Shale gas in Australia: the policy options

The world is increasingly taking interest in the potential for a shale gas revolution. Australia is no exception to this trend. The key question for Federal, State and local governments is, assuming a shale gas revolution is seen as desirable, what policy measures may be taken in order to achieve this end and what should any debate over shale gas policy be focusing on? This brief paper sets the context for any shale gas revolution. It then outlines the characteristics present in the US that were necessary for the generation of its shale gas revolution. In the context of Australia, there are many barriers to reproducing these characteristics. This paper considers what policy options are available to reduce such barriers and lead Australia to its own shale revolution

A study of methodologies and critical parameters associated With co2 storage estimation in deep saline aquifers

Deep saline aquifers have greater potential for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage (around 12,000 Gt global capacity) than alternative storage media and could be adopted anywhere in the world. It is important to understand methodologies for the estimation of CO2 storage capacities in relation to different trapping mechanisms and the extent to which critical parameters such as aquifer thickness, porosity, salinity and permeability are taken into account. Storage security will improve over time, especially as a result of mineral trapping. This paper reviews methods of estimating CO2 storage potential from earlier studies and numerically estimates the storage potential in saline aquifers considering critical parameters such as saline aquifer and porosity