Department of Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics

TPG4140 Natural gas

Gorgon Natural Gas Project

Lucia COLOMBO
Marie CURSAN
Lorenzo DELLORTO
Carlo PICCINELLI
Luca RIBOLDI

Trondheim,
November 2010.
i

Abstract
This report deals with the description of Gorgon Project. This is about a natural gas field
discovered in the Eighties about 130 km off the north-west coast of Australia. It is peculiar
for its huge dimension, about 40 Tcft of gas resources, and because of the infrastructure that
are under construction to develop the field. It will have a LNG treatment plant characterized
by three trains capable of producing 15 millions tonnes per year totally. All the facilities will
be developed on Barrow Island, 85 km off the coast, so there will not be any offshore
infrastructure : this will reduce all the costs and risks linked to that. Moreover, it will have a
Capture and Carbon Storage System, in order to cut off the emission of greenhouse gases
produced in LNG gas treatment. Thanks to the great dimension of this project, lots of new
jobs will be created and the global australian economy will grow up. Apart from the technical
challeges that this project has to face with, there is also the environmental aspect, which is
fundamental : Barrow Island is a Class A Natural Reserve and for this reason it has to be
preserved, in order to prevent any change and avoid any risk on the living species.

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List of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1. Gorgon Plant Overview............................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Project history and overview .................................................................................................. 2
1.2 Onshore and offshore infrastructures ..................................................................................... 3
1.3 Subsea infrastructures............................................................................................................. 4
2

Geology.......................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Regional Geology of the Northern Carnarvon Basin Outline ................................................ 5
2.2 The Greater Gorgon Project ................................................................................................... 5
2.3 The Gorgon Field.................................................................................................................... 6
2.4 Carbon Dioxide storage .......................................................................................................... 6

Gas Processing and LNG Production ........................................................................................ 8

3.1 Inlet Processing....................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Acid gas removal and CO2 compression ................................................................................ 9
3.3 Dehydration and mercury removal ......................................................................................... 9
3.4 Liquefaction process............................................................................................................. 10
3.5 Fractionation ......................................................................................................................... 10
3.6 End flash, nitrogen rejection................................................................................................. 11
3.7 Power and thermal facilities ................................................................................................. 11
3.8 LNG storage and loading...................................................................................................... 11

Environmental concerns............................................................................................................ 12
4.1 Environmental Significance of Barrow Island ..................................................................... 12
4.2 Quarantine Expert Panel....................................................................................................... 12
4.3 Construction Dredging Environmental Expert Panel ........................................................... 13
4.4 Marine Turtle Expert Panel .................................................................................................. 13
4.5 Environmental Approval ...................................................................................................... 14
4.6 Atmospheric Emissions ........................................................................................................ 14

Gorgon Project Economy .......................................................................................................... 16

5.1 Economic growth - National and local benefits ................................................................... 16
5.2 Innovative Marketing Approach........................................................................................... 17
5.3 Downstream contracts .......................................................................................................... 18
5.4 The Gas Market Australia opportunities ........................................................................... 19

Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 20
References .......................................................................................................................................... 21
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Appendices ......................................................................................................................................... 38

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List of Tables
Table 2.1 - Greater Gorgon fields reserves......................................................................................... 24
Table 2.2 - Key elements of the Proposed Gorgon Development ...................................................... 24

List of Figures
Figure 1.1 - Main structures of Gorgon plant..................................................................................... 25
Figure 1.2 - Subsea equipments ......................................................................................................... 26
Figure 2.1 - Structural elements of the Northern Carnarvon Basin and adjacent basins, oil and
gas accumulations and selected wells ................................................................................................. 27
Figure 2.2 - The Greater Gorgon Project fields.................................................................................. 28
Figure 2.3 - Geography of Gorgon Field and Barrow Island ............................................................. 29
Figure 2.4 - Gorgon classification ...................................................................................................... 30
Figure 2.5 - Geo-sequestration of CO2 .............................................................................................. 30
Figure 3.1 - Location of the gas treatment plant in the Barrow Island............................................... 31
Figure 3.2 - Gas Treatment Plant Block Flow Diagram..................................................................... 32
Figure 3.3 - Slug Catcher ................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 3.4 - MEG regeneration loop .................................................................................................. 33
Figure 3.5 - Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU)................................................................................... 34
Figure 3.6 - Acid Gas Removal and CO2 Injection System Block Flow Diagram............................ 34
Figure 3.7 - APCI 5 MTPA Refrigeration Cycle ............................................................................... 35
Figure 3.8 - C3MR Process ................................................................................................................ 35
Figure 4.1 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Efficiency Improvements................................................... 36
Figure 5.1 - National Gross Domestic Product and WA Gross State Product ................................... 36
Figure 5.2 - Employment trend .......................................................................................................... 37

