Australia Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006
The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 is the Commonwealth statute for offshore petroleum and CO2 storage from 3 nautical miles to the exclusive economic zone boundary; carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse-gas substance prescribed under it. It runs a full title chain — assessment permit (competitive work-bid, roughly 6-12 months to award), holding lease, injection licence with approved site plans, then site-closing certificate and surrender — with Key GHG Operation approvals for each on-water activity. The 2024 Safety Amendment (No. 43, assent June 11, 2024) implemented the offshore safety review and clarified eligible storage formations; 2025 amendments (No. 73, in force December 2025) added cross-boundary titles. Activity regulation sits in three instruments: Environment Regulations 2023 (activity-based Environment Plans to ALARP), Safety Regulations 2024, and Resource Management and Administration Regulations 2025 (well operations). Titles advice comes from NOPTA, health/safety/environment from NOPSEMA, decisions from the Responsible Commonwealth Minister (pipeline and infrastructure licences jointly with states), and any appraisal injection additionally needs a Sea Dumping Permit under the London Protocol.
National Governance Context
Australia Overview
Aggregate National Maturity Index (Peak Strength)
Governed Policies
4
Identified Projects
44
Related Policy Network
Directly Linked Assets
Adbri Project
Capture — 0 Mtpa
Cliff Head CCS Project
Storage — 1 Mtpa
CTSCo Project
Full chain — 0.11 Mtpa
Middle Arm CO2 import terminal (NT)
Transport — 0 Mtpa
ZETA
CCU — 0.1 Mtpa
NSW CO2 SAP
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Otway CCS Hub
Storage — 0.2 Mtpa
Cygnus CCS Hub phase 1
Storage — 0.5 Mtpa
Incapture G-15-AP
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Chevron G-20-AP
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Cygnus CCS Hub phase 2
Storage — 0.5 Mtpa
Chevron G-18-AP
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Worsley Alumina CCS
Capture — 0.7 Mtpa
Ichthys LNG (Darwin)
Full chain — 0 Mtpa
5,000 TA CO2 (Australia) phase 1
Full chain — 0.005 Mtpa
Arckaringa
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Cstore 2
T&S — 7.5 Mtpa
Gorgon CCS
Full chain — 1.6 Mtpa
H2Perth Woodside
Capture — 0 Mtpa
Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project Full scale (CarbonNET)
Capture — 1.8 Mtpa
MEPAU Mid West CCUS hub
Capture — 0 Mtpa
Mid West Clean Energy Project
Capture — 1 Mtpa
Angel CCS
T&S — 5 Mtpa
Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage
Full chain — 1.7 Mtpa
South East Australia carbon capture and storage (SEA CCS) hub
T&S — 2 Mtpa
Kwinana Industrial Area CO2 Aggregation Project
Capture — 0 Mtpa
South West Hub Project
Storage — 0.8 Mtpa
Wesfarmers Mitsui WA low-carbon ammonia
Capture — 0 Mtpa
Barossa and Darwin liquefied natural gas (DLNG) CCUS
Capture — 2.3 Mtpa
Cstore 1
T&S — 7.5 Mtpa
Reindeer CCS
Storage — 5 Mtpa
Santos Bonaparte Basin storage
Storage — 0 Mtpa
Bonaparte CCS Block G-7 AP
Storage — 10 Mtpa
Berrima cement plant (NSW)
CCU — 0.1 Mtpa
Longford gas plant
Capture — 2 Mtpa
Bridgeport Energy Moonie CCUS Project
T&S — 0.12 Mtpa
Woodside Browse CCS Assessment
Full chain — 0 Mtpa
Geovault Canning Basin CCS Assessment
Storage — 0 Mtpa
J-Power Sumitomo joint feasibility clean hydrogen Latrobe Valley (VI)
Capture — 0 Mtpa
CarbonNet
T&S — 6 Mtpa
HIF Tasmania eFuels Facility (TAS)
CCU — 0.3 Mtpa
Yara Pilbara ammonia
Capture — 0 Mtpa
WAH2 Clean Ammonia Project - phase 1
Capture — 0.25 Mtpa
WAH2 Clean Ammonia Project - phase 2
Capture — 0.55 Mtpa