An inter-ministerial panel has suggested a slew of measures for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) as part of a national climate action plan that would assist the global carbon market by developing India into a carbon storage hub. The measures include providing considerable fiscal incentives to set up such projects.
The committee was formed with members of the petroleum ministry, industry executives and academics. The draft report titled “2030 Roadmap for CCUs for Upstream Exploration and Production Companies” has been shared with all the stakeholders for their comments.
“Given that the world is still in the early stages of the CCUS revolution, India has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to emerge as a global CCUS innovation hub,” the draft said. “Key enablers to achieving this will include incentives and R&D subsidies for the private sector to help position India as a global tech and entrepreneurial hub.”
Start now, expand later
The committee also proposed directing all the oil and gas companies to set net-zero targets over a specific timeframe and with clear milestones-based roadmaps. It said funds should be provided as support capital and for operating cost expenses in a limited number of demonstration projects.
In addition, there should also be a rapid scaling up of such projects with a clear focus on market-based measures, which means such projects cannot forever run on government support or subsidies. In fact, the panel said a fund could be created by pooling public and private sector resources for supporting these CCUS projects.
In fact, some of the oil companies have already started this process. ONGC’s EOR project at the Gandhar oilfield in Gujarat will be using carbon-di-oxide captured at and shipped from Indian Oil’s Koyali refinery in the state. The draft report actually identified several reservoirs in Gujarat and Assam for such activities.
The panel suggsted a hub and cluster operating model to connect multiple emitters with the storage locations via a common transport infrastructure. It would not only cut costs and risks but also facilitate and encourage greater volumes of carbon capture, the panel said adding that Bharuch district in Gujarat could be an ideal location to start with.
In addition, the draft report of the committee has also recommended to the government to create proper policy level measures that could address the long-term risks associated with the storage of carbon di-oxide.
