The Global CCS Institute held a ceremony on the 29th of March in Xi-an, home of the Terracotta Army, in celebration of a series of ‘historic firsts’ for China and Yanchang Petroleum, one of China’s largest oil and gas companies.
China reaffirmed its emergence as a rapid climate change mitigator when it was announced that the country’s first large-scale carbon capture storage and utilisation (CCUS) facility would enter construction.
Located near Xi’an (Shaanxi Province), Yanchang CCUS will capture more than 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum from two coal to gasification (syngas) plants. It will reinject captured CO2 into previously developed oil fields to release oil from existing formations in a process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).
Speaking at the ceremony, Global CCS Institute, Asia Pacific General Manager, Alex Zapantis, said, “Four years ago, this was an industrial plant venting CO2 into the atmosphere. Today, just four years later, it is a standard-bearer for clean technology.
“This facility is expected to capture between six and eight million tonnes of CO2 over the course of its life. This is a massive credit to Yanchang Petroleum and the Shaanxi Province which has created a small piece of history in a city renowned for its rich history – the famed Terracotta Army.”
“We look forward to seeing Yanchang Petroleum and others like it continue to advance the climate change agenda across China and show the world how practical, cost effective and climate-relevant CCS is,” Zapantis added.
The global CCS Institute has recognised eight large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities at various stages of development in China across a range of large emission industries. This includes power generation, coal to liquids (CTL) as well as fertiliser and chemical production.
Currently, there are 16 large-scale CCS facilities in operation around the world with a further five coming on-stream within the next 12-18 months.
As the world authority on CCS, the Global CCS Institute has played a critical role in the Yanchang CCUS facility’s deployment providing technical support, feasibility studies, equipment procurement and a study tour of Australia where other CCS facilities are in progress.
The event was attended by dignitaries from China, the US, Australia and Europe, including representatives from the US and Australian Governments, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the World Bank, and the China National Development and Reform Commission. It also included leaders from across major Chinese industry.
In 2015, the Yanchang CCUS project was identified as a cooperation project in the US-China Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change when former US President Obama and Chinese President Xi committed to work collaboratively to address climate change.