Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter Chevron could be held accountable for flared emissions from its $54 billion Gorgon LNG project in Australia after delays starting up an associated carbon dioxide (CO2) injection project. Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said this week said that Chevron should have started sequestering gas into the Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in July 2016, when it was first granted a license for gas processing operations. As the Gorgon CCS project only started up this August, Chevron will likely fail to meet the requirement to capture and store at least 80% of Gorgon's carbon emissions every five years (OD Aug.9'19). EPA Chair Tom Hatton said Chevron's CO2 injection system was a key part of the original approval for the Gorgon gas development on Barrow Island. Chevron argues however that the start date should be taken as July 2018 when all three trains were operating at full capacity. "We are committed to meeting our regulatory obligations and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our operations," a Chevron spokesperson said. The Gorgon project has been blamed for an increase in emissions in Australia (NE Sep.12'19). "Chevron is in debt for three years of pollution that it dumped against its legal requirements under the development approval," Richie Merzian, head of climate and energy at the Australia Institute, told Energy Intelligence recently. He added that the US major "can make good by paying for offsets at least."
