INPEX Corporation, an oil and gas company based in Japan has started the front end engineering design (FEED) work for the Niigata Prefecture offshore hydrogen production in Japan. The project will leverage INPEX’s existing fields and infrastructure to generate low-carbon energy.
The project also comprises a new hydrogen production plant that has an annual production capacity of approximatively 100,000 tons. Raw materials will come from INPEX’s Minami-Nagaoka Gas Field and LNG shipped to its Naoetsu Terminal in Niigata Prefecture. INPEX will mainly source LNG from the Ichthys LNG project.
The plant will provide hydrogen for electricity and heating to Niigata Prefecture and surrounding region and will be operational around fiscal 2022.
The facility will use carbon capture and storage technology to capture CO2 emissions during hydrogen production and inject them into Niigata’s depleting gas fields. This would make all the hydrogen produced in such a facility classed as blue hydrogen compared to others produced using traditional methods.
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INPEX’s blue hydrogen project is one of the very few initiatives in Japan, which improves energy security and also offers solutions for low-carbon energy. The project will largely help supply clean energy by creating large-scale production of domestic gas reserves-based blue hydrogen.
For more than 60 years, INPEX has explored and produced oil and natural gas in Niigata Prefecture, building up experience. In addition, the company runs an LNG terminal in the area. INPEX’s new project is to develop Niigata Prefecture as a clean energy hub and expand its low-carbon energy business.
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Commitment to Net Zero and Future Targets
INPEX’s blue hydrogen production initiative aligns with its Vision @2022, announced in February 2022. It provides a framework of how the company is going to achieve net-zero emissions. Under this vision, INPEX has ambitious targets for its hydrogen and CCS/CCUS business. The company aims to commercialize three or more projects by 2030, while the production and supply of 100,000 tons of hydrogen or ammonia per year and injecting 2.5 million tons of CO2 per year is the target.