Aquifer injection for CSG water management in the Surat Basin, Queensland
R. Morris A and M. Horgan AOrigin Energy.
The APPEA Journal 52(2) 676-676 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ11090
Published: 2012
Abstract
Appropriate water management associated with CSG production is key to regulatory approval and public acceptance of CSG projects. Policy in Queensland makes injection of treated produced water the government’s main and preferred option for CSG water management to ensure protection of the Great Artesian Basin as a groundwater resource.
In 2010, Australia Pacific LNG started an extensive program of aquifer injection trials across its Surat and southern Bowen Basin CSG fields. The purpose of the trials is to assess the technical and economic feasibility of aquifer injection. The trial program comprises nine different injection targets across four locations and three aquifers.
Target depths range from less than 100 m to about 1,500 m. A process of desktop study-exploration-testing has been followed. To date, Australia Pacific LNG has completed all exploration activities. These included about 1,200 m of coring, an extensive suite of geophysical logging and post processing, hydraulic testing and physical, geochemical and mineralogical analyses.
This extended abstract describes the results of the exploration activities and the decisions made based on the acquired data. Comparisons are made between the different sites and aquifers. Results of the testing are discussed in the context of technical and economic feasibility of a large-scale injection scheme.
Ryan Morris has worked in Australia, Europe, and southern Africa as a consultant and as a staff hydrogeologist. His experience includes groundwater resource management, impact assessment, supply, and monitoring. He has undertaken projects to assess the availability and sustainability of groundwater resources, assessed potential impacts associated with mining and infrastructure developments, and provided guidance (to clients) about monitoring and managing groundwater resource and the infrastructure. He is a senior hydrogeologist at Origin Energy, working mainly in the emergent CSG industry in Queensland. He is responsible for designing and implementing groundwater monitoring, aquifer injection, and subsidence monitoring programs of the Australia Pacific LNG project. He is a registered profession geoscientist (hydrogeologist) and is a recipient of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists WH Cundy Award. |
Marcus has five years of experience working as a hydrogeologist across Australia and in Indonesia. As a consultant, he worked mainly on mining and infrastructure projects, specialising in groundwater impact assessments, groundwater resource studies, and groundwater monitoring programs. He has also worked on number of geotechnical investigations for a variety of civil projects including dam raises and new wind farms. For the past 18 months, he has worked in the CSG sector, operating in the Surat Basin of south Queensland, working as a consultant and directly for Origin Energy. He is responsible for implementing aquifer injection programs for the Australian Pacific LNG Project. |