List of Appendices
Appendix 1 - Gorgon Subsea Development....................................................................................... 38
Appendix 2 - Geology of DUPUY formation and CO2 Storage ........................................................ 39

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Introduction:
With a rapid increase in the demand for energy and hydrocarbons it is important to find new
ways to cover the world primary energy supply. As an alternative to oil, natural gas is more
energy intensive and far less polluting which makes it more attractive, also because of less
CO2-emission. Further the use of LNG is predicted to rise in the years to come, due to its
attitude to be easily stored and economically transported over long distances.
The Gorgon gas project is a petroleum project in Western Australia, in the Northern
Carnarvon Basin , involving the development of the Greater Gorgon gas fields, subsea gasgathering infrastructure, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Barrow Island. The
project also includes a domestic gas component. It is currently under construction.
This report would provide a complete description of the Gorgon gas project. An explanation
of every aspect of the field, how they are connected and developed and the several challenges
to overcome; pointing out the importance of a plant that once completed will become
Australia's fourth LNG export development.

1. Gorgon Plant Overview

1.1

Project history and overview

Oil was discovered on Barrow Island in commercial quantities in 1964 by West Australian
Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET), and the first oil field was established shortly after. In 1995,
there were 430 wells producing oil and natural gas across most of the southern half of the
island. The site has been Australia's leading producer of oil. More than 200 exploration wells
have been drilled in the Barrow sub-basin over the past 35 years, including West Tryal Rocks
in 1972, and Spar in 1976 - both discovered by West Australian Petroleum (WAPET) which
had been a pioneering company in the development of the Western Australian petroleum
industry.
WAPET discovered Gorgon in 1981 with the drilling of the Gorgon 1 well. Later discoveries
included Chrysaor (1994) and Dionysus (1996). The Jansz-Io gas accumulation, discovered in
January 2000, contains an estimated 566 billion cubic meters of recoverable reserves. The
project received preliminary environmental approvals from the West Australian government
in September 2007 and from the Federal Minister for the Environment in the following
month. The project developers then submitted revised plans to cover an expansion in the size
of the project. Final environmental approval was received from the state government on 11
August 2009. On 26 August 2009, the Federal Environment Minister announced that the
expanded project on Barrow Island had been given conditional environmental approval
(Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, 2008). The first LNG production is expected
in 2014.
The foundation development of the project includes:
Gas production from sub-sea facilities in the Gorgon, Io and Jansz fields located in the
Greater Gorgon Area, 130 200km from the coast in waters up to 1350 meters deep.
Sub-sea pipelines from these fields to Barrow Island.
A 6 MSm3 per day domestic gas plant and a pipeline from the island, 70 km offshore, to
join Western Australias onshore domestic gas supply.
Three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trains, each capable of producing five million tonnes
annually on Barrow Island.

 LNG shipping facilities to handle about three shipments each week for international
markets.
Greenhouse gas management through CO2 injection into a deep geological formation
beneath Barrow Island.
1.2

Onshore and offshore infrastructures

The main infrastructures of the Gorgon plant are shown in Figure 1.1. Terrestrial
infrastructures associated with the Gorgon Gas Development consist of the following: [1]

Construction Village.

Administration and Operations Complex.

The permanent Utilities Area located within the Gas Treatment Plant.

The Utilities Corridors between the Utilities area and users within the Gas Treatment Plant

and between the Utilities area and the Construction Village, also servicing the Administration
and Operations Complex.

Road Upgrades, including road between WAPET landing and Town Point, and from Town

Point to the Airport (via the Construction Village), and road along the feed gas pipeline
system route.

Airport Modifications, consisting of extension of the existing runway to the south and

associated vegetation clearing.

Communications, consisting of a microwave communications tower and associated

communications infrastructure to be installed on Barrow Island.

Onshore water supply infrastructure, consisting of a seawater demineralisation (reverse

osmosis) plant, associated treated water and brine storage tanks, and treated water pumps and
delivery piping to end users within the Gas Treatment Plant.

LNG 2.1 kilometres jetty: it is a structure at the interface between onshore activities and sea

transport. This jetty will allow ships to safely approach, vessels to safely depart and will
permit the transportation of goods and personnel. For these reasons, a particular attention is
paid on this jetty. Its design will either be a traditional piled structure or an alternative option
currently under consideration.

