Hu, Fukuda set to ink deal on CO2 capture and storage

Tokyo and Beijing are set to agree Wednesday to work jointly to contain China's growing volume of carbon dioxide emissions, a source of alarm around the world.

In their first summit meeting Wednesday in Tokyo, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao will agree on cutting-edge carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology designed to lessen the impact of China's headlong rush into modernization.

Hu is scheduled to arrive today for a five-day visit in Japan and cement the deal on Wednesday, sources said.

The project involves the capture and underground storage of carbon dioxide emissions at the Daqing oil field in Heilongjiang province. The oil field is the biggest in China.

Coal thermal power plants account for about 80 percent of electricity generation in China, whose continuing economic development is expected to feed demand for more thermal power plants.

A new technology, CCS is considered a key weapon in dealing with global warming.

Government officials in Japan and China believe CCS technology will help curb China's increased carbon dioxide emissions, expected to result from the country's expanding reliance on coal.

According to Japanese government sources, about 3 million tons of carbon dioxide would be collected annually at coal thermal power plants in Harbin and elsewhere. The carbon dioxide would then be transported by pipeline to the Daqing oil field.

The collaborative project would involve the public and private sectors, including Japan-based engineering company, JGC Corp.

The sources said the project could start in 2009, with total costs exceeding 20 billion yen.

One issue yet to be decided is how the cost burden will be shared between Japan and China.

The Daqing oil field produced about 42 million tons of petroleum in 2007, but its volume has declined in recent years.

Injecting carbon dioxide captured at thermal power plants into the oil field will lower the viscosity of the underground oil, making it easier to extract.

Officials of the two governments believe that the CCS technology could raise production at the Daqing oil field by about 1.5 million tons a year, helping to ease China's growing demand for energy.

For Japan's part, if the CCS project in China is recognized as a clean development mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol, it will earn emissions credits.(IHT/Asahi: May 6,2008)