Declaration of Identified Greenhouse Gas Storage Formation Calliance

Overview

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 was enacted by the Australian Parliament to regulate the exploration, production, and storage of greenhouse gases in offshore petroleum areas. This legislation was introduced to address the need for effective management and regulation of greenhouse gas storage to mitigate climate change impacts. The policy objective of the Act is to ensure that greenhouse gas storage activities are conducted in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and does not compromise the safety and integrity of the offshore environment. The declaration of the Calliance Storage Formation as an identified greenhouse gas storage formation under this Act signifies a significant step towards achieving these objectives by recognising a specific geological formation suitable for the storage of greenhouse gases. The declaration outlines the spatial extent, suitability determinants, and other relevant details of the formation, thereby facilitating the development of safe and effective storage solutions to combat climate change.

Scope and Application

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 applies to the declaration of greenhouse gas storage formations within the Commonwealth of Australia. This Act facilitates the identification and management of specific geological formations suitable for the storage of greenhouse gases, with the aim of reducing atmospheric emissions and contributing to climate change mitigation efforts. The Act specifically applies to the Calliance Storage Formation, identified by block numbers in the specified map sheet, which has been assessed to contain sufficient amounts of greenhouse gases suitable for storage. This Act governs the identification, assessment, and regulation of the storage formation, ensuring that it meets certain suitability determinants such as the maximum storage amount, the percentage of greenhouse gas substance suitable for storage, and the effectiveness of the storage formation’s sealing features. The jurisdictional reach of this Act is national, as it is a Commonwealth Act, and applies across all states and territories within Australia. There are no exclusions or exemptions specified in this declaration, although the Act may provide for these in other sections or through subordinate instruments. The declaration is a specific application of the broader provisions of the Act, which allows for the regulation of offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage activities.

Key Provisions

The primary operative section of this legislation, specifically Section 312(14), involves the declaration by the Minister, Hon Madeleine King MP, of a particular block as an identified greenhouse gas storage formation, in this instance, the Calliance Storage Formation. This declaration is based on the spatial extent, suitability determinants, and the geological characteristics of the formation, as outlined in the Act. The declaration encompasses blocks listed in the Table within the document, specifically in the map sheet SD51 (Brunswick Bay). These blocks include 2106, 2107, 2108, 2178, 2179, 2180, 2181, 2250, 2251, 2252, 2253, 2322, 2323, and 2324. The declaration further specifies the vertical spatial extent of the formation, which is between the J10.0 and K50.0 horizons. The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties involved. Firstly, it mandates that the storage formation must meet specific suitability determinants, including the maximum storage amount (145 Mt), the composition of the GHG substance (97 mol% - 100 mol% CO2), and the location and number of injection points. Additionally, the formation must have an effective sealing feature, which in this case is a combination of saline aquifer-structural trapping below a deep-marine mudstone seal. These requirements ensure that the storage formation is both effective and safe for the intended purpose. The legislation also outlines potential consequences for non-compliance. Although the document does not specify particular offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences in detail, breaches of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 can generally result in significant penalties. Such penalties may include fines and imprisonment, depending on the severity and nature of the breach. The maximum penalties are not stated in the document, but they can be found in the relevant sections of the Act. Non-compliance can also lead to administrative actions, such as the revocation of permits or authorisations related to the storage formation.