Aug. 30, 2024
INPEX CORPORATION
Nippon Steel Corporation
Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd.
INPEX CORPORATION (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Takayuki Ueda, President &
CEO; hereinafter “INPEX”), Nippon Steel Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo;
Tadashi Imai, President; hereinafter “Nippon Steel”) and Kanto Natural Gas Development Co.,
Ltd. (headquartered in Mobara-shi, Chiba; Takeshi Mori, President; hereinafter “Kanto Natural Gas
Development”) announced today that the three companies have concluded a consignment contract with
JOGMEC regarding the "basic engineering design for CCS value chain" and "assessment on
CO2 storage potential" including exploratory drilling” commissioned by the Japan
Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). The three companies had jointly applied to undertake
the Metropolitan area CCS project (hereinafter “project”).
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has expressed its support for projects aimed
at initiating CCS operations in Japan by 2030. As part of this effort, JOGMEC conducted a commissioned
study titled “Survey on the Implementation of Advanced CCS Projects” in 2023, which focused on
the feasibility of CO2 separation, capture, transportation and storage for this project. From
this fiscal year onwards, the three companies will proceed with the subsequent phases of the feasibility
study, including the design of the entire CCS value chain and the evaluation of storage potential.
The project will involve studying the feasibility of capturing CO2 emitted from Nippon
Steel’s East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area and multiple industries in the Keiyo Industrial Zone in the
Tokyo metropolitan area, transporting the CO2 through pipelines and storing the CO2
off the East Coast of the Boso Peninsula (Offshore saline aquifer). Each company will leverage its
respective technological capabilities and knowledge to jointly conduct studies and surveys in each segment
of the CCS value chain, including CO2 separation, capture, transportation and storage toward
the commercialization of CCS.
In its “Long-term Strategy and Medium-term Business Plan (INPEX Vision @ 2022)” formulated in
February 2022, INPEX positions CCS/CCUS as a priority business area to help realize a net zero carbon
society.
Nippon Steel has announced “Carbon Neutral Vision 2050” in its Medium- to Long-term management
plan” in March 2021, and positions CCS as one of the most important technologies in aiming for
carbon neutrality in 2050.
Kanto Natural Gas Development has expressed in the "Long-Term Management Vision 'VISION2030”
formulated in December 2022 that they will take on the challenge of achieving carbon neutrality by
2050.
Through the project, the three companies will collaborate to promote initiatives that contribute to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.
Media Contacts:
INPEX: Public Relations Group, Tel) +81-3-5572-0750
Nippon Steel: Public Relations Center, https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/contact/
Kanto Natural Gas Development: General Affairs Group, Tel) +81-475-23-1313
