Operations
During the project, CO2CRC researchers will extract carbon dioxide (CO2) rich gas from a gas well (Buttress).The gases will then be compressed and piped to a deeper depleted natural-gas field (Naylor). Here, the CO2 will be injected through the new CRC-1 well and safely stored two kilometres below the Earth’s surface.
The 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide that CO2CRC will inject and store is significantly less than the amount of natural gas originally held in the Naylor field, increasing confidence that the site will be able to safely store the gas without affecting the region’s geology.
What happens at the site?
Buttress -1 Site - Production
CO2-rich gas (80% CO2; 20% methane) is extracted
from an existing well, processed and compressed. CO2 is transported via a new, underground, 2.25 km long,
stainless steel pipeline.
CRC-1 Site - Injection
Over two years, up to 100,000 tonnes of the CO2-rich
gas stream at supercritical state will be injected into a
depleted gas reservoir – the Waarre C Formation - at a
depth of 2050 metres. CO2 will migrate up-dip within the
31m thick reservoir sandstone capped by the impervious
thick seal rock (the Belfast Mudstone).
Naylor-1 Site - Monitoring
CO2 will be detected 6-9 months after the start of
injection at the Naylor-1 site. Monitoring will also be
carried out in the atmospheric, surface and near surface
domains.
View animation of the process  |
Future Developments
CO2CRC proposes to later add a small separation plant near CRC-1 and the Naylor-1 wells to separate the carbon dioxide from the natural gas. Introducing this separation phase will:
- Enhance the value of the project as it will simulate stages of a commercial natural gas project. These stages include the production of gas from the subsurface; the processing of carbon dioxide from natural gas; as well as compression, transport, injection, storage and monitoring.
- Give scientists additional sets of data to study that will help them to better understand the behaviour of carbon dioxide.
