Seismo-mechanic Workflow to Ensure CO2 Storage in the Otway Basin, Australia

The CO2CRC (Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies) started in 2005 a pilot project for carbon dioxide storage, the CO2CRC Otway Project, in Nirranda South, Victoria, Australia. The main objective is to demonstrate that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is technically and environmentally safe. Subsurface injection of CO2 might potentially find pathways to return to the surface, especially along faults. Funded by GEOTECHNOLOGIEN program in Germany, the PROTECT Research Group (PRediction Of deformation To Ensure Carbon Traps) works together with the objective to develop, benchmark and verify a seismo-mechanic workflow across different scales for a safe monitoring prior, during and after CO2 injection. This new approach encompasses geophysical, geological and numerical deformation model building and can establish a useful way to predict and verify the potential leakage and possible reactivation of faults in order to ensure a safe CO2 storage.