Enabling a CCS industry through research at the CO2CRC National Otway Research Facility

The CO2CRC Otway Research Facility is Australia’s first demonstration of carbon capture and storage. The Otway Research Facility was established in 2007 to demonstrate scientific, technical, legal, regulatory and social aspects of successfully operating a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The facility is also globally unique as it has its own CO2 production well (Buttress-1) on site. For more than a decade, experiments with strong national and international collaboration at the Otway Research Facility continue to provide strong value to an emerging global CCS industry, not only due to the activities taking place, but also because of the specific scientific, social, political and regulatory environments at the time of execution. The Otway facility has one of world’s most comprehensive characterisation, injection, monitoring and verification programs, and its successful project outcomes have not only met and helped further guide CCS legislation within Australia, but also assisted underpinning the regulatory and business case for large commercial CCS projects in Australia and overseas. In addition, the Otway Capture Facility is a hub for CO2 capture research for high pressure and high CO2 content natural gases. Tests are being conducted using adsorption and three different types of membrane-based gas separation technologies. These technologies have the potential to become available for natural gas processing on production platforms and floating production storage and offloading vessels.