Dr Gillian Pickup, Lecturer in Reservoir Simulation, Heriot-Watt University Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE), recently visited Australia as a member of a delegation from the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC).
From our side, we were very pleased being your hosts and look forward to further strengthen the relationship between our respective organisations.
Aim
The aim of the visit was to facilitate collaboration between the UK (and other EU countries) and Australia on research into the geological storage of carbon dioxide.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a potential method to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This can be done by capturing CO2 waste emissions from point sources, such as large fossil fuel or biomass energy facilities, and safely storing these harmful greenhouse gases in deep geological formations
Pilot storage site
The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas (CO2CRC) in Australia has conducted some CO2 injection tests at a pilot storage site at Otway, 200 km SW of Melbourne.
The UKCCSRC group was given a tour of the site prior to having discussions on how UK researchers can contribute to further experiments at this site.
CO2CRC Research Symposium
During the second week of the trip, the UKCCSRC delegation attended the CO2CRC Research Symposium in Hobart Tasmania, where they learned more about the research being carried out in Australia. The Symposium extended the opportunity to network and engage in further shared research discussions and identify opportunities for collaborative research initiatives.