A word from the CEO
Regulatory reform critical to carbon capture abatement contribution
This October edition of our newsletter finds us just two months from the end of a challenging year– but little more than two weeks from our 2023 CCUS Symposium at the RACV Resort at Torquay, Victoria.
There will be much to talk about. The two years since the last Symposium have seen significant changes – both in the political and regulatory environment in which we operate and as a result of the technological and commercial advances carbon capture, utilisation and storage has made over that time.
These combine to put our industry at a critical juncture, with decisions made now set to have lasting impacts. That’s why the theme for this year’s Symposium is ‘Shaping the next decade of CCUS’.
From fundamental research to real life projects in Australia and overseas, this year’s symposium will highlight CO2CRC’s activities as well as broader opportunities and challenges facing CCUS that will shape the success of CCUS rollout over the next decade.
The 2023 Symposium comes at a time when the discussion on climate change and mitigation options has become ever more urgent, including the global implications of the Ukraine conflict sharpening the focus on maintaining energy security while advancing the energy transition.
The Program includes a wide range of speakers and session topics from international speakers giving global perspectives on CCS (US, APAC, Middle East) to the views of local leaders and their experiences. There will be a focus on regulatory challenges and suggested reforms, projects updates from Santos, ENI, Chevron, and INPEX to name a few, and expert panels discuss the last 20 years of CCS in Australia and perspectives on the years ahead.
And at the end of the week, an opportunity to visit to the Otway International Test Centre, two hours along the spectacular Victorian coastline, where so much of CO2CRC’s groundbreaking work is done.
The video on the symposium homepage provides a good overview of the event and the impressive location where we’ll meet.
One key theme of the symposium will be CO2CRC’s push for regulatory reform and our efforts to raise awareness of the impact avoidable delays in permitting projects will have on our pathway to net zero.
To achieve our emission reduction target of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, we will need at least a 50% reduction in permitting time – which is currently running to 8 or 9 years. Delays are deadly – a lack of urgency will deter investment and entrench the status quo in emissions.
That was a message I delivered to an APEC symposium in Kobe, Japan, this month.
The CCS industry can move faster than governments can approve projects. So legislated targets are at odds with the industry’s ability to get project approvals.
CO2CRC is working with industry and government to facilitate continued supportive policies, and critically support a major approval process review through its regulatory affairs task force.
This is the purpose of CO2CRC’s regulatory taskforce, and alongside technological and commercial advances industry is making, will be a prime focus of our discussions in Torquay starting on 20 November.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Dr Matthias Raab, CEO.
Otway Stage 4 Project Targets Storage Efficiency
CO2 injection in the subsurface comes with some uncertainties that may need to be addressed prior to a CO2 injection operation. The shape of the plume in the subsurface is often not as simple as a uniform spherical mass. Properties of the subsurface rocks, such as the porosity, permeability, and the heterogeneity of the host reservoir, influence how the CO2 plume behaves. In fact, the storage efficiency, i.e. how much CO2 stored in a rock unit, is strongly related to the reservoir properties. It is therefore essential that the reservoir properties are efficiently and accurately represented in the CO2 storage model. An effective monitoring plan will rely on the accuracy of the predictions made by the constructed model.
CO2CRC’s Otway Stage 4 project focuses on improving the industry’s understanding of such variations in the reservoir properties and their impact on the shape of the CO2 plume. The GFV Project (GeoCquest Field Validation), a collaboration between CO2CRC and the GeoCquest Consortium and funded by BHP, BP and Esso Australia, is a field scale demonstration of the advanced modelling workflow (developed by The University of Melbourne and Stanford University as part of the collaborative GeoCquest Project) which intends to incorporate and represent the fine scale heterogeneities, which are a strong influence on CO2 migration and trapping, in a fit-for-purpose model. The results are an important enabler for the CCS industry to predict the CO2 plume behaviour, enabling efficient storage and effective monitoring, and ultimately reduce the overall operational cost for CO2 geological storage.
The GFV project is a component of CO2CRC’s Stage 4 project for which a new monitoring well will be constructed from November 2023 at CO2CRC’s Otway International Test Centre. Injection is planned to take place during 2024.
Hadi Nourollah is CO2CRC’s Senior Geophysicist.
FINAL WEEKS TO REGISTER
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CCS Essentials for Policy Makers and Professionals – Monday 20 November
CO2CRC is Australia’s leading research organisation in Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). CO2CRC are offering a full day CCUS Fundamentals course aimed at providing targeted knowledge exchange on all things CCUS to upskill you or your team in CCUS.
At CO2CRC, effective education is the key to achieving a sustainable and low-carbon future. We are committed to empowering industry experts, policymakers, investors, bankers, super funds managers, scientists, and the general public, with the knowledge and tools needed to drive positive change.
