Designation of A Sea Area Offshore Tomakomai City, Hokkaido Prefecture, as A Specified Area under CCS Business Act

1. Overview

Article 3 (1) of the CCS Business Act stipulates that when the METI Minister finds it necessary to have businesses conduct exploratory drilling* of an area where reservoirs exist or may potentially exist as an effort to promote public interest by storing carbon dioxide storage in the area, the METI Minister may designate the area as a specified area and grant a license to the businesses evaluated as most capable of conducting the drilling in the specified area after accepting applications for the license for such drilling from businesses.

As METI found that a sea area offshore Tomakomai City, Hokkaido Prefecture, satisfy the requirements for designating it as a specified area under the provisions above for the purpose of exploratory drilling in the area, the METI Minister designated the area as a specified area. In response, METI started the acceptance of applications for a license for exploratory drilling in the area.

Going forward, METI will examine the applications for a license in accordance with the license criteria under the CCS Business Act and decide to grant the license to applicants based on the results of the discussions with the governors of related prefectures and the call for opinions from stakeholders.

In addition, as the provisions for exploratory drilling under the CCS Business Act came into force on November 18, 2024, this designation of a specified area is the first to be made under the Act.

*Note: The term “exploratory drilling” refers to the drilling of an underground formation to research whether or not the formation falls under the definition of a reservoir under the Act (including the extraction of sandstone and other rocks comprising the formation but limited to drilling that does not involve the storage of carbon dioxide in the formation).

2. Background

METI has been providing integrated support for businesses throughout the CCS value chains engaging in the Advanced CCS Projects as an effort to start the CCS business from 2030 under the Strategic Energy Plan and the GX2040 Vision (both on which Cabinet decisions were made in February 2025). In addition, it has been advancing the development of a business environment for the commercialization of CCS as seen in the establishment of the CCS Business Act in May 2024 in which a licensing system for storage businesses is stipulated.

The sea areas offshore Tomakomai City, Hokkaido Prefecture, are the site for Japan’s first large-scale CCS demonstration project, which achieved the injection of about 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide by 2019, including the separation, capture, injection, storage and monitoring of carbon dioxide. In addition, the region surrounding the city has been advancing discussions toward the start of the CCS business from 2030.

3. Future actions

METI will start the acceptance of applications for a license for exploratory drilling in the specified area as below.

Website for the publication of the implementation guidelines for the call for drawings that describe the specified area and the applicants for specified businesses

• Announcement of the designation of a specified area (in Japanese)

Related Links

• Cabinet Approvals on the Bill for the Act on Promotion of Supply and Utilization of Low-Carbon Hydrogen and its Derivatives for Smooth Transition to a Decarbonized, Growth-Oriented Economic Structure and the Bill for the Act on Carbon Dioxide Storage Businesses
• Advanced Efforts for Commercialization of CCS
• Information on the CCS Business Act (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Policy Office, Carbon Management Division, Natural Resources and Fuel Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy