As part of the National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) between 2011 and 2014 Geoscience Australia undertook a comprehensive study in the offshore Vlaming Sub-basin to provide new pre-competitive data and information to underpin potential CO2 storage solutions.
The Vlaming Sub-basin is a Mesozoic depocentre within the southern Perth Basin located about 30 km west of Perth. It covers an area of approximately 23,000 km2 and contains up to 14 km of sediments. The basin lies close to industrial sources of CO2 emissions in the Perth area and contains a number of reservoir-seal pairs potentially suitable for CO2 storage. The Gage Sandstone and the overlying South Perth Shale (SPS) deposited as part of the early post-rift succession are considered the most prospective reservoir-seal pair. Previous assessments of this basin indicated that up 1 GT of CO2 can be stored in the Gage Sandstone reservoir. However, lack of interest in the 2009 Greenhouse Gas acreage release in the Vlaming Sub-basin showed that a more detailed assessment is required.
This study addresses critical scientific issues underpinning CO2 storage potential of the Vlaming Sub-basin that were not sufficiently explored previously. These include:
- better characterisation of the reservoir heterogeneity;
- detailed understanding of the seal quality and integrity;
- a more accurate estimate of the practical storage capacity and,
- an accurate environmental baseline and potential issues of environmental concern
Overall the study confirmed suitability of the Gage Sandstone reservoir for long-term storage of CO2 and provided a more accurate delineation of the suitable storage sites. At the same time it highlighted the importance of careful consideration of the containment and potential environmental impact in any future CO2 storage projects.
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