Chevron Corp., based in California, has made two lower-carbon project investments in Western Australia (WA) through its Chevron Australia New Energies Pty Ltd. and Chevron Australia Pty Ltd. subsidiaries, the company said in a news release.
“We believe that the future of energy is lower carbon,” Chevron New Energies Vice President of Offsets and Emerging Barbara Harrison said. “Australia is not only an essential part of Chevron’s established portfolio, but we also see tremendous potential to develop businesses that help achieve our lower carbon aspirations.”
Serving as Chevron’s first nature-based carbon offsets project in Australia, the initiative will help fund the WA-based Carbon Sync, a soil carbon sequestration pilot project on more than 80,000 hectares of WA’s cropping and grazing region.
“I am thrilled that a large multinational organization has recognised the potential of Carbon Sync to change the carbon equation for WA’s agricultural industry, as well as create jobs and further investment for our state,” Carbon Sync Founder and CEO Louise Edmonds said. “Through these pilot projects, we aim to enhance the sustainability of WA’s agricultural sector and improve biodiversity outcomes.”
Soil carbon sequestration is a set of farming practices that improve the ability of farm soil to capture and hold carbon, the Carbon Sync website says.
Chevron has also secured a multi-year research project with Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab to pursue potential CO2 sequestration opportunities in WA’s coastal wetlands.
“The two projects we are part of in WA are examples of the multiple pathways on that lower carbon journey,” Chevron Australia’s General Manager, Energy Transition, David Fallon, said. “Our collaboration with Carbon Sync is expected to provide critical insights related to soil carbon projects, in a region with large potential for scale to help meet the forecasted demand for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs),” Fallon said. “With the Blue Carbon Lab contribution, we are excited to explore the opportunities for blue carbon in WA’s saltmarsh, mangrove and seagrass environments.”