Giant carbon sequestration project begins in Australia
mongabay.com
February 16, 2007
The largest carbon burial experiment in the world got underway yesterday in Australia with the drilling of a 2100-meter (6825 meter) well in the Otway Basin. If there are no signs of leaks, researchers from the Canberra-based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) will begin injecting carbon dioxide into the well in July according to an article from the NewScientist.com news service.
Policymakers hope that carbon burial — also known as geosequestration — could help fight global warming by storing greenhouse gas emissions underground. Currently the largest such project is in the North Sea. Run by Statoil, the carbon storage project reduces Norway's carbon emissions and cuts carbon taxes for the Norwegian energy company.
The new Australian project will differ from Statoil's project in that CO2 leakage will be carefully monitored. Unlike many commercial projects that reinject carbon dioxide to enhance oil recover, the Otway Basin endeavor has been designed specifically for storing CO2.
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