1.3

Subsea infrastructures

The development of the Gorgon Field is a great challenge. First of all, the nature surrounding
the Barrow Island has to be protected in order to prevent any kind of damage in the territory
and to the species that are living on. Secondly, the project deals with a subsea gas-gathering
system located from about 200 to 1300 meters deep that will deliver the well-gas to the
treatment unit on Barrow Island. In this case, the main innovation is due to the fact that all the
offshore facilities will be in the seafloor with no initial need for any permanent surface
facilities. The elimination of platform reduces the safety risks associated with helicopters by
avoiding the need for personnel to be permanently based offshore, or periodically required to
visit the platform. It also avoids emissions associated with operation on the platform and
significantly reduces overall capital costs by improving the international competitiveness and
overall viability of the project.
Up to 25 subsea wells will be drilled in the Gorgon field throughout its life. Subsea
equipments are shown in Figure 1.2. Each group of wells will use well jumpers to connect
them to cluster manifolds with between one and eight wells. Intrafield flowlines will then
transfer fluids to the export feed gas pipeline. Each production well will have a subsea
horizontal tree (7x 2) that provides containment and control. This will be installed prior to
installing the well completion. The reservoir section will be drilled with an 8.3/4 open hole
section and then lined with a 7 liner (Appendix 1). In addition to the line hanger, the liner
will feature a liner top packer. Once the completion is installed and pressure tested to satisfy
well integrity requirements, the reservoir will be perforated using guns deployed on wireline.
[2]
The production fluids (gas, water and some condensate, with production chemicals) will then
be piped to Barrow Island via a 70 km subsea feed gas pipeline(s). Feed gas pipelines will be
corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) clad carbon steel or carbon steel. . The total well flow rates
could range from less than 13 Sm3/s to more than 110 Sm3/s (40340 million standard cubic
feet per day (MMscfd)), with flow reducing over time as reservoir pressure declines [3].

2
2.1

Geology
Regional Geology of the Northern Carnarvon Basin Outline

The Northern Carnarvon Basin is the southernmost of the late Paleozoic to Cenozoic basins
comprising the Westralian Superbasin that underlies the northwestern continental margin of
Australia. It is bounded to the northeast by the Roebuck and Offshore Canning basins, to the
southeast by the cratonic Pilbara Block, to the south by the Southern Carnarvon Basin, and to
the northwest by the Argo, Cuvier and Gascoyne abyssal plains. The basin is predominantly
offshore, covering an area of approximately 535000 km2 in water depths of up to 3500 m.
Structural elements of the Northern Carnarvon Basin and adjacent basins, oil and gas
accumulations and selected wells are shown in Figure 2.1.
As one of Australias most explored and a prospective basin, the Northern Carnarvon Basin
has ready access to established oil and gas exploration, production and support infrastructure.
Projects developed to date include: Barrow Island (oil); the North West Shelf Venture
incorporating the North Rankin (gas), CossackPioneer FPSO (oil and gas), Goodwyn (gas)
and Angel (gas) production facilities; Airlie Island (oil); Varanus Island (gas and oil);
Thevenard Island (oil and gas); MutineerExeter FPSO (oil); StybarrowEskdale FPSO (oil
and gas); Enfield FPSO (oil), and; Vincent FPSO (oil). The newest and largest natural gas
project is the greater Gorgon project [4].

2.2

The Greater Gorgon Project

Greater Gorgon refers to a grouping of several gas fields, including Gorgon, Chandon,
Geryon, Orthrus, Maenad, Eurytion, Urania, Chrysaor, Dionysus, Jansz/Io, and West Tryal
Rocks, situated in the Barrow sub-basin of the Carnarvon Basin.
The fourteen Greater Gorgon gas fields have gas reserves of 1,250 BCM with Gorgon, Jansz
and Io containing 80 percent, as we can see in Table 2.1. All fields except Gorgon are in deep
water further offshore and have 60 percent of the gas reserves. 60 percent of the fields have
gas reserves of less than 100 Bcm. 75 percent of condensate reserves are in Gorgon and Clio
[5]. A clear disposition of every field in the Greater Gorgon Project is shown in Figure 2.2.

2.3

The Gorgon Field

The Gorgon field, on which we are focusing, is centered about 130 kilometres (81 mi) off the
north-west coast of Western Australia, where the water depth is approximately 200 m (660ft).
In fact, as mentioned above, it is the only field in shallow water (other fields depth can be up
to 1300 meters). The gas processing part of the project is located on Barrow Island. Location
of some of the Greater Gorgon gas fields in relation to Barrow Island and the adjacent
coastline. Barrow Island lies off the Pilbara coast, 85 kilometres (53 mi) north-north-east of
Onslow and 140 kilometres (90 mi) west of Karratha. The largest of a group of islands which
include the Montebello and Lowendal Islands, it is 25 kilometres (16 mi) long and 10
kilometres (6.2 mi) wide, covering 235 square kilometres (91 sq mi) [6]. The geography of
the Gorgon field and the Barrow Island is shown in Figure 2.3.
Other fields in the group lie to the north, such as Jansz-Io, which covers an area of 2,000
square kilometers (770 sq mi), in a water depth of 1,300 meters (4,300 ft). The Gorgon and
Jansz-Io gas fields, are said to contain 40 trillion cubic feet (1.110^12 m3) of natural gas and
may have a lifespan of 60 years. While the natural gas in the Jansz field contains less than 1%
carbon dioxide, the Gorgon field gas contains 15 mol% CO2, 3 mol% N2 and 25 ppmv H2S.
This CO2 will be produced with the hydrocarbon gases as the fields are developed. Gas
composition is shown in Table 2.2. Typical values for pressure and temperature are 455 bar
and 161

