The storage of carbon deep beneath the Earth's surface, geological storage is widely-recognised as the only real option for containing CO2 emissions from coal-fired power stations. Surprisingly, geological storage is neither a new concept nor is it a new technology. The oil and gas industries have been successfully injecting carbon dioxide underground for almost 50 years. One Norwegian oil company has been storing over a million tons of CO2 a year deep under the North Sea since 1996. In the process it has helped reduce Norway's annual CO2 emissions by 3%. Carbon capture and storage underground is known as geological storage. It is a process based largely on natural occurrences of oil and gas and even CO2 fields. There are many underground formations around the world where CO2 can be safely stored. There are examples of CO2 arising from natural processes, such as volcanic action, being trapped in underground formations for millions of years. We are looking for opportunities to replicate these conditions. The Australian government is committed to investing over $500 million into clean coal technology.
Carbon capture and storage underground is known as geological storage. It is a process based largely on natural occurrences of oil and gas and even CO2 fields. There are many underground formations around the world where CO2 can be safely stored.
There are examples of CO2 arising from natural processes, such as volcanic action, being trapped in underground formations for millions of years. We are looking for opportunities to replicate these conditions. The Australian government is committed to investing over $500 million into clean coal technology.
A detailed feasibility study was produced for the Project following years of research. This is the summary.
Note: Although not all sites will be suitable for CO2 storage, sedimentary basins are geological formations that have trapped oil and gas reserves for thousands of years.
Map courtesty of CO2CRC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that worldwide geological CO2 storage capacity is “likely” to exceed 2 trillion tonnes – more than 60 times total global annual emissions and equivalent to the lifetime output of about 4,000 large (1 gigawatt) coal plants.
CO2 pumped underground will gradually settle in the storage formation held in place by non-porous cap rock. Monitoring wells will be installed to analyse the CO2 in the reservoir.
