澳大利亚鼓励石油公司投资碳减排项目

据彭博社5月19日报道，澳大利亚正通过鼓励雪佛龙公司（Chevron Corp.）和伍德赛德石油有限公司（Woodside Petroleum Ltd.）等石油公司投资碳减排项目。

该国周二表示，将修改一项数十亿美元的气候基金，以支持碳捕获和储存等技术的发展，以提高效率，减少温室气体排放。根据提议，碳捕捉和储存项目将有资格获得碳信用，此举受到行业游说团体澳大利亚石油生产与勘探协会(Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association)的欢迎。桑托斯公司(Santos Ltd.)也对这一技术表示欢迎，该公司正在南澳大利亚开发一个由西方石油公司（OccidentalPetroleumCorp.）和英国石油公司（BP）支持的CCS项目。与此同时，雪佛龙(Chevron)已向其高更液化天然气(Gorgon LNG)工厂的一个碳封存项目投资数十亿美元，该项目在拖延数年后于8月投产。

桑托斯的首席执行官凯文?加拉格尔在一份声明中表示:“澳大利亚需要低成本、大规模的减排措施，以保持我们作为主要能源出口国和能源密集型材料(如钢铁和水泥)制造商的地位，并促进氢等新产业的发展。CCS技术可以为氢燃料经济的快速发展提供便利。”

洪伟立 摘译自 彭博社

原文如下：

Australia Looks to Big Oil in Latest Plan to Curb Emissions

Australia is seeking to cut emissions in one of the world’s biggest per-capita polluters by encouraging oil firms including Chevron Corp. and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. to invest in carbon-reduction projects.

The nation on Tuesday said it would revamp a multibillion-dollar climate fund to support the development of technologies such as carbon capture and storage to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases. The move was welcomed by the oil and gas industry and blasted by climate groups, which said it undermines renewable energy projects.

Under Taylor’s proposal, carbon capture and storage projects would be eligible for carbon credits, in a move welcomed by the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, an industry lobby group. It was also hailed by Santos Ltd., which is developing a CCS program in South Australia backed by Occidental Petroleum Corp. and BP Plc. Meanwhile, Chevron has ploughed billions of dollars into a carbon sequestration project at its Gorgon LNG plant, which started operation in August after several years of delay.

“Australia needs low-cost, large-scale abatement to maintain our position as a leading energy exporter and manufacturer of energy-intensive materials such as steel and cement, as well as to enable new industries such as hydrogen,” Santos Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said in a statement. “CCS can facilitate the fastest route to a hydrogen fueled economy.”