C at a reservoir datum depth of 4000 m true vertical depth. The temperature and

pressure classification of Gorgon is shown in Figure 2.4.

2.4

Carbon Dioxide storage

The total area occupied by the CO2 Injection System outside the Gas Treatment Plant site will
be approximately 6.6 ha. reservoir of carbon dioxide (CO2) will be disposed of by injection
into the Dupuy Formation more than 2000 m below Barrow Island to limit the greenhouse gas
emissions and atmospheric pollutant associated with the Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz
Feed Gas Pipelines production of LNG. The CO2 injection process is described in the Draft
EIS/ERMP (Chevron Australia 2005). The CO2 geology sequestration is shown in Figure 2.5.
These include: [7]

CO2 compression facilities located within the Gas Treatment Plant boundary.

An above-ground pipeline (approximately 10 km long in an 8 ha basement) between the Gas

Treatment Plant and the three to four CO2 injection drill centres to the north.

Approximately eight to nine CO2 injection wells directionally drilled from the three or four

CO2 injection drill centres north of the Gas Treatment Plant site.

Observation wells, required to monitor the sub-surface spread of the CO2 plume.

Four pressure management water wells, required to manage pressure in the Dupuy

formation.

Four pressure management water injection wells for the reinjection of water produced from

the lower Dupuy formation by pressure management wells. The water will be reinjected into
the Barrow Group from a vertical depth of 1200 1600 m.

Four shallow drilled anode wells required for each CO2 drill centre for the purposes of

cathodic protection. Additional anode wells will be drilled for cathodic protection purposes
for the pressure management wells and the pressure management water injection wells (one
anode well pair per water producer/ injector pair). An anode well will also be required for
each stand alone observation well.
Monitoring activities, including the acquisition of seismic data will be undertaken as part of
ongoing reservoir performance management. Seismic data acquisition is expected to be
repeated a number of times throughout the life of the Gorgon Gas Development, in order to
map the extent of the CO2 plume as it migrates. Differences between the data obtained during
the baseline seismic monitoring and repeat seismic monitoring will be used to map the extent
of the CO2 plume over time.
The terrestrial components of baseline seismic monitoring will use two vibration sources:
subsurface explosives and vibroseis. Approximately 1300 shot holes will be drilled for the
placement of subsurface explosives. These will be drilled at 100 m intervals along lines
spaced 500 m apart. The placement of explosives below the surface karst limestone layer will
be done by drilling the holes to a depth of approximately 15 m below sea level. Purpose-built
drill rigs that have a combination of both sonic and air percussion drilling technology will be
used, reducing the need to use drilling fluids. The charges will be four kg each and double
detonators will be used. Vibroseis will be undertaken in the lower lying, flatter terrain areas
where good ground coupling is attainable and the effect of karst limestone is minimal. The
vibroseis source lines will be spaced approximately 500 m apart, and the vibrator points will
be every 12.5 m along these lines [8].
7

Gas Processing and LNG Production

The Gorgon Gas Treatment Plant is not out of the ordinary. Concerning the gas processing
part the novelty of this project does not rely on the development of new technologies but on
the huge LNG production capacity. It is the first time that such a huge quantity of LNG is
planned to be produced. This project represents a new step in the world gas processing
development.
The Gas Treatment Plant will be located near Town Point (see Figure 3.1) on the east coast of
Barrow Island. The Gas Treatment Plant will produce LNG for international export, domestic
gas for use on the Australian mainland and hydrocarbon condensate (light oil). The block flow
diagram of the plant is quiet classic. This later is shown in Figure 3.2. Note that in order to
reduce the impact on the island (also referring to the QMS), all the components will be prefabricated and assembled off-site into transportable parts. Here it is a description of the main
processing units.

