This study looks at the question of whether time-lapse gravity measurements could be used to monitor the density and geometry carbon dioxide plume in the ground for a typical Gippsland Basin reservoir. The considerations made indicate that gravity measurements would not be suitable as a means to detect carbon dioxide density, distribution and movement in a reservoir the size of the West Seahorse field. The maximum gravity anomaly that would be expected is calculated to be 1.4 -Gal, while the experience in other parts of the world, using sensitive sea floor gravity metres, indicate that at present this technology can resolve about 5 -Gal. Furthermore, the horizontal and vertical gradients of the maximum anomaly are of the order of 0.007 E ( 0.007 ?m/s2/km), while the most sensitive reported airship measurements of gravity gradient are reported to be resolving of the order of 1.7 E.

In mid 2011 the Australian Government announced funding of a new four year National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to accelerate the identification and development of sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 in Australia that are within reasonable distances of major energy and industrial CO2 emission sources. The NCIP program promotes pre-competitive storage exploration and provides a basis for the development of transport and storage infrastructure. The Plan follows on from recommendations from the Carbon Storage Taskforce and the National CCS Council (formerly, the National Low Emissions Coal Council). It builds on the work funded under the National Low Emissions Coal Initiative and the need for adequate storage to be identified as a national priority. Geoscience Australia is providing strategic advice in delivering the plan and will lead in the acquisition of pre-competitive data. Four offshore sedimentary basins (Bonaparte, Browse, Perth and Gippsland basins) and several onshore basins have been identified for pre-competitive data acquisition and study. The offshore Petrel Sub-basin is located in Bonaparte Basin, in NW Australia, has been identified as a potential carbon storage hub for CO2 produced as a by-product from future LNG processing associated with the development of major gas accumulations on the NW Shelf. The aim of the project is to determine if the sub-basin is suitable for long-term storage, and has the potential capacity to be a major storage site. The project began in June 2011 and will be completed by July 2013. As part of the project, new 2D seismic data will be acquired in an area of poor existing seismic coverage along the boundary of the two Greenhouse Gas Assessment Areas, which were released in 2009.

No abstract available

The Browse Basin is located in the southern Timor Sea region of Australia's North West Shelf and covers an area of ~140,000 km2. It was identified as containing potential Environmentally Suitable Sites for carbon dioxide (CO2) Injection (ESSCI) by the Australian Petroleum CRC's GEODISC program (1999-2003). A regional geological reconnaissance of Cenozoic sandstone and carbonate sequences in the Browse Basin was undertaken in 2007 to determine the potential storage and sealing capacity for geological storage of CO2, the results of which are presented in this report. Methods included the review of available literature and well-completion reports, lithological and mineral analysis of selected well cuttings and interpretation of the wire-line and seismic response of the Cenozoic section.

Between March 2008 and August 2009, 65,445 tonnes of ~75 mol% CO2 gas were injected in a depleted natural gas reservoir approximately 2000 m below surface at the Otway project site in Victoria, Australia. Groundwater flow and composition were monitored biannually in 2 near-surface aquifers between June 2006 and March 2011, spanning the pre-, syn- and post-injection periods. The shallow (~0-100 m), unconfined, porous and karstic aquifer of the Port Campbell Limestone and the deeper (~600-900 m), confined and porous aquifer of the Dilwyn Formation contain valuable fresh water resources. Groundwater levels in either aquifer have not been affected by the drilling, pumping and injection activities that were taking place, or by the precipitation increase observed during the project. In terms of groundwater composition, the Port Campbell Limestone groundwater is fresh (electrical conductivity = 801-3900 ?S/cm), cool (temperature = 12.9-22.5 °C), and near-neutral (pH 6.62-7.45), whilst the Dilwyn Formation groundwater is fresher (electrical conductivity 505-1473 ?S/cm), warmer (temperature = 42.5-48.5 °C), and more alkaline (pH 7.43-9.35). Evapotranspiration and carbonate dissolution control the composition of the groundwaters. Comparing the chemical and isotopic composition of the groundwaters collected before, during and after injection shows either no sign of statistically significant changes or, where they are statistically significant, changes that are generally opposite those expected if CO2 addition had taken place. The monitoring program demonstrates that the physical and chemical integrity of the groundwater resources has been preserved in the area.

This series of cross sections and data show the suitablility of the Sydney Basin for storage of carbon dioxide.Cartography file number 07-1825-1.

A Bayesian inversion technique to determine the location and strength of trace gas emissions from a point source in open air is presented. It was tested using atmospheric measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) released at known rates from a source located within an array of eight evenly spaced sampling points on a 20 m radius circle. The analysis requires knowledge of concentration enhancement downwind of the source and the normalized, three-dimensional distribution (shape) of concentration in the dispersion plume. The influence of varying background concentrations of ~1% for N2O and ~10% for CO2 was removed by subtracting upwind concentrations from those downwind of the source to yield only concentration enhancements. Continuous measurements of turbulent wind and temperature statistics were used to model the dispersion plume. The analysis localized the source to within 0.8 m of the true position and the emission rates were determined to better than 3% accuracy. This technique will be useful in assurance monitoring for geological storage of CO2 and for applications requiring knowledge of the location and rate of fugitive emissions.

The Australian Government is developing enabling legislation that will underpin the development of safe and secure geological storage of greenhouse gases in Australia's offshore waters. The proposed legislation will facilitate the release of acreage for the identification and use of geological storage formations by industry proponents. A current proposal is that the release of the areas will be modelled on Australia's current system for the release of offshore petroleum acreage. This paper addresses the technical, policy, social, commercial, regulatory and economic issues to be considered in selecting areas to be released for geological storage in Australian offshore areas. Prospectivity for geological storage formations is the primary criterion for selection, and release areas will typically be defined on the basis of regional assessments. The paper briefly reviews the GEODISC program and its outcomes, and discusses the availability and limitations of other geological data used to support site selection. Regional examples of possible migration paths will be considered, and their impact on area boundaries, in conjunction with the licensing requirements of the proposed legislation. Source-sink matching is addressed, together with a discussion on the potential interactions with petroleum resources. Please Note: As at the submission date for abstracts, policy for geological storage in areas under the jurisdiction of the Australian Government is awaiting endorsement by the current Government. At this time, the abstract can therefore only consider issues relating to exploration acreage release in a universal manner, rather than specifically. If enabling legislation is passed, more specific examples of acreage selection may be provided, together with details of the legislative and regulatory constraints. The content of the paper is therefore dependent on the status of the legislation and release process at the time the paper is submitted.

This report is part of the results of a study into the potential for the geological storage of carbon dioxide within the Triassic Formations of the Galilee Basin in central Queensland carried out in Geoscience Australia on behalf of the CO2CRC. A review of the geological potential of the area has been issued as a separate report (Marsh et al., 2008) and this document describes the construction of a static geological model of one of the potential reservoirs in one area of the basin, while the results of a preliminary dynamic simulation study based on this model will be presented in a separate report by the reservoir engineer Yildiray Cinar of UNSW.

A study conducted under the Storage Programme of the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), investigating the potential for CO2 storage in the southern portion of the Perth Basin. The aim was to identify the sites most suitable for future carbon capture and storage projects (CCS) surrounding the emission centres of the Perth region. The study employed the methods developed under the GEODISC program: Project 2- Site Specific Studies, wherein a site is assessed for its CO2 emissions and site details; geology and stratigraphy; reservoir capacity; containment potential; and impacts on natural resources.