Pilot Energy Cliff Head Oil Field site tour discusses potential Mid West Clean Energy Project transformation

Pilot Energy showcased its proposed Mid West Clean Energy Project to potential partners last week at an exclusive site visit, providing an opportunity for interested parties to see the infrastructure first hand. On Wednesday, Pilot Energy invited organisations to a 90 minute tour of the Arrowsmith Separation Plant, as part of an information session on existing onshore processing infrastructure at the Cliff Head offshore oilfield and its potential future as a permanent carbon dioxide (CO2) storage operation. The visit aimed to provide an insight into the project’s scope, which was identified by Pilot Energy about four years ago, and foster collaboration among industry players. Attendees included representatives from 8 Rivers, Capture6, Climeworks, and CarbonCo, alongside Pilot Energy executives. Following approvals, Pilot Energy plans to take the long-term oilfield, which is nearing the end of its life, and transform it into a permanent warehouse for CO2 storage using its current infrastructure, as part of the clean energy transition. The project is aiming to produce up to 1.2 million tonnes of clean ammonia per annum. Pilot Energy chairman Brad Lingo engaged with attendees and answered questions along the tour. He said the transition was subject to State and Federal regulatory approvals but hoped it would begin in 2026. “It’s the way that the field was originally developed, both onshore and offshore, that make it low cost, low risk and a responsible, essentially recycling and repurposing, of what’s already been built with a very small change in its existing footprint,” he said. “There are two things that we’ve got to do. The first is to stop pumping raw CO2 sewage into our atmosphere. But then we also have to deal with all the CO2 we’ve already put into the atmosphere.”