3.1

Inlet Processing

The inlet processing facility consists of two slug catchers. These units are designed to
segregate the each different feed gas into three different phases (gas, condensate and water).
The two different feed gases are the Gorgon and the Jansz one. This separation unit provides
steady flow rates to the downstream units. A slug catcher is shown in Figure 3.3.
After separation, the most of the gas is sent to the acid gas removal units while a side stream
of the reduced pressure gas phase of the Jansz slug catcher is sent to the domestic gas
(DomGas) plant to be processed and exported. Gorgon plant will produce 300 terajoules of
domestic gas per day. The DomGas is not going to be explained in this report. Nevertheless it
is important to remember this domestic gas will play a vital role in meeting future energy
needs fro Western Australia. Thus the DomGas plant must have played a very important role
in the project acceptance.
Condensates are sent to stabilization columns. Stabilization consists in stripping lighter
hydrocarbons by using distillation principles. This stabilised condensate stream is then mixed
with the condensates provided by the LNG fractionation train before being stored and
8

exported. There are four condensate storage tanks of 35.000 m each. Contrary to the LNG
production, the light-oil production is not out of ordinary. To get a comparison, at Melkoya
platform one tank of 75.000m is used.
The aqueous phase is sent to the Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) unit. This unit consists in
regenerating MEG by removing water and salts in order to reach lean MEG specification. The
MEG loop process is shown in Figure 3.4. MEG is injected in the well-gas in order to prevent
hydrate formation by reducing the water freezing temperature in the pipe. The MEG unit is
designed by Aker Solutions [9].

3.2

Acid gas removal and CO2 compression

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) need to be removed before the
liquefaction unit for two main reasons. The first one is to meet the LNG product
specifications. And the second one is to prevent acid gas from freezing out in the cryogenic
section. Activated Methyl Di-ethanol Amine (MDEA) technology is used. There are three
Acid Gas Removal Units (AGRUs) in parallel. Each AGRU processes 33% of the feed gas.
Each AGRU consists in one absorber column and a MDEA regenerator system. An AGRU is
shown in Figure 3.5.
One of the main characteristic of the Gorgon project is the environmental concern. That is
why after the AGRU, the acid gas containing around 99.7 mole % of CO2 is compressed and
injected into the subsurface Dupuy Formation. The CO2 injection unit is divided into two
equal parts A and B in order to still provide the injection system in case of shut down of one
part. The AGRU and injection system is shown in Figure 3.6.

3.3

Dehydration and mercury removal

Before the liquefaction units, water and mercury also need to be removed. If the gas is not
dried before entering in the cryogenic part, water can freeze out and cause blockages of lines
and equipments. Due to its extreme dryness capacity, a molecular sieve column is used to dry
the gas. Indeed, molecular sieve is much more efficient than glycol unit. It can remove much
more water. Usually glycol units are used in gas processing plants whereas molecular sieves
are used in LNG plant. The reason is that no water is tolerated into the liquefaction part due to
the cryogenic temperatures.
9

Remove mercury is to prevent corrosion issues in the heat exchangers. Indeed corrosion
happens if mercury is in contact with aluminium. Mercury adsorbers with non-regenerable
packed beds and adsorbers after filters are used to ensure a good removal of mercury [9].

3.4

Liquefaction process

The liquefaction process is the Air Products and Chemicals Incorporated (APCI) Split-MR
Propane Pre-Cooled Mixed Refrigerant (MR) Process. This APCI 5MTPA refrigeration cycle
is shown in Figure 3.7 (Chevron Australia, September 2009). A simplified sketch of the
liquefaction process is shown in Figure 3.8 [10]. This process is not a new discovery. In fact
most of the worlds LNG is produced by using the C3MR process.
Before entering in the main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE), the pre-treated gas needs to
be cooled down in order to remove the heavier hydrocarbons that can freeze out due to the
very low temperature. For this purpose, propane refrigerant is used to pre-cool the gas. This
pre-cooled gas is then fed into the scrub column which separates the gas from the
condensates. The heavier hydrocarbons and aromatics are sent to the fractionation unit. This
propane pre-cooling part is also used to pre-cool the mixed refrigerant which will provide the
liquefaction energy. The medium used to cool down the propane is ambient air. It can be
wondered why ambient air was chosen as cooler instead of sea water. One answer can be that
the low cost investment and the easy availability of air-cooling came first. Even if air cooler is
bigger and lower efficient than water cooler it is still the most used in LNG plants.
To provide enough energy, each liquefaction train has refrigeration compressors driven by
Frame 7 gas turbines. This gas turbine is ideal for plants that require high efficiency and
shaft speed for direct coupling to the generator[11].

3.5

Fractionation

The fractionation unit consists in a succession of distillations in order to recover ethane and
propane from the gas allowing sufficient refrigerant make up to be produced in the
fractionation unit. The condensates are sent to condensate storage tanks.

