Chevron’s Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Western Australia recorded its weakest performance to date during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, renewing scrutiny over the effectiveness and economics of large-scale CCS projects in the oil and gas sector.
According to Chevron’s latest annual performance review, the Gorgon facility sequestered approximately 1.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide during the period – less than half the volume captured in its first year of operation in 2019.
The figure represents roughly 25% of the carbon dioxide removed from Chevron’s nearby associated gas fields, according to analysis reported by Renew Economy.
The results continue a downward trend for the project. In the previous 2023-2024 fiscal year, carbon storage at Gorgon had already fallen to historically low levels, accounting for just 30% of the carbon separated from gas production, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Critics question economics as injection rates fall
The latest data has intensified criticism from climate analysts who argue that CCS remains an expensive and inefficient climate mitigation tool, particularly when deployed alongside continued fossil fuel production.
IEEFA has noted that declining injection rates at Gorgon effectively raise the cost per ton of carbon stored, weakening the project’s overall economic and environmental case.
Chevron, however, maintains that Gorgon’s challenges are specific to site conditions rather than indicative of broader CCS limitations.
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The company has attributed reduced injection rates to pressure management issues within the underground reservoir and says remedial work is underway.
“While we have continued to store as much carbon dioxide as we safely can during this period, carbon dioxide injection rates have decreased,” a Chevron spokesperson said, adding that injection rates are expected to increase once technical works are completed.
Gorgon’s performance is not an isolated case. A 2022 IEEFA review found that 10 of the world’s 13 large-scale “flagship” CCS projects had underperformed against initial expectations.
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