The Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) project has pioneered the large-scale implementation of CCS in the Asia Pacific region. The late start of its CO2-injection program, injection rates below target, and complexity in treatment of produced water from the regional aquifer, however, have contributed to a higher cost and a degree of media skepticism. In the complete paper, the authors provide an overview of some of the causes behind the challenges encountered to date, highlighting that these issues primarily relate to risk and pressure management of the recipient reservoir of the produced water from the Dupuy formation rather than from the technologies used for capture, transport, injection, and storage.
Introduction
Thirty to 40 operational sites worldwide use CCS technology primarily focused on precombustion projects, including natural gas processing, but the technology has been successfully deployed on post-combustion projects. The International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario suggests that a capacity of 6.2 Gtpa will be required for these projects by 2050 to meet the net-zero target.