10

3.6

End flash, nitrogen rejection

The liquefied natural gas is sub-cooled after the MCHE and flashed off in the nitrogen
rejection column. This end flash has two main uses. The first one is to remove Nitrogen and
some Methane in order to meet the LNG specifications and specifically the required heating
value. The second one is to provide enough fuel gas to run the gas turbines.

3.7

Power and thermal facilities

The main ancillary system is the power generation provided by five Frame 9 gas turbines
generators. With all five gas turbines running the maximum power output of the power
generation plant is 550 MW. This plant is used to generate power for electrical consumers in
the gas treatment plant, the administration area, etc. The estimated total electrical power
required is 416 MW [9]. Therefore, the Gorgon project uses the N+1 operating philosophy,
one gas turbine more than required.
At the liquefaction plant, everything is done to optimize the energy and the thermal heat
recovery. There is a Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) in order to recover the heat
available from the gas turbine exhausts. This recovered heat is then sent to lots of heat
consumers in the gas treatment plant, including inlet gas heating, AGRU reboilers, MEG
regeneration, etc. A fuel gas recycle system is also used to provide fuel gas throughout the gas
treatment plant. This fuel gas is provided by three parts of the plant: the dehydration and
mercury removal unit, the end flash unit and by the BOG from the LNG storage tanks.

3.8

LNG storage and loading

The LNG storage and loading challenge is to provide a continuous production of LNG. There
are two full containment LNG tanks with a capacity of 180 000 m each. It is the CB&I
company that has been awarded a contract by Chevron Australia for the LNG and condensates
tanks [9]. The LNG loading takes place at the jetty which is approximately 4 km offshore
from the gas treatment plant at Town Point. The jetty has two LNG carriers berths, each
equipped with four loading arms. There are two liquid arms, one hybrid (liquid-vapour) arm
and the last one is used to return the Boil off gas (BOG). A BOG flare is provided for safety
purposes.

11

4
4.1

Environmental concerns
Environmental Significance of Barrow Island

Barrow Island was set aside as a nature reserve in 1910 in recognition of its outstanding flora
and fauna values. It is currently reserved as a Class A Nature Reserve for the purpose of
Conservation of Flora and Fauna, which represents the highest level of protection afforded
under State legislation. In 2004, the majority of the waters around the island were included in
the Barrow Island Marine Park and Barrow Island Marine Management Area (note that the
Barrow Island port area was excluded). The island nature reserve is vested in the
Conservation Commission and the marine reserves in the Marine Parks and Reserves
Authority. Both are managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).
The biodiversity values of Barrow Island are unique and significant on an international scale.
It is Western Australias second largest island at approximately 23,600 hectares, and one of
the largest land masses in the world without any established introduced vertebrates.
Thousands of years of isolation have resulted in the genetic differentiation of species from
mainland populations. In addition to reptiles and invertebrates, Barrow Island is also a
significant nesting site for marine green and flatback turtles.
Such an important environment and biodiversity need to be protected during the development
of such a huge gas plant. In order to manage it, the Gorgon Project has established three
independent Expert Panels. The objective of these Expert Panels is to follow the execution of
the project by providing advice to the Proponent (Chevron Australia Pty Ltd) and the
Minister. Each panel will provide advice, relevant to their subject matter, on management and
monitoring, including implementation of special plans, in accordance with State and
Commonwealth [12].

4.2

Quarantine Expert Panel

The Gorgon Project on Barrow Island will pose new quarantine challenges to the conservation
values of the island. Activities associated with the project will increase the volume of cargoes
and number of personnel movements compared to historical or current oilfield operations on
the island. These numbers would be particularly pronounced during the construction phase,

12

and would remain at higher than current levels during the operational phase. The higher
number of personnel and cargo movements to Barrow Island therefore presents a substantial
increase in the potential for non-indigenous organisms to be transported to the island.
To protect Barrow Island from potential introductions of non-indigenous species, the Gorgon
Joint Venturers have developed a new approach to quarantine by developing a risk-based
Quarantine Management System. As there is no precedent for a quarantine program of such
rigor anywhere else in the world, the Joint Venturers have been guided by the specific advice
of the EPA (Environment Protection Authority) to develop quarantine protection for Barrow
Island, according with Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 [13]. As a
consequence of this advice, the Joint Venturers established a Quarantine Expert Panel,
initiated an extensive and transparent process of community consultation, and in concert with
the community and experts, developed of a set of standards for acceptable. The Quarantine
expert panel advices include:

Development and implementation of marine and terrestrial Quarantine Management System

(QMS); the panel decides also about improvement of its effectiveness;

Preventing the introduction of non-indigenous terrestrial species and marine pets to Barrows

island through all proposal attributable introduction pathways;

Detecting the presence of non-indigenous terrestrial species and marine pets and detecting

environmental change caused by the presence of them;

Control and eradication measures in the event that a non indigenous species is detected;

Review and recommend quarantine studies [12]

4.3

Construction Dredging Environmental Expert Panel

The role of this panel is to provide advice to the proponent and the minister on construction
dredging a spoil disposal management and monitoring. It is also required to evaluate costal
and marine state and the environmental impact even before and after project development
[12].

