Concurrent 9. Presentation for: Evaluating Australia’s energy commodity resources potential for a net-zero emission future
Thomas Bernecker A *A Geoscience Australia, Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 - https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21329
Published: 3 June 2022
Abstract
Presented on Wednesday 18 May: Session 9
Australia’s future energy production will increasingly be focused on developing clean energy resources to achieve the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve this, an understanding of Australia’s natural gas resources and greenhouse gas storage potential is needed to facilitate the rapid implementation and expansion of low-emission technologies. While Australia continues to be a net gas exporter, additional volumes are needed to support future domestic manufacturing capabilities. These extra volumes can be produced from existing accumulations that are close to infrastructure or can be unlocked from highly prospective, yet underexplored regions. The coming decade will see a dramatic change in the energy mix that supports the Australian economy. A major driver will be the development of a hydrogen production industry, initially using fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS) until the cost of hydrogen production from renewable energy becomes more reliable and competitive. The expansion and projected lower costs of renewable energy generation via solar and wind will ultimately replace much of the non-renewable energies for hydrogen production. Geoscience Australia’s energy-related work program is focused on supporting Australia’s energy transformation assessments of untapped resource potential onshore include the evaluation of geologic hydrogen occurrences, the presence and suitability of subsurface salt horizons for hydrogen storage and the distribution of effective reservoir and seal fairways for underground carbon storage. While offshore, new data from Geoscience Australia’s sea-floor mapping project will improve the understanding of suitable areas for offshore wind farms. Results from these research activities are being made publicly available either through Geoscience Australia’s data portal and its data repository.
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Keywords: carbon capture and storage, energy commodity resources, energy mix, enhanced oil recovery, hydrogen, hydrogen storage, natural gas resources, resource assessments.
Thomas (Tom) Bernecker is a sedimentologist/petroleum geologist who holds an MSc from the University of Aachen (RWTH), Germany and a PhD from Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Tom’s early work focused on the development of models for siliciclastic and carbonate depositional systems in NW Europe and in Australia. After a lectureship at the University of Melbourne, Tom joined the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Energy where his work was focused on the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Gippsland and Otway Basins. Tom joined Geoscience Australia as the team leader for the onshore hydrocarbon project in 2007 and from 2009 onwards has managed the offshore acreage release program, including the promotion of investment opportunities in Australia’s oil and gas sector. Tom is currently the Director of the Energy Resources Advice and Promotion section in GA’s Minerals, Energy and Groundwater division. He is a member of PESA, SEPM and SEAPEX. |
