The facility's final investment decision represents a series of 'firsts' for Chia and Yanchang Petroleum, one of China's largest oil and gas companies and the facility's owner.
This is the first large-scale CCUS facility to enter construction in China and Asia, and the first large-scale coal-to-chemicals carbon capture and stoarge facility.
Located near Xi'an (Shaanxi Province), Yanchuang CCUS will capture more than 400 000 tpy of CO2 from two coal gasification (Syngas) plants. It will reinject captured CO2 into previously developed oilfields to release oil from existing formations in a process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).
Global CCS Institute, Asia Pacific General Manager, Alex Zapantis, said the commitment and speed at which this project had progressed from conception to final investment was unrivalled.
"Four years ago, this was an industrial plant venting CO2 into the atmosphere. Today, just four years later, it is a standard-bearer for clean technoloy.
This facility is expected to capture between six and eight million t of CO2 over the course of its life. This is a massive credit to Yangchang Petroleum and the Shaanxi Province which has created a small piece of history in a city renowned for its rich history - the famed Terracotta Army."