The Petrel Sub-basin: a world-class CO2 store – mapping and modelling of a scalable and commercially viable CCS development
Rosie Johnstone A * and Linda Stalker BA Full Circle Carbon, Perth, WA, Australia.
B CSIRO Energy, Kensington, WA, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62(1) 263-280 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21092
Submitted: 20 December 2021 Accepted: 14 February 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
In 2021, the Australian Government announced a round of offshore greenhouse gas acreage release, including an area where research by Shell/CSIRO in 2016/2017 indicated close to 1 Gt carbon dioxide storage potential within the Mesozoic sediments of the Sandpiper, Elang and Plover Formations of the Petrel Sub-basin. The joint Shell/CSIRO study assessed key containment issues (legacy wells, potentially conductive faults, top seal extent) and storage formation connectivity. To study containment risk, CSIRO assessed a single injection well scenario and concluded that injection of up to 20 MTPA would not create geomechanical failure. Based on these findings, a ~5000 km2 area of interest southeast of the Petrel Field was proposed as suitable for injection in the Plover/Elang formations. The Shell team constructed topographical dynamic models at five potential locations. Three further models were built to simulate a base case and two end-member scenarios: (1) high permeability (leak point risk) and (2) low-pressure dissipation (top seal risk). The study showed that the development of two injector wells at one of the locations could safely and conservatively store 149 Mt, injected over a period of 30 years. Similar capacity is expected at four out of the five locations identified within the investigated area. Expansion to >2 injection wells per location, additional injection into the Sandpiper Formation and expansion to the west of the initially mapped focus area all point to achievable gigatonne storage potential. The joint study significantly expanded the understanding of the storage capacity, with recommendations for further data acquisition in both greenhouse gas (GHG) permits (GHG21-1 and GHG21-2).
Keywords: carbon capture and storage, CCS, CO2 plume migration, containment, dynamic modelling, Elang, injectivity, low emissions hub, Northern Australia, Petrel Sub-basin, Plover, polygonal faults, Sandpiper, sandstone, storage capacity.
Rosie Johnstone is the Director of Full Circle Carbon, based in Perth, Australia. She has 25+ years’ experience in both oil and gas exploration and carbon capture and storage (CCS) across Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and the UK. From 2015 to 2021, Rosie was Shell’s focal point for CCS sink identification in the Australia/Asia-Pacific region, from high-level screening to injection site planning. She is now a CCS consultant working with clients, including GeoVault and Buru Energy. Rosie graduated from the University of Liverpool (UK) in 1990 with a BSc (Hons) in Geology. |
Dr Linda Stalker obtained a BSc (Hons) in Applied Geology from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, in 1990. Her PhD on petroleum geochemistry and CO2 generation was gained at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. In 1994, she joined the University of Oklahoma (USA) on a Department of Energy sponsored post-doctoral study into organosulfur compounds trapped in coals. From 1996, she worked in petroleum exploration and production (E&P) at Statoil, Norway, including 2 years on the Sleipner Field. She joined CSIRO in 2000 and has held numerous positions while maintaining research expertise in hydrocarbon E&P and carbon storage research. |
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