Woodside and KOGAS sign agreement to study green hydrogen pilot project

The letter of agreement was signed Tuesday at the KOGAS stand in the Gastech exhibition hall at a ceremony attended by Woodside CEO Peter Coleman and KOGAS CEO Hee-bong Chae. The signatories to the letter were Woodside Executive Vice President Marketing Trading & Shipping Reinhardt Matisons and KOGAS Executive Vice President Yang mi Choi.

The latest agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies in mid-2018. Since then Woodside and KOGAS have held a series of joint workshops investigating the potential of hydrogen as a fuel of the future.

The partners now plan to examine the feasibility of a green hydrogen project across the entire value chain, including production, storage, transportation and distribution.

Woodside’s Matisons said collaboration was at the heart of Woodside’s culture of innovation.

“This agreement will allow us to progress our work identifying and exploring options for hydrogen production and supply chains. KOGAS and Woodside have a longstanding relationship and it is fitting that we are taking steps together towards a low-carbon energy future,” he said.

A KOGAS spokesperson said: “We will continue to expand the research in various fields necessary to create economic and stable hydrogen production and supply infrastructure in line with the government’s energy conversion policy and the hydrogen economy revitalisation roadmap.”

Earlier Coleman told Gastech delegates that hydrogen was one of the new lower-carbon energy solutions that Woodside was working on.

“We are considering all options for managing and reducing emissions from our facilities, whether through changes in facility design or improving the efficiency of our operations,” the head of Australia’s LNG industry pioneer told a plenary session on Tuesday.

“As Woodside heads into a growth phase in northern Australia, we are looking to integrate renewable and gas-fired generation to power our facilities, with environmental and commercial benefits.”

Coleman added that offsets would also play a role for Woodside. “We have set up an internal business to generate and acquire quality offsets, and are pursuing options including environmental planting, partnerships for savannah burning, and international opportunities,” he said.