nagoya and Yokkaichi.

* For details, see news releases of JOGMEC.

Related Link

• News Release by JOGMEC: Japan's First Step to Launch CCS Project (June 13, 2023) (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

Petroleum and Natural Gas Division, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy