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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Challenges and opportunities in Australian greenhouse gas storage legislation: insights from the CarbonNet project

Victoria Mendes Da Costa A and Victoria Fitzgerald A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A The CarbonNet Project, Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.




Victoria Mendes Da Costa has over 30 years of experience in providing strategic policy, issues management, regulatory and communications advice to both the public and private sectors. Trained as a lawyer, Victoria has extensive experience in producing a range of strategic communications including regulatory strategies, applications and submissions, policy documents, influencing strategies and issues management plans, cabinet and parliamentary submissions, briefing documents, presentations and media material. Victoria has worked within the oil and gas industry and joined the CarbonNet project in 2011 where she has worked principally in the Environment and Regulatory Affairs team overseeing first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas regulatory applications and submissions. Victoria now holds the position of Permitting Director for CarbonNet and sits on the leadership team for the project.



Victoria Fitzgerald entered the CCS industry in 2019, bringing with her over 30 years of petroleum industry experience mainly in exploration, with a focus on thermal-history modelling. She obtained her BSc in Earth Science from the University of Melbourne and her Honours degree in Petroleum Geology and Geophysics from the University of Adelaide (NCPGG). She joined the CarbonNet Project after a brief stint as a Science teacher, and now holds the position of CarbonNet Offshore Storage and Regulatory Manager, leading the Storage team of in-house and consultant industry experts as they navigate their way to making a Declaration of Identified GHG Storage Formation for the Pelican potential storage formation in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria, Australia.

Australian Energy Producers Journal 64 195-202 https://doi.org/10.1071/EP23192
Submitted: 15 December 2023  Accepted: 6 February 2024  Published: 16 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of Australian Energy Producers.

Abstract

Co-funded by the Victorian and Australian Governments, the CarbonNet Project (CarbonNet) was established in 2009 to enable commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The duration and first-of-a-kind nature of the project has also provided an opportunity to test the Australian legislative greenhouse gas (GHG) framework. Although the Commonwealth legislative regime has comprehensive GHG legislation in place, one of the recognised barriers to geological storage in Australia is permitting and regulatory complexity. CarbonNet’s practical application of the legislation has emphasised that regulatory maturity will only be achieved once a number of projects have been permitted through the full project lifecycle. While the project has achieved many regulatory firsts, there have been several policy and regulatory challenges. Successes have come via legislative reform, scientific investigation and collaboration, and stakeholder engagement and communication. This paper provides insights into CarbonNet’s regulatory journey and key learnings in testing first-of-a-kind regulatory processes. It also explores opportunities for improvement in the GHG regulatory framework, while noting the progress of recent legislative reform and government collaboration. The paper concludes with a recognition of the need for the CCS regulatory framework to be straightforward, fit-for-purpose, proportionate, risk-based, and not overly prescriptive or complex. CCS projects may span decades and require significant upfront investment from multiple companies or consortia. Proponents and investors require confidence in the regulatory framework underpinning a project before making these large commitments. Accordingly, there is a key role for both Australian and State governments in providing the enabling legislative and regulatory framework for CCS projects.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage, CarbonNet, first-of-a-kind legislation, Gippsland Basin, greenhouse-gas legislation, Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006, regulatory learnings, regulatory reform.

Biographies

EP23192_B1.gif

Victoria Mendes Da Costa has over 30 years of experience in providing strategic policy, issues management, regulatory and communications advice to both the public and private sectors. Trained as a lawyer, Victoria has extensive experience in producing a range of strategic communications including regulatory strategies, applications and submissions, policy documents, influencing strategies and issues management plans, cabinet and parliamentary submissions, briefing documents, presentations and media material. Victoria has worked within the oil and gas industry and joined the CarbonNet project in 2011 where she has worked principally in the Environment and Regulatory Affairs team overseeing first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas regulatory applications and submissions. Victoria now holds the position of Permitting Director for CarbonNet and sits on the leadership team for the project.

EP23192_B2.gif

Victoria Fitzgerald entered the CCS industry in 2019, bringing with her over 30 years of petroleum industry experience mainly in exploration, with a focus on thermal-history modelling. She obtained her BSc in Earth Science from the University of Melbourne and her Honours degree in Petroleum Geology and Geophysics from the University of Adelaide (NCPGG). She joined the CarbonNet Project after a brief stint as a Science teacher, and now holds the position of CarbonNet Offshore Storage and Regulatory Manager, leading the Storage team of in-house and consultant industry experts as they navigate their way to making a Declaration of Identified GHG Storage Formation for the Pelican potential storage formation in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria, Australia.

References

Austlii (2023) The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Greenhouse Gas Injection and Storage) Regulations 2023 [The Regulations were made on 23 November 2023 but came into operation on 24 February 2024]. Available at https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_reg_es/opaggsr2023202300998709.html

Australian Government (2023) Budget 2023–2024: Budget Measures, Budget Paper No. 2. Government paper, 9 May 2023. p. 170. Available at https://budget.gov.au/content/bp2/download/bp2_2023-24.pdf

Fitch P, Battaglia M, Lenton A, Feron P, Gao L, Mei Y, Hortle A, Macdonald L, Pearce M, Occhipinti S, Roxburgh S, Steven A (2022) Australia’s sequestration potential. (CSIRO) Available at https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/emissions/carbon-sequestration-potential

GCCSI (2023) Global Status of CCS 2023, Scaling up through 2030. Executive Summary, 9 November 2023. (Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute). Available at https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GSR23-Executive-Summary_PDF.pdf