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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

CarbonNet progress towards a declaration of identified storage formation at the Pelican site with a new high-resolution 3D seismic dataset

Nick Hoffman
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The CarbonNet project, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Level 17, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000, Australia. Email: nick.hoffman@ecodev.vic.gov.au

The APPEA Journal 60(2) 718-721 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ19032
Accepted: 3 April 2020   Published: 15 May 2020

Abstract

The CarbonNet project is making the first ever application for a ‘declaration of an identified greenhouse gas storage formation’ (similar to a petroleum location) under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act. Unlike a petroleum location, however, there is no ‘discovery’ involved in the application. Instead, a detailed technical assessment is required of the geological suitability for successful long-term storage of CO2. The key challenges to achieving a successful application relate to addressing ‘fundamental suitability determinants’ under the act and regulations. At Pelican (Gippsland Basin), a new high-resolution 3D seismic survey and over 10 nearby petroleum wells (and over 1500 basinal wells) supplement a crestal well drilled in 1967 that proved the seal and reservoir stratigraphy. The GCN18A 3D marine seismic survey has the highest spatial and frequency resolution to date in the Gippsland Basin. The survey was acquired in water depths from 15 to 35 m with a conventional eight-streamer seismic vessel, aided by LiDAR bathymetry. The 12.5 m bin size and pre-stack depth migration with multiple tomographic velocity iterations have produced an unprecedented high-quality image of the Latrobe Group reservoirs and sealing units. The 3D seismic data provides excellent structural definition of the Pelican Anticline, and the overlying Golden Beach-1A gas pool is excellent. Depositional detail of reservoir-seal pairs within the Latrobe Group has been resolved, allowing a confident assessment of petroleum gas in place and CO2 storage opportunities. The CarbonNet project is progressing with a low-risk storage concept at intra-formational level, as proven by trapped pools at nearby oil and gas fields. Laterally extensive intra-formational shales provide seals across the entire structure, providing pressure and fluid separation between the overlying shallow hydrocarbon gas pool and the deeper CO2 storage opportunity. CarbonNet is assessing this storage opportunity and progressing towards a ‘declaration of an identified greenhouse gas storage formation’.

Keywords: appraisal, conventional marine streamer, CO2 storage site, dynamic reservoir modelling, injectivity, PSDM, shallow water, seals, static model.

Nick Hoffman has a PhD in Geophysics from Cambridge University. He has over 30 years’ experience of the international oil industry, with substantial time with BP in Europe, BHP in Australia and worldwide and 10 years in CCS. He has been a member of PESA for 25 years. He joined CarbonNet in 2011 as part of the start-up technical team to lead the geoscience evaluation over CarbonNet’s portfolio of nearshore CO2 sequestration targets and has been the Subsurface Lead and Geoscience Manager since mid-2014. He integrates a wide range of geoscience data to understand the implications for long-term safe CO2 storage.