First Australian geosequestration project announced for Victorian Surf Coast : ABC South West Vic

Australia's first attempt at pumping greenhouse gases underground is to be along the Great Ocean Road.

The first attempt in Australia at geosequestration - the process of pumping carbon dioxide deep underground to to lessen contributions to global warming - has been announced for a site near Warrnambool, just as the first Asia-Pacific Climate Conference was wrapping up in Sydney.
The company responsible for the planned operation, the Co-Operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Technologies (CRCGT), announced the plan earlier this week, stating the site was in the 'Otway Basin' - a region stretching from Geelong to the South Australian border. It later mentioned the site as possibly near Terang, 40km north-east of Warrnambool, before sources confirmed the site as being Nirranda South, minutes from the Great Ocean Road near Peterborough on the Victorian surf coast.
While it marks the first official attempt in Australia at using this kind of technology and process, the chief executive for the Corangamite Shire Council thinks it would have been nice to notify the local authorities and residents before the national media.
We're looking at how we can take carbon dioxide and put it in the ground, bury it in the ground, inject it in the ground, and ensure it stays there.
"Council hasn't been informed in any way at all, and we'd be expecting that we would be perhaps informed in relation to what be proposed, and timelines in the near future, but at this time we're not aware of anything particularly in our municipality," says Peter Johnston, the chief executive officer for the Corangamite Shire.
While the announcement came amidst discussion and protests over the direction and content of the climate conference in Sydney, CRCGT spokesperson Peter Cook says there are many details yet to confirm, including the exact location.
"This will be a very open sort of a process. Once we've got things underway we'll be telling the community exactly what's happening, why we're doing things and they'll be able to come along and see what we're actually doing, and we'll be able to explain to them why this is important to Australia," he says.
According to Peter Cook the Otway Basin was one of the best areas in Australia to begin the trial, as it already contains significant natural carbon dioxide deposits.
...we're going to separate out the carbon dioxide from that gas, purify it, take the water out of it, and then transport it by pipeline for several kilometres before pumping it into the ground...
"What we're going to do is use of one those natural cumulations which is mixed with natural gas and we're going to separate out the carbon dioxide from that gas, purify it, take the water out of it, and then transport it by pipeline for several kilometres before pumping it into the ground to about 2 kilometres down," he says of the process.
"The Western Victorian region is really a very interesting region, it's an area that has lots of natural carbon dioxide trapped below the surface, so this is something that people have been living with for generations without realising. We've been doing a study of the area because we want to know why it's trapped, how it's trapped and how long it will be trapped. We now know it can be trapped for thousands of years or even longer. What we're interested in doing is replicating what nature does anyway. We're looking at how we can take carbon dioxide and put it in the ground, bury it in the ground, inject it in the ground, and ensure it stays there. It's a very very good test area for doing this, an absolutely fascinating area of world significance."
Issues of planning, purchase of land from the current owners and informing the local community how the process will affect them is something that will happen in due time, according to Peter Cook.
"Exactly which paddock we undertake that project in is not neccessarily fixed; that's why there's a degree of flexibility in these things, that's why we chose not to identify particular paddocks, particular properties in the [announcement]. I think it would have been an infringement of the privacy of people, frankly..." he says.
[There are] many parts of Australia where we will be able to use this technique, where there are large power stations, large sources of carbon dioxide
The science behind geosequestration has itself drawn criticism for not providing an alternative to fossil fuel-dependent industries, but Peter Cook is confident this initial trial wil pave the way for a new approach to reducing greenhouse emissions.
"We believe we can make this technology work, and we believe we will be able to monitor it and verify it. Once we do that, it opens up a whole range of opportunities - not particularly in the Otway Basin area, I hasten to point out - but in many parts of Australia where we will be able to use this technique, where there are large power stations, large sources of carbon dioxide - to really make deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. I think the community then in the long term is going to gain enormously from decreasing CO2 emissions, decreasing global warming, and I think we can all benefit from that."