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PESA SA/NT October Luncheon 2026
Guest Speaker(s): Sharon Tiainen, Senior Principal Geologist Energy Resources
Dr. Katherine Romanak is a Research Professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology and an internationally recognized expert in environmental monitoring and assurance for geological CO₂ storage. Since 2007, she has developed and applied monitoring approaches for more than six actively injecting, large-scale CO₂ storage projects, working closely with industry to translate research into real-world storage practice.
Her research has helped shape modern approaches to near-surface monitoring, particularly through the development of process-based methods for distinguishing natural environmental variability from storage-related signals and for attributing potential CO₂ leakage. She has conducted CO₂ storage research and field studies in the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada and other international settings, and has contributed technical expertise to CCS regulatory and accounting frameworks, including the UNFCCC, U.S. Class VI, and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Romanak is currently a Lead Author for the IPCC Methodology Report addressing carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture, utilization and storage. She also provides professional training for petroleum and subsurface specialists transitioning their expertise to CCS and is a co-instructor in The University of Texas at Austin’s Carbon Capture and Storage Certificate Program.
PESA SA/NT October Luncheon
“Geological CO₂ Storage: Familiar Subsurface, Different Questions”
Dr. Katherine Romanak
The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology
Abstract
Geological CO₂ Storage: Familiar Subsurface, Different Questions
Petroleum geoscientists come to CO₂ storage with a powerful advantage: the rocks, wells, fluids and subsurface tools are familiar. But CCS can change the meaning of familiar observations—and sometimes reverse the questions we are accustomed to asking. Injection is not simply production done backwards. When is migration expected, and when is it a containment concern? Does movement outside a predicted plume represent failure? Can there be environmental impact without CO₂ leakage? And when does a storage issue become a reportable emission? This presentation will explore where petroleum experience transfers directly to geological CO₂ storage and where familiar concepts need to be reconsidered. Drawing on examples from storage projects, monitoring research, and controlled-release experiments, it will distinguish three objectives that are often unintentionally conflated: demonstrating containment, protecting the environment, and accounting for emissions. The central argument is simple: before deciding what to monitor, we must first be clear about the question the monitoring is meant to answer. That distinction has important consequences for how we define leakage, interpret unexpected subsurface behavior, assess environmental risk, and demonstrate that CO₂ storage is both safe and effective.
Event Details:
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Luncheon: 12 pm for a 12:30 pm start
Place: Ayer’s House, 288 North Tce, Adelaide
The luncheon will consist of 2 courses and drinks
Bookings close 5 pm Monday, 19th October 2026
Any late bookings will incur an additional $20 fee. Strictly no walk-ins.
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