China's first offshore million-tonne carbon storage project put into use

This aerial photo shows the Enping 15-1 oil platform 200 km southwest of Shenzhen, south China, May 31, 2023. China's first offshore million-tonne carbon storage project was put into operation on Thursday in the South China Sea, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). [Xinhua/Photo]

China's first offshore million-tonne carbon storage project was put into operation on Thursday in the South China Sea, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The project is designed to store a total of more than 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is equivalent to planting nearly 14 million trees, according to the company.

The project, serving the Enping 15-1 oil platform 200 km southwest of Shenzhen, captures and processes CO2 from oilfields and then injects CO2 into a "dome" geological structure at a depth of around 800 meters under the seabed and about 3 km from the platform.

The operation of the project signifies China's achievement in acquiring a complete set of technologies and equipment for capturing, processing, injecting, storing and monitoring CO2 at sea.

It also opens up a new course for China to realize its "dual carbon" goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the company said.

On the basis of this project, CNOOC has initiated China's first 10-million-tonne carbon capture and storage cluster project in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, and will capture CO2 emitted in Daya Bay and ship it to the Pearl River Mouth Basin sea area for storage.

Technology has become a strong driving force in accomplishing China's mission of reducing carbon emissions.

In August last year, China revealed a plan for fulfilling this aim through technology, seeking to achieve breakthroughs in key low-carbon core technologies in key industries and sectors by 2025, with an 18 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP compared with 2020.

According to the plan, by 2030, China will have conducted further research and made more breakthroughs in many cutting-edge and disruptive carbon-neutral technologies to effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by more than 65 percent from the 2005 level.