PESA ETSIG/CSIRO CCS Knowledge Transfer Series: Instalment 9

Designing cost-effective methods for implementing MM&V plans for subsea CO₂ storage is an active area of research globally. Despite some preliminary research and examples overseas, there remains a lack of established protocols and configurations for offshore Carbon Storage monitoring overlying storage sites and an absence of methods to establish environmental impact in the event of leakage.

CSIRO in collaboration with ANLEC R&D and CarbonNet have undertaken research in the Gippsland region to inform the development of assurance monitoring approaches for subsea Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operations to address three key technical assurance monitoring challenges:

• The “signal-to-noise” problem: distinguishing CO₂ release signatures from similar naturally occurring variability to reduce false alarm rates in future baseline monitoring design;
• Characterising impact: determining the level of CO₂ release that would be associated with environmental impact at a range of scales; and
• Attributing impact: distinguishing changes resulting from other drivers and pressures in multiple-use zones (e.g. climate change) from the activities of CCS operations.

The research has included a wide variety of approaches and technologies including the development and testing of fixed and mobile autonomous monitoring systems, chemical and acoustic sensing and the collection of biological datasets. These data have been used in the development of biogeochemical models and to define possible integrated MM&V frameworks.  This presentation will discuss this and other MM&V research and how it could be applied for offshore CO₂ storage projects around Australia.