[H-SC07] CCUS (Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Storage) for Climate Mitigation

[HSC07-12] The initiatives of the Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology towards ensuring energy security and promoting carbon neutrality

*KOTERA YASUHIKO¹ (1.The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology)

Keywords:upstream oil and gas industry, The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology, energy security, carbon-neutral, Carbon Capture and Storage

Recent changes in the business environment of the upstream oil and gas industry include the transition to a decarbonized and carbon-neutral society. Since then-Prime Minister Suga's declaration in late October 2020 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, companies and universities in Japan have rapidly accelerated their efforts toward decarbonization and carbon neutrality. Furthermore, looking at the global energy situation, in the spring of 2022, an event occurred that significantly changed geopolitical risks, showing no signs of subsiding to date. This has drastically altered the demand and supply structure of energy, continuing to have a profound impact on the economic situation. In 2023, new conflict in the Middle East added to these changes, further increasing the geopolitical risks surrounding energy. These changes have made the global community much more aware of the need to ensure stable energy supply and secure energy safety at the national level, highlighting the challenges the upstream oil and gas industry faces in achieving the dual goals of stable energy supply and realizing a carbon neutral society. In terms of transitioning to a carbon-neutral society, "advanced CCS projects" were selected in June 2023, assuming the start of CCS projects in Japan by 2030, and efforts towards commercialization have accelerated further. In this context, the social mission of engineers in the upstream oil and gas industry, who possess technologies developed in oil and natural gas development projects, especially-in the field of subsurface carbon dioxide storage-has become even more significant. The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology, where petroleum and natural gas development engineers gather, was founded in 1933 and is an academic organization with a history of over 90 years. The petroleum and natural gas development technologies cultivated over the long history of the Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology are based on the accumulation of important and advanced technologies, which remain indispensable for ensuring a stable energy supply. The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology aims to contribute to both ensuring energy stability and realizing a carbon-neutral society by inheriting and developing these technologies, as well as applying the techniques related to the elucidation of subsurface structures and understanding of subsurface fluid behavior in various fields such as geothermal development and CCS. In June 2023, the Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology established a vision to contribute both to the energy supply security and to the promotion of carbon neutrality, clarifying the direction of its immediate activities. As a first step, a "CCS Committee" was established in September 2023 to start activities focused on the field of CO2 subsurface storage, planning to expand interactions with the separation, capture, and transport sectors in the future. The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology promotes networking and collaboration with people from different industries and fields, expanding efforts in the CCS area, providing an important platform for entering new fields and industries, and welcoming new members from outside the upstream oil and gas industry, thereby realizing the sharing of a wide range of knowledge.