The carbon sequestration facility was taxpayer funded to the tune of $60 million under the Low Emissions Technology Development fund, and supposed to begin operation just after the plant began processing gas in 2016.

The Gorgon gas plant was given approval to operate on the Class-A environment reserve at Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia on the condition that it would capture and bury — known as sequestering — up to 100 million tonnes of emissions over the life of the project.

Gas extracted from the surrounding gas fields is currently taken to the Gorgon processing facility on Barrow Island where it is cooled and liquefied ready for transport. During that liquidification process, CO2 is separated out.

It is then supposed to be pumped more than 800 metres underground where it migrates into the porous rocks. Clean Energy Regulator data shows the facility produced over 9 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions for the 2017-18 reporting year, making it Australia’s highest CO2 emitting gas facility for that period.

That’s more than all the CO2 emissions saved by all the rooftop solar in Australia combined, physicist and climate scientist Bill Hare told the ABC last year. But so far the carbon dioxide emissions have been released directly to the atmosphere.

Barrow Island sits 56 kilometres off the West Australian coast roughly in line with Karratha, and is home to dozens of species found nowhere else on Earth.

It’s a refuge for golden bandicoots, Barrow Island euros, spectacled hare-wallabies and other native mammals hit hard by cats and foxes on the mainland.

The island is under the control of American-owned energy-giant Chevron and apart from the workers on the Gorgon project, Australians aren’t allowed to set foot on the island.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-07-17/chevron-gorgon-gas-sequestration-mismanagement/11309076

Reading the original article it would appear that you left some quite pertinent paragraphs out from the bit you posted.

sibeen said:

Reading the original article it would appear that you left some quite pertinent paragraphs out from the bit you posted.

Such as?

PermeateFree said:

The carbon sequestration facility was taxpayer funded to the tune of $60 million under the Low Emissions Technology Development fund, and supposed to begin operation just after the plant began processing gas in 2016.

The Gorgon gas plant was given approval to operate on the Class-A environment reserve at Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia on the condition that it would capture and bury — known as sequestering — up to 100 million tonnes of emissions over the life of the project.

Gas extracted from the surrounding gas fields is currently taken to the Gorgon processing facility on Barrow Island where it is cooled and liquefied ready for transport. During that liquidification process, CO2 is separated out.

It is then supposed to be pumped more than 800 metres underground where it migrates into the porous rocks. Clean Energy Regulator data shows the facility produced over 9 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions for the 2017-18 reporting year, making it Australia’s highest CO2 emitting gas facility for that period.

That’s more than all the CO2 emissions saved by all the rooftop solar in Australia combined, physicist and climate scientist Bill Hare told the ABC last year. But so far the carbon dioxide emissions have been released directly to the atmosphere.

Barrow Island sits 56 kilometres off the West Australian coast roughly in line with Karratha, and is home to dozens of species found nowhere else on Earth.

It’s a refuge for golden bandicoots, Barrow Island euros, spectacled hare-wallabies and other native mammals hit hard by cats and foxes on the mainland.

The island is under the control of American-owned energy-giant Chevron and apart from the workers on the Gorgon project, Australians aren’t allowed to set foot on the island.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-07-17/chevron-gorgon-gas-sequestration-mismanagement/11309076

What do oil miners make their foam from? They inject foam down into the oil fields to push the oil up. It would be nice to make the foam from waste CO2 rather than from air or nitrogen.

sibeen said:

Reading the original article it would appear that you left some quite pertinent paragraphs out from the bit you posted.

It would seem you do not intend to expand upon brief comment, but if you had read the ENTIRE article you might be better informed.

I’m sure I can leave it to the astute follower of this thread to read the excerpt you posted and then check it against the original document. I leave it to these learned individuals to draw their own conclusion.

sibeen said:

I’m sure I can leave it to the astute follower of this thread to read the excerpt you posted and then check it against the original document. I leave it to these learned individuals to draw their own conclusion.

Well if they read more than the first three paragraphs, then I am sure they will. But as a side comment, a couple of people here give belittling comment with no detail at all. Personally I don’t think we are talking cricket here, where your comments might have greater reliance.

Going to watch the Hairy Bikers shortly.

Sorry.

What I had hoped for with this thread was a little interest and even concern, because things are happening in the north of WA of which many scientific environmentalists are becoming increasingly concerned. Chevron some years ago before they started gas production, began a Corporate Advertising campaign where instead of selling a product, they sell themselves with emphases of them being a good corporate identity, providing jobs, training people. always taking care of the environment and bending over backwards to comply with the laws of the country. However, this turned out to be a ploy to get the public on their side, so they could build their refinery on Barrow Island an A Class Reserve. And it succeeded!

Recently both BHP and Rio Tinto have begun a similar Corporate Advertising Campaign and I will bet a penny to a pound that in the foreseeable future they too will be making formal request for a large scale development in northern WA. Going on their current business activities I would think it most likely be a port with rail links. And the most environmental sensitive deep water area is the Dampiera Rock Art region. Just a guess, but it will be interesting to watch developments.

Not a comment on the article, but I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks working on Barrow Island about ten years ago.

It was a commercial oil field at the time, but this was before all the new infrastructure had been built.

It’s an amazing place for wildlife. Sitting in the wet mess of an evening hand feeding wild bandicoots salt and vinegar chips, wallabies that follow at your heels looking for a snack or a pat, perrenti lazing in the corridors of the accommodation blocks…

Our baggage was all checked both going and coming to the island – no foreign plant or animal matter allowed on and obviously no-one allowed to take flora or fauna off the island.

The sweet crude being mined meant that place was swimming in cash… the food supplied by P&O was amazing restaurant quality, the shifts were two weeks on two weeks off, 3 hour jobs were designated as 2 days worth of work so a whole lot of the permanent workforce spent a good part of their on time swimming and surfing…. I loved everything about working at that place. Probably my favourite place in Australia that I’ve ever been… and I’ve seen a lot of Australia.

Will be a great shame, I think, if it becomes or already has been wrecked.

I imagine carbon storage mismanagement would be common and business wouldn’t like “being made” to follow it and would find anyway to get out of doing it properly let alone just lying and not doing it all especially with restricted access to the facility.