The Gorgon CO2 Injection Project – 2012 Update

Abstract

The Gorgon Joint Venture† made the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Gorgon Project in September 2009. One element of that approval was the decision to proceed with the Carbon Dioxide Injection Project on Barrow Island, whereby CO2 separated from the reservoir gas from the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields will be injected into a deep sandstone interval beneath Barrow Island.Since FID, the focus has been on delivering the project – this involves preparations for drilling and completing the four different well types, engineering design and procurement of the CO2 pipeline and procurement and manufacture of the CO2 compression system within the LNG plant.In addition to this engineering activity, the subsurface team has continued with improving their knowledge of the injection interval and overlying geology. The focus of this work has been two-fold:1.Deliver work to support the execution decisions, e.g. finalising well locations, well construction design, well completion design, reservoir data gathering plans, etc. In addition work has also been done to prepare for operations, focusing on understanding the behaviour of super- critical CO2 in the full system from the compressor to the reservoir as a basis for developing operations procedures and documents.2.Prepare for long term reservoir and project management; this includes developing a reservoir management plan with emphasis on surveillance data, continuing to develop the monitoring plans for understanding distribution of CO2 in the injection interval and continuing to evaluate and update understanding of subsurface uncertainties.We currently anticipate commissioning of the carbon dioxide injection system contemporaneous with the start-up of the second Gorgon LNG train in 2015. Between now and then the Carbon Dioxide Injection Project will drill and complete 17 wells, install a seven kilometre buried pipeline and associated facilities and construct, install and commission the CO2 compression system.* The Gorgon Joint Venture comprises the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3 percent), Exxon Mobil (25 percent), Shell (25 percent), Osaka Gas (1.25 percent), Tokyo Gas (1 percent) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 percent). Chevron Australia is the operator of the Gorgon Project.