Victoria Minister for Energy and Resources Michael O’Brien

Journal Paper Boosts Victorian CCS Reputation

Victor P Taffa

Victoria’s burgeoning reputation as a leader in the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has received a boost with the publication of a paper on the CO2CRC Otway Project in a prestigious US journal.

The Otway Project in Victoria’s southwest was Australia’s first carbon dioxide storage to come into operation and has since injected over 65,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into a depleted gas field two kilometres underground.

The project was carried out by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), of which the Victorian Coalition Government is a member. The paper which consolidates the lessons from the Otway Project is published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“The Otway Project has brought many benefits to Victoria including setting the scene for the CarbonNet Project.” Minister for Energy and Resources Michael O’Brien said today.

“It has also provided input, both nationally and internationally, into CCS regulatory framework development and community engagement practices.”

“With capture and storage demonstration projects in operation, a suite of carbon storage legislation in place and the Centre for Geological Carbon Storage being established at Melbourne University, Victoria is ahead of the pack when it comes to research into this important technology.”

The Victorian Government allocated $6 Million towards the Otway Project and has been actively involved with the regulatory and community engagement of this project.

The Otway Project began in April 2008 and is based in Nirranda South in southwest Victoria.

Stage 1 of the Otway Project demonstrated that it is possible to store carbon dioxide in depleted gas fields and monitors to confirm that the storage has been safe and effective.

Stage 2 will investigate the behaviour of carbon dioxide injected into saline geological formations.