New phase for Chinese-Australian CO2 storage collaboration

One of two CO₂ injection wells at
the CO2CRC Otway Project site.
Image courtesy of Cooperative
Research Centre for Greenhouse
Gas Technologies (CO2CRC).

Australia and China can expect to have an improved understanding about the geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) following a meeting in Melbourne this week of leading researchers from both countries.

About 25 researchers are attending the first workshop in Phase 2 of the China-Australia Geological Storage of CO₂ (CAGS) Project. The project is a collaborative capacity building program aimed at accelerating the development and application of geological storage technologies in both Australia and China to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The collaboration is funded by the Australian Government under the Australia-China Joint Coordination Group on Clean Coal Technology and is jointly managed by Geoscience Australia and the Administrative Centre for China's Agenda 21, Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Melbourne workshop will focus on monitoring associated with CO₂ geological storage, an activity which is particularly important in verifying the geological integrity of the storage.

The workshop organiser, Geoscience Australia researcher Andrew Barrett, said the workshop would help researchers to develop their technical skills in monitoring methods and to evaluate new techniques to detect and quantify greenhouse gas emissions.

"The workshop will also consider other research being undertaken to measure background CO₂ levels in the atmosphere, which helps to establish a baseline for measuring possible emissions at potential geological storage sites," Mr Barrett said.

"Other capacity building events planned under Phase 2 of the CAGS Project include additional technical workshops and summer schools as well as research projects investigating specific issues associated with the geological storage of CO₂ and researcher and student exchanges between China and Australia to share knowledge and provide training," he said.

As part of the workshop, participants will visit the CO2CRC Otway Project in Victoria which is one of the largest CO₂ storage research and demonstration projects in the world, and the first operating demonstration of deep geological storage in Australia. The project also includes one of the world's most comprehensive greenhouse gas monitoring programs.

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