Our next CCUS for Policy Makers and Professionals Course takes place on the 20 November 2023 or contact Max Watson for more information on 0420 209 277.
Energy Transition News
29/10/23 Carbon capture on the agenda again – Cosmos
Carbon capture from the air and removal or storage is on the agenda at COP28 at the end of November, with the UN climate change conference to showcase technologies that might limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
25/10/23 Germany aims to support industry via tax relief, CCS – Montel
Germany’s economy ministry aims to help energy-intensive industry cope with higher energy prices via tax relief measures and decarbonise via carbon capture and storage (CCS), it said in a new plan on Tuesday.
18/10/2023 Eni and UK Government agree on terms for CCS business model – hydrocarbonengineering
Eni has reached an agreement in principle with the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on the key terms for the economic, regulatory and governance model for the transportation and storage of carbon dioxide at the HyNet North West industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) cluster.
18/10/2023 Work on Europe’s largest carbon capture site to start in Rotterdam next year- Reuters
Construction of Europe’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility estimated to cost $138 billion will begin in the Rotterdam port area in 2024 and is expected to be operational in 2026.17/10/2023 Navigator CO2, a firm seeking to build a carbon-trapping pipeline through the US Corn Belt, has cut jobs after facing opposition from state regulators and landowners.
17/10/23 How can we accelerate the scale up of CCS? – Oil Review Middle East
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) was a hot topic at ADIPEC this year. Oil Review Middle East sat down with Frederik Majkut, SVP of Carbon Solutions at SLB, to hear his insights on the potential for scaling up CCS in the Middle East, and the part played by SLB in the CCS value chain.
12/10/2023 ExxonMobil buys US shale giant in $93 billion fossil fuel deal – The Age
Exxon executives have said that in addition to producing more fossil fuels, the company is building a new business that will capture carbon dioxide from industrial sites and bury the greenhouse gas in the ground. The technology to do that remains in an early stage and has not been successfully used on a large scale.
12/10/2023 India to push developed nations to become ‘carbon negative’ before 2050, sources say – Reuters
India wants to push developed nations to become carbon negative rather than carbon neutral by 2050, arguing that would allow emerging market economies more time to use fossil fuels for development needs, two Indian government sources said.
12/10/2023 NSW emissions reduction laws at odds with Eraring extension, say environmental groups – The Age
Under the rules, announced on Thursday, the NSW government will enshrine in law its emissions reduction target of at least 50 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050, as well as create a stand-alone Department for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
09/10/23 We can’t afford the hydrogen debate to get bogged down – AFR
The scale and urgency of the net zero transformation demands Australia adopt a technology-neutral, emissions-intensity focused hydrogen pathway that doesn’t exclude any fuels or technologies. Opinion Samantha McCulloch.
09/10/23 Energy Summit confirms stuttering transition is not on track – AFR
The scale and complexity of the task requires all hands on deck, rather than ruling out any feasible transition pathway on political grounds.
09/10/23 Mitsubishi CEO calls for ‘stable’ investment climate in Australia – AFR
Mitsubishi, one of Japan’s biggest investors in Australian resources, has called on the Labor government to ensure a stable investment environment, warning the clean energy transition needs to be approached with caution.
06/10/2023 PETRONAS, Japan to collaborate on cross-border CO2 transportation for CCS projects – World Oil
PETRONAS recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to strengthen collaboration on cross-border CO2 transportation from business to business for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
04/10/2023 2023 Climate Tech Companies to Watch: Climeworks and its carbon-sucking fans – MIT Technology Review
To prevent catastrophic global warming, we must remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in addition to eliminating fossil fuels. Climeworks is pioneering one of the most promising approaches: direct air capture, in which giant machines suck carbon out of the sky.
03/10/2023 Cut gas supply and fuel poverty, says Resources Minister Madeleine King – The Australian
Resources Minister Madeleine King has warned that decreasing gas supply faster than demand will lead to “shortages, supply disruptions and high prices”, while also “worsening poverty and inequality”, launching a strong economic defence for the fuel source’s role in underpinning the nation’s clean energy transition.
02/10/2023 Broken oil and gas approvals system ‘to drive away energy investment’ – The Australian
Offshore energy projects worth tens of billions of dollars are being held up by a logjam of more than 40 environmental approvals that remain in limbo, with the nation’s gas industry warning that regulatory confusion was amplifying Australia’s sovereign risk.
01/10/23 Europe’s war on carbon goes global as border tax comes into play – AFR
The European Union has been accelerating its push to become the first climate-neutral continent. A new policy coming into force on Sunday will be a first step toward nudging other parts of the world to follow suit.
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