Application of geophysical monitoring within the Otway Project S.E. Australia

Abstract

The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) is currently injecting 100,000 tons of in a large scale test of storage technology in a pilot project in South Eastern Australia called the CO2CRC Otway Basin Project (Otway). The Otway Basin with its natural accumulations and many depleted gas fields, offers an appropriate site for such a pilot project. An 80% stream is produced from a well (Buttress) near to the depleted gas reservoir (Naylor) used for storage. The goal of this pilot project is to demonstrate that can be safely transported, stored underground and its behavior tracked and monitored. The monitoring and verification framework has been developed to monitor for the presence and behavior of in the sub‐surface reservoir, near surface and atmosphere. This monitoring framework has been selected to address the areas identified by a rigorous process of risk assessment and subsequently verify conformance to clearly identifiable performance criteria. These criteria have been agreed with the regulatory authorities to manage the project through all phases addressing responsibilities, liabilities and to provide assurance of safe storage to the satisfaction of the public at large.