In 2011 as part of the National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), Geoscience Australia started a three year project to provide new pre-competitive data and a more detailed assessment of the Vlaming Sub-basin prospectivity for the storage of CO2. Initial assessment by Causebrook 2006 of this basin identified Gage Sandstone and South Perth Shale (SPS) formations as the main reservoir/seal pair suitable for long-term storage of CO2. SPS is a thick (1900 m) deltaic succession with highly variable lithologies. It was estimated that the SPS is capable of holding a column of CO2 of up to 663m based on 6 MICP tests (Causebrook, 2006). The current study found that sealing capacity of the SPS varies considerably across the basin depending on what part of the SPS Supersequence is present at that location. Applying a sequence-stratigraphic approach, the distribution of mudstone facies within the SPS Supersequence, was mapped across the basin. This facies is the effective sub-regional seal of the SPS. Analysis of the spatial distribution and thickness of the effective seal is used for characterisation of the containment potential in the Vlaming Sub-basin CO2 storage assessment.

As part of the National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) Geoscience Australia is undertaking evaluation of the Gage Sandstone and the overlying South Perth Shale for the long-term storage of CO2. Initial assessment of the seismic data identified widespread fault reactivation and seismic anomalies potentially indicating hydrocarbon seepage. Some of the seismic anomalies clearly correlate with reactivated faults, but not all of them. The study highlights the importance of developing a detailed understanding of spatial variability in seal quality and history of fault reactivation both for petroleum exploration and CO2 storage assessments.

In the 2011/12 Budget, the Australian Government announced funding of a four year National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to accelerate the identification and development of suitable long term CO2 storage sites, within reasonable distances of major energy and industrial emission sources. The NCIP funding follows on from funding announced earlier in 2011 from the Carbon Storage Taskforce through the National Carbon Mapping and Infrastructure Plan and previous funding recommended by the former National Low Emissions Coal Council. Four offshore sedimentary basins and several onshore basins have been identified for study and pre-competitive data acquisition.

Phase two of the China Australia Geological Storage of CO2 (CAGS2) project aimed to build on the success of the previous CAGS project and promote capacity building, training opportunities and share expertise on the geological storage of CO2. The project was led by Geoscience Australia (GA) and China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) through the Administrative Centre for China's Agenda 21 (ACCA21). CAGS2 has successfully completed all planned activities including three workshops, two carbon capture and storage (CCS) training schools, five research projects focusing on different aspects of the geological storage of CO2, and ten researcher exchanges to China and Australia. The project received favourable feedback from project partners and participants in CAGS activities and there is a strong desire from the Chinese government and Chinese researchers to continue the collaboration. The project can be considered a highly successful demonstration of bi-lateral cooperation between the Australian and Chinese governments. Through the technical workshops, training schools, exchange programs, and research projects, CAGS2 has facilitated and supported on-going collaboration between many research institutions and industry in Australia and China. More than 150 experts, young researchers and college students, from over 30 organisations, participated in CAGS2. The opportunity to interact with Australian and international experts at CAGS hosted workshops and schools was appreciated by the participants, many of whom do not get the opportunity to attend international conferences. Feedback from a CAGS impact survey found that the workshops and schools inspired many researchers and students to pursue geological storage research. The scientific exchanges proved effective and often fostered further engagement between Chinese and Australian researchers and their host organisations. The research projects often acted as a catalyst for attracting additional CCS funding (at least A$700,000), including two projects funded under the China Clean Development Mechanism Fund. CAGS sponsored research led to reports, international conference presentations, and Chinese and international journal papers. CAGS has established a network of key CCS/CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) researchers in China and Australia. This is exemplified by the fact that 4 of the 6 experts that provided input on the 'storage section' of the 12th Five-Year plan for Scientific and Technological Development of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, which laid out the technical policy priorities for R&D and demonstration of CCUS technology in China, were CAGS affiliated researchers. The contributions of CAGS to China's capacity building and policy CCUS has been acknowledged by the Chinese Government. CAGS support of young Chinese researchers is particularly noted and well regarded. Letters have been sent to the Secretary of the Department of Industry and Science and to the Deputy CEO of Geoscience Australia, expressing China's gratitude for the Australian Government's support and GA's cooperation in the CAGS project.

This GHGT-12 conference paper hightlights some results of GA's work on "Regional assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the Mesozoic sucession in the Petrel Sub-basin, Northern Territory, Australia. Record 2014/11".

The Vlaming Sub-basin Marine Survey GA-0334 was undertaken in March and April 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP). The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data to help identify sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 within reasonable distances of major sources of CO2 emissions. This dataset contains identifications of animals collected from 32 Van Veen grabs deployed during GA-0334. Sediment was elutriated for ~ 5 minutes over a 500um sieve. Retained sediments and animals were then preserved in 70% ethanol for later laboratory sorting and identification (see `lineage'). During sorting, all worms were separated and sent to Infaunal Data Pty Ltd (Lynda Avery) for identification to species or operational taxonomic unit (OTU). Lynda Avery completed identifications on 17 April 2013, and specimens were lodged at the Museum of Victoria. All other taxa were identified to morphospecies at GA by an ecologist. Gray shading indicates taxa identified to species level by Lynda Avery (Refer to GeoCat # 76463 for raw data of species identifications by taxonomist); all other taxa were identified to morphospecies. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist/ecologist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications. Stations are named XXGRYY where XX indicates the station number, GR indicates Van Veen grabs, and YY indicates the sequence of grabs deployed (i.e. the YYth grab on the entire survey). H indicates heavy fraction animals and HS indicates animals found on a sponge. The dataset is current as of November 2014, but will be updated as taxonomic experts contribute. See GA Record 2013/09 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition.

Questions often asked by the public in regard to the concept of CO2 storage include; "But won?t it leak?", and "How long will it stay down there?". The natural environment of petroleum systems documents many of the processes which will influence CO2 storage outcomes, and the likely long (geological) timeframes that will operate. Thousand of billions of barrels of hydrocarbons have been trapped and stored in geological formations in sedimentary basins for 10s to 100s of millions of years, as has substantial volumes of CO2 that has been generated through natural processes. Examples from Australia and major hydrocarbon provinces of the world are documented, including those basins with major accumulations that are currently trapped in their primary reservoir, those that have accumulated hydrocarbons in the primary reservoir and then through tectonic activity spilled them to other secondary traps or released the hydrocarbons to the atmosphere, and those that generated hydrocarbons but for which no effective traps were in place for hydrocarbons to accumulate. Some theoretical modelling of the likelihood of meeting stabilisation targets using geological storage are based on leakage rates which are implausibly high when compared to observations from viable storage locations in the natural environment, and do not necessarily account for the likelihood of delay times for leakage to the atmosphere or the timeframe in which geological events will occur. Without appropriate caveats, they potentially place at risk the public perception of how efficient and effective appropriately selected geological reservoirs could be for storage of CO2. If the same rigorous methods, technology and skills that are used to explore for, find and produce hydrocarbon accumulations are now used for finding safe and secure storage sites for CO2, the traps so identified can be expected to contain the CO2 after injection for similar periods of time as that in which hydrocarbons and CO2 have been stored in the natural environment.

Identification of major hydrocarbon provinces from existing world assessments for hydrocarbon potential can be used to identify those sedimentary basins at a global level that will be highly prospective for CO2 storage. Most sedimentary basins which are minor petroleum provinces and many non-petroliferous sedimentary basins will also be prospective for CO2 storage. Accurate storage potential estimates will require that each basin be assessed individually, but many of the prospective basins may have ranges from high to low prospectivity. The degree to which geological storage of CO2 will be implemented in the future will depend on the geographical and technical relationships between emission sites and storage locations, and the economic drivers that affect the implementation for each source to sink match. CO2 storage potential is a naturally occurring resource, and like any other natural resource there will be a need to provide regional access to the better sites if the full potential of the technology is to be realized. Whilst some regions of the world have a paucity of opportunities in their immediate geographic confines, others are well endowed. Some areas whilst having good storage potential in their local region may be challenged by the enormous volume of CO2 emissions that are locally generated. Hubs which centralize the collection and transport of CO2 in a region could encourage the building of longer and larger pipelines to larger and technically more viable storage sites and so reduce costs due to economies of scale.

The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) is planning a pilot project to inject, store, and monitor carbon dioxide in a depleted gas field (Naylor Field) in the Otway Basin, Victoria, in Southeast Australia. Approximately 100,000 tonnes of CO2 are planned to be injected over a 2 year period in a new well to be located down dip of the existing crestal well. An accurate and detailed geological assessment and characterization is essential to the selection/evaluation of any potential carbon storage site, as this provides the inputs for the reservoir models that are needed to design the monitoring and verification programs. For the proposed Otway Basin Pilot Project, the stratigraphy and structure of the Early Cretaceous Waarre Formation in the Port Campbell Embayment has been studied. Detailed geological models for reservoir simulation have been established based on geological, geophysical and history matching studies. Particular emphasis has been placed on the Early Cretaceous Waarre Formation (the main regional and proposed injection reservoir) in the Naylor Field. Uncertainties in the geological model (based on good 3D seismic but poor well data) will be ultimately minimized through the drilling and logging of a new well and the re-logging of the existing well. Prior to this, there is a need to understand the geological uncertainties as they stand, so that an effective well location and well testing program can be defined. Based on limited palynological control (from neighboring wells) the Waarre Formation is not notably time transgressive within the study area; beyond this only a broad breakdown is possible. The Waarre Formation is divisible into units A, B, C and D, A being the oldest. Only the Waarre C reservoir unit is of immediate interest. From regional work it is interpreted that the top of unit B is associated with minor erosion and incision, prior to the onset of significant growth faulting associated with continental breakup. Initial Waarre C deposition is sandy incised valley fill deposits on this eroded surface. The configuration of these basal Waarre C deposits has been seismically mapped. Core interpretation establishes that subsequent Waarre C deposition occurred on a sandy low sinuosity fluvial braid plain. study area; although there are indications that the upper Waarre C was partially eroded prior to transgression of the overlying marine Waarre D unit. The Waarre C section is characterized by clean high permeability sandstones, interpreted as abandoned channel fill ~2m thick, within which there are thin shales. These shales form the only significant flow barriers within this upper unit; and appear to comprise less than 10% of the section, but mapping their distribution is difficult. Several PETREL reservoir models were created to capture the uncertainty and potential reservoir heterogeneity of the Waarre C in the Naylor Field; key parameters (for example: porosity, permeability, channel orientation, shale content, connectivity, and gradient of the top structure) have been systematically varied to provide the most likely and extreme cases for the subsequent reservoir simulation studies. The reservoir properties have been characterized through history matching of the well-head pressure and water-cut data over the 18-month production history of the well using systematic numerical simulation approaches. The results indicate that the reservoir has an average permeability of 500-1000 mD, the original gas-water contact was at 2020 meters depth and that there was a significant aquifer support to the reservoir. This reservoir characterization and history matching study has provided additional and essential knowledge of the field and helped to constrain the injection location. The study establishes a sensible current reservoir condition, which will subsequently be used as the initial condition in the simulation of CO2 injection in the depleted gas field.

This invited contribution reviews applications of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) to study the microstructure of sedimentary and igneous rocks in the last two decades. It is demonstrated how SANS can be used to explore the microstructure of rocks and help gain insights into internal specific surface area, porosity, pore size distribution, mercury intrusion porosimetry, compaction, subsurface generation of oil and gas, adsorption of gases, imbibition of water, distribution of crystalline precipitates and the microstructural effects of heat treatment. The article is intended to provide both a comprehensive introduction for newcomers to the subject and a reference text for those already familiar with small angle scattering techniques. Individual sections are self-contained and can be read in isolation.The article includes a review of theoretical results, worked examples, description of experimental procedures, examples of interpreted data for various types of rocks and references to original work.