Ministry approves first carbon sequestration exploration

• By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Environment yesterday said it has approved the nation’s first carbon sequestration geological exploration plan, marking a shift from policy to practice in Taiwan’s carbon sequestration efforts.

The plan was proposed by Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC, 台塑石化), based in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮).

Last month, media reports said that Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp were jointly planning and evaluating a carbon capture and storage project in deep waters off the township. The project is expected to help TSMC acquire low-carbon electricity in line with its net zero target.

The Ministry of Environment in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph.

Photo: Taipei Times

The ministry yesterday said that FPC proposed the geological exploration plan last month in accordance with the Regulations for the Management of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (二氧化碳補捉後封存管理辦法), which were promulgated in August.

The project is to conduct a geological exploration of a 2,500km2 area that covers the FPG-run Mailiao Industrial Park and offshore waters, the ministry said.

The exploration work includes onshore and offshore seismic surveys, exploratory well drilling, well testing, petrophysical and core mechanics analysis, monitoring facility and model evaluation, it said.

The goal is to assess whether the area has reservoir stratum and caprock at 1,000m to 1,800m below ground level to ensure the safety of the sequestration site, it said.

Geological exploration is critical to selecting a carbon storage site, which must have a storage reservoir that is thick, continuous and topped by a compact, intact caprock layer to serve as a reliable sealing barrier, it said.

Such geological conditions and potential leakage pathways must be examined based on field measured data obtained through seismic surveys and hydrocarbon exploration, the ministry said.

FPC may start geological exploration after the ministry approved the plan on Thursday, but it may not apply for carbon storage at the site until its carbon sequestration project has completed an environmental impact assessment, it added.

The ministry held two meetings with authorities and experts to review the plan, it said.

They approved the exploration methods proposed by FPC as well as the plan’s scope of implementation and duration from Thursday to Dec. 31, 2031, it said.

No carbon dioxide injection test is allowed in future evaluation of the site’s injection reservoir, the ministry said.

Approving the exploration does not mean the site’s sequestration potential has become exclusionary, nor does it guarantee that the company’s future application for carbon storage would be prioritized, it said.

The plan’s reviewers have asked the company to do an environmental base line survey and take environmental protection measures before it starts drilling exploratory wells, the ministry said, urging the company to conduct environmental impact assessments based on exploration results.