據彭博社5月19日報道，澳大利亞正通過鼓勵雪佛龍公司（Chevron Corp.）和伍德賽德石油有限公司（Woodside Petroleum Ltd.）等石油公司投資碳減排項目。

該國周二表示，將修改一項數十億美元的氣候基金，以支持碳捕獲和儲存等技術的發展，以提高效率，減少溫室氣體排放。根據提議，碳捕捉和儲存項目將有資格獲得碳信用，此舉受到行業游說團體澳大利亞石油生產與勘探協會(Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association)的歡迎。桑托斯公司(Santos Ltd.)也對這一技術表示歡迎，該公司正在南澳大利亞開發一個由西方石油公司（OccidentalPetroleumCorp.）和英國石油公司（BP）支持的CCS項目。與此同時，雪佛龍(Chevron)已向其高更液化天然氣(Gorgon LNG)工廠的一個碳封存項目投資數十億美元，該項目在拖延數年后于8月投產。

桑托斯的首席執行官凱文?加拉格爾在一份聲明中表示:“澳大利亞需要低成本、大規模的減排措施，以保持我們作為主要能源出口國和能源密集型材料(如鋼鐵和水泥)制造商的地位，并促進氫等新產業的發展。CCS技術可以為氫燃料經濟的快速發展提供便利。”

洪偉立 摘譯自 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.”