4.4

Marine Turtle Expert Panel

This panel must build understanding of the turtle population in order to better predict, monitor
and manage potential impacts associated with the construction and operation of the Gorgons
13

gas field [12]. The important of this panel lies in the relevance of Gorgon as a nesting area.
Over 3000 individuals of flatback turtles have now been recoreded nesting on the eastern
beach of Borrow Island [14].

4.5

Environmental Approval

The environmental approvals have imposed very stringent environmental conditions on the
GJV, including the requirement to comply with over 20 environmental management plans. In
addition to the requirements of the environmental approvals, the GJV has committed to
conservation initiatives and undertakings worth approximately $150 millions. It could be read
as a further way the GJV uses in order to reduce the footprint of the project. These initiatives
include:

the Northwest Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program, valued at $62.5 million over the

life of the project (expected to be 60 years) to increase protection of the turtles in areas away
from Barrow Island;

the Northwest Shelf Flatback Turtle Intervention Program, capped at $5 million, to improve

recruitment to the turtle population in the event that monitoring demonstrates an impact upon
the turtles;

the Threatened Species Translocation and Reintroduction Program, valued at $10 million

over 12 years, for selected species from Barrow Island to other suitable locations around the
State;

monitoring and auditing of marine activities during the projects dredging and marine

construction phase, up to $2.5 million;

a financial guarantee, capped at $10 million, to cover Government costs for the eradication

of viable non-indigenous species introduced to Barrow Island; and

$60 million for Net Conservation Benefits (under the Gorgon State Agreement).

The GJV is also required to fund the Department of Environment and Conservation to
maintain a permanent management presence on Barrow Island to manage the impacts, if any,
on the islands marine conservation over the life of the project [14].

4.6

Atmospheric Emissions

The main points considered in (EIS/ERMP) [15] are atmospheric emissions. Again GJV is
developing efficient technologies to decrease emissions to a very low level for such an
14

enormous plant. Predicted emissions, which would occur during the construction,
commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning phases of the proposed Gorgon
development are based on current information, and opportunities to reduce the levels will be
pursued. The air emissions include: 4.0 million tones of CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gases
(with CO2 injection) per annum, 4430 tonnes of NOx per annum, 0.15 tonnes of SOx per
annum and 241 tonnes of particulates (PM10) per annum [16].
The JV partners have adopted the Gorgon Gas Development Greenhouse Gas Management
Strategy to responsibly manage greenhouse gas emissions. The integration of this strategy into
the gas processing facility design resulted in about 45 million tonnes less global greenhouse
emissions per year, compared to the use of coal. The development concept also results in only
40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of LNG produced than that of the
original 1998 concept that formed the basis of Greenhouse Challenge Agreement with the
Australian Greenhouse Office (see Figure 4.1). The emissions reduction is achieved by
several ways. The first way is the replacement of the offshore gas processing platform with an
all sub-sea development. Then, the LNG process technology and the waste heat recovery are
optimized: Were also committed to an energy optimization process to improve plant
efficiency and minimize energy consumption thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions [12].
Finally, the injection and subsurface storage of Carbon Dioxide significantly reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to achieve potential greenhouse gas reductions, other opportunities were undertaken,
including investing in commercial forestry, assisting in revegetation or land rehabilitation
plantings, facilitating reduced land clearing, undertaking the disposal of reservoir CO2 by
injection into the subsurface, assisting other industries to switch to alternative fuels (e.g. from
coal to gas), facilitating the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as vehicle fuel, providing
support for renewable energy technologies, promoting the sale of CO2 as a feed stock to
another company or industry and market-based options [16].

15

Gorgon Project Economy

Gorgon will be an important pillar of the Australian economy for more than 40 years. The
economic benefits resulting from the proposed Gorgon Development will have national, state
and regional dimensions. Studies already carried out indicate that Western Australias
economy is expected to benefit from the Gorgon Project by approximately $4 billion [2].
There will also be improvements to business investments and Gross State Product (GSP)
leading to flow-on benefits for business, employment and government revenues. In particular
an increase in Australian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately $3.6 billion by
2030 should be reached (see Figure 5.1) [2].
Also the domestic supply (a minimum 15% of gas production) will provide positive effects
mainly to Western Australia economy. In fact the access to secure and affordable energy,
particularly natural gas, will underpin the States mining and resource processing industries,
will fuel power generation and will supply small businesses and households. Western
Australia is the most energy and gas-dependent economy in Australia. Natural gas supplies
half of the States primary energy requirements and fuels 60% of the States electricity
generation. Given the dependence on gas-fired electricity, the availability and affordability of
natural gas will have a major direct impact on households and small businesses through
electricity prices, as well as gas prices [17].

