Metropolitan CCS Ltd, a joint venture of INPEX Corp and Kanto Natural Gas Development Co Ltd, has begun drilling an appraisal well for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project planned to serve industrial emitters in the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Kujukuri-Oki J-1 well, located about five kilometers (3.11 miles) off the coast of the town of Kujukuri in Chiba Prefecture, “will serve to confirm the presence of geological formations suitable for CO2 storage”, INPEX said in a press release.
“In due course, Metropolitan CCS plans to conduct detailed analysis and evaluation, incorporating geological data to also be obtained from a second appraisal well (Kujukuri-Oki J-2) to assess the capacity of the area for the safe and long-term underground storage of CO2”.
INPEX announced approval for the drilling campaign from Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry on April 15. According to that announcement, it would take about four months to complete the first well and around three months for the second well.
Drilling targets the cap rock of the Ohara Formation within the Kazusa Group, as well as the reservoir and cap rock formations from the Namihana Formation to the Kurotaki Formation. The first well is approximately 1,900 meters (6,233.6 feet) below sea level while the second well is about 1,600 meters below sea level, INPEX said in April.
Last year INPEX, Kanto and Nippon Steel Corp signed a consignment agreement with the government’s Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) ensuring the continuation of engineering and design works for the project.
“In connection with this, JOGMEC commissioned a survey on the implementation of advanced CCS projects in 2023, and engineering and design work for advanced CCS projects in 2024, both of which were jointly undertaken by the parties”, INPEX said May 21, 2025. “Through these commissioned projects, the parties conducted feasibility studies on CO2 separation, recovery, transportation and storage in the initial phase, and basic engineering and design for the entire CCS value chain and appraisal of CO2 storage potential in the subsequent phase.
“The consignment contract for FY2025 was concluded to enable the parties to continue the basic engineering and design and appraisal work initiated last year.
“The project will involve studying the feasibility of capturing CO2 emitted from Nippon Steel’s East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area and multiple industries in the Keiyo Industrial Zone in the Tokyo metropolitan area, transporting the CO2 through pipelines and storing the CO2 off the East Coast of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture (offshore saline aquifer).
“Each company will leverage its respective technological capabilities and knowledge to jointly conduct studies and surveys in each segment of the CCS value chain, including CO2 separation, capture, transportation and storage toward the commercialization of CCS”.
On April 1, 2025 INPEX and Kanto Natural Gas launched their Metropolitan CCS JV to accelerate research and planning for the project. The JV will be the “core company tasked with technical evaluation, including CO2 storage assessment and the study of potential routes for pipeline installation, as well as business evaluation”, INPEX said then.
INPEX owns 85 percent of Metropolitan CCS. Kanto Natural Gas holds 15 percent.
Nippon Steel, whose emissions will be captured and sequestered by the project, is tasked with the capture and separation components, according to INPEX.