--> ABSTRACT: The GEODISC Program: Research into Geological Sequestration of CO2 in Australia, by Andy Rigg and John Bradshaw; #90913(2000).

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ABSTRACT: The GEODISC program: Research into geological sequestration of CO2 in Australia

Rigg, Andy1 and John Bradshaw2
(1) Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia 
(2) AGSO, Canberra, ACT, Australia

In Australia, some of the largest point-source emitters of CO2 are LNG plants and it is projected that emissions will increase as Australia develops more fields for LNG, some of which have higher CO2 content than currently producing fields. The GEODISC research program, funded by the Australian Government and some of the nation's gas producers, is designed to address key technical, commercial and environmental issues associated with geological sequestration in Australia, and is predicted to take 4 years to complete. It is anticipated that the results of the research will have application both within Australia and internationally.

The first phase of this program is the identification of those geological formations in each sedimentary basin with the most appropriate parameters to sequester large volumes of CO2. The parameters will not only be the physical characteristics for both the target reservoir and seal formations, but also the temperature, structural setting, stress regime, and hydrogeology of the surrounding basin which directly affects those formations. The major output from this work will be injectivity maps for each sedimentary basin

The second phase will involve moving to specific sites within key basins for far more detailed study. This will include prediction of CO2 trapping mechanisms from modelling of the water-CO2-rock interactions, economic modelling for transportation, compression and injection, examining technology for monitoring the movement of the CO2 and investigation of any environmental or safety issues. Physical and chemical attributes of Australia's naturally-occurring CO2 accumulations will also be studied in support of these predictions.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90913©2000 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Bali, Indonesia