The petroleum industry is highly dependent on leading edge technology and innovation. In a uniquely Australian model, the Australian Government actively supports this innovation through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. This program brings together industry, tertiary institutions and research organisations such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Geoscience Australia.
Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC)
The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) is collaborating with industry, universities and government agencies to determine the economic and environmental benefits of the capture and deep geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The geological environment is a major natural long-term sink for CO2 (much longer term than vegetation for example). Since 1999 the CO2CRC (and its predecessor the Australian Petroleum CRC) has been undertaking world-class research into deep geological storage of CO2 and has shown that Australia has a very high potential for cost effective geological storage of CO2.
The CO2CRC also collaborates with some of the world's leading research organisations in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America. It has in place a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Regina and the Petroleum Technology Research Centre in Canada. The MOU aims to integrate capture and storage research in Australia and Canada.
The CO2CRC also has close links with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in the USA with five defined collaborative projects.
The CO2CRC is currently engaged in the development of a carbon dioxide storage research project in western Victoria (the CO2CRC Otway Basin Pilot Project) which will inject around 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide produced from a natural accumulation in the subsurface into a nearby depleted natural gas field The injection process started in April 2008 and had reached 10,000 tonnes by July 2008. Injection is expected to continue for a period of about two years. This research project aims to demonstrate, under Australian conditions, that CO2 can be safely transported and stored underground for thousands of years.
CO2CRC Technologies (CO2TECH), the commercial arm of the CO2CRC provides the path for the commercial application of research outputs and also offers consultancy services in geological sequestration of CO2. Further information can be found at: www.co2crc.com.au
Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Initiative
On 19 September 2008, Prime Minister Rudd announced the Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Initiative at a round table meeting with industry and other stakeholders in Canberra.
Australia is proposing a new Global CCS Initiative to accelerate the research, development and demonstration of CCS technologies, providing the economic and technical foundation for global commercialisation. The initiative should provide a mechanism to coordinate and leverage national and regional CCS initiatives to deliver the G8 goal of launching 20 large-scale CCS demonstration projects globally by 2010.
The proposal is for a new Global CCS Institute headquartered in Australia , to coordinate a network of the existing national centres around the world. The Institute will coordinate a portfolio of global CCS flagship demonstration projects, ensuring a comprehensive portfolio of CCS demonstrations address various CCS technological applications in a range of geologies. As well it will produce assessments of the status of CCS technologies and seek mechanisms to address technology gaps, develop technology roadmaps and promote collaborative research.
The model for the Institute and its operations will be the subject of further detailed discussions with parties that have an interest in CCS such as foreign governments, industry and various international bodies.
Virtual Centre of Economic Micropalaeontology and Palynology
Established in 2001, the Virtual Centre of Economic Micropalaeontology and Palynology (VCEMP) allows Geoscience Australia to leverage both internal and external expertise in microfossil taxonomy and biostratigraphy to document and define biozones, and improve the correlation of biozonations to the geologic timescale.
Specialists from institutions such as the School of Earth and Geographical Sciences at the University of Western Australia, the British Geological Survey, and independent consultants have worked with Geoscience Australia staff on focussed research projects. Outcomes delivered include: the documentation and refinement of the Upper Cretaceous KCCM foraminiferal and nannofossil zonation widely used on the North West Shelf; a major revision of the taxonomy of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dinocysts from the North West Shelf; and the publication of a revised palynological biozonation for the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous.