Japan’s INPEX Corporation has reached a major regulatory milestone in Australia after the federal government formally recognized a geological formation within the Bonaparte Basin as suitable for carbon dioxide storage.

The declaration marks Australia’s first such recognition for an offshore saline aquifer storage site, advancing one of the country’s major proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) developments.

The Bonaparte CCS Project, located approximately 260 kilometers from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, is operated by INPEX Browse E&P, which holds a 53% interest. TotalEnergies CCS Australia owns 26%, while Woodside Energy holds the remaining 21%.

The declaration confirms that the assessed geological formation meets the technical requirements for potential greenhouse gas injection and storage. However, the project must still secure additional regulatory approvals and commercial agreements before operations can begin.

The development is particularly significant for INPEX’s Ichthys LNG operations, which are expected to become the project’s primary customer.

According to INPEX, Bonaparte CCS could reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with Ichthys LNG by approximately 40%, supporting the company’s longer-term decarbonization strategy under its INPEX Vision 2035.

The latest milestone follows several years of technical assessments and regulatory progress.

The Bonaparte CCS joint venture began preliminary front-end engineering and design work in April 2025, following geological appraisal activities designed to evaluate the site’s suitability for long-term CO2 storage.

In July 2025, the Australian government granted the development Major Project Status, making it the first Australian offshore CCS project to receive that designation.

The partners are targeting initial CO2 injection in the early 2030s, subject to remaining environmental, regulatory and commercial requirements.

The Australian government has identified the West Peron formation as the proposed storage reservoir, with INPEX planning to inject up to 443 million tonnes of CO2 over a period of as much as 35 years.

The project could eventually serve additional industrial emitters across northern Australia, positioning the Bonaparte Basin as a potential regional carbon storage hub.

However, significant development hurdles remain. Environmental assessments are ongoing, with Northern Territory regulators having approved the project’s environmental impact statement terms of reference in July 2026.

For INPEX and its partners, the latest declaration reduces geological uncertainty but does not constitute final authorization to begin injecting CO2. The next stages will depend on regulatory clearance, infrastructure development, and securing commercially viable storage arrangements.

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