5.1

Economic growth - National and local benefits

The main economic benefits, which Gorgon project will provide to Australia and Western
Australia, will derive from the combination of:
export income
tax paid by the Joint Venturers
businesses and individuals employed
the amount of money spent in the local economy
The location of the gas-fields and close infrastructures coupled with estimates showing they
contain about 40Tcf of gas means Australia will be in a prime position to meet future

16

market demands. Thereby an increase of exports in excess of $2 billion per year is expected
during operation [2].
Another key benefit will come from the taxation system. It will guarantee approximately $17
billion in revenue from company tax and Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT) [2]. PRRT is
a Commonwealth tax and only applies to areas under Commonwealth sovereignty the
offshore. It is levied at 40% of profit after taking into account assessable receipts and
deductible expenditures.
Gorgon investment in Australia is generating more and more jobs and supplier opportunities
as local companies get involved with the project. In addition to a range of career opportunities
with Chevron, the project will also result in employment opportunities with Gorgon
contractors. Peak construction period will provide employment in Western Australia of
around 10000 direct and indirect jobs. Globally the Gorgon Project is predicted to generate
and sustain over 6000 jobs on average through the decades of operation, with 1700 generated
in Western Australia (see in Figure 5.2) [2].
Western Australia and the Pilbara region will benefit from increased demand for goods and
services that will further stimulate business development. The project is expected to spend
about $20 billion on Australian goods and services over the next 4 to 5 years. And early
indications are confirming that Gorgon will spend $33 billion on local goods and services in
the first 30 years [12].

5.2

Innovative Marketing Approach

Historically the Asia-Pacific LNG market has involved project owners selling their product in
a coordinated manner. The Gorgon Joint Venturers however have adopted an equity
marketing model where each owner sells its share of the LNG produced separately. This is a
first for a significant size project in the region. Equity marketing has lead to greater flexibility
in the offerings that can be made to customers. It also assures more freedom for the owners to
pursue the markets that meet their requirements. On the other hand some critics fear that joint
selling of Gorgon gas will result eventually in less competition not more and can only lead to
higher energy prices for Australian consumers.

17

The strength of the three Gorgon Joint Venturers has been critical to the success of this
innovative approach - between them they are involved in eight other LNG projects that are
operating or currently under construction [2]. The Gorgon Joint Venture consists of Australian
subsidiaries of three international energy companies:

Chevron Australia (a subsidiary of Chevron) (47% share and project operator)

Shell Development Australia (a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) (25%)

Mobil Australia Resources (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil) (25%)

Osaka Gas (1.25%)

Tokyo Gas (1%)

Chubu Electric Power (0.417%)

The Gorgon joint venture participants are aggressively pursuing a number of market
opportunities in key customer countries. This approach has delivered real benefits to the
project.

5.3

Downstream contracts

Chevron Australia has executed Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with Osaka Gas
(1.375Mtpa for 25 years and 1.25 percent equity in the Gorgon Project), Tokyo Gas (1.1Mtpa
for 25 years and 1 percent equity), Chubu Electric Power (1.44Mtpa for 25 years and 0.417
percent equity in the Gorgon Project) and GS Caltex of South Korea (0.5Mtpa for 20 years
from Gorgon and Chevron system gas). Chevron Australia also has Heads of Agreements
with Korea Gas Corporation KOGAS) (1.5Mtpa for 15 years); Nippon Oil Corporation (0.3
Mtpa for 15 years) and Kyushu Electric (0.3 Mtpa for 15 years) [12].
Shell has entered into long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements with PetroChina
International Company Limited and BP Singapore Pte. Limited and also has secured capacity
at LNG receiving terminals including the terminals at Energia Costa Azul in Baja California,
Mexico and Hazira in Gujarat, India [12].
An Australian subsidiary of ExxonMobil has signed long-term sales and purchase agreements
with Petronet LNG Limited of India and PetroChina International Company Limited for the
supply of LNG from the Gorgon Project. The agreement with Petronet LNG is for the supply
of approximately 1.5 Mtpa of LNG over a 20-year term while the agreement with PetroChina
is for the supply of approximately 2.25 Mtpa over a 20-year term. Together, these two sales
18

and purchase agreements commit the ExxonMobil subsidiary's share of LNG from the 15
Mtpa Gorgon LNG Project [12].
Further gas sales in the Asia-Pacific region are expected as participants leverage their
international positions in LNG infrastructure and gas markets.

5.4

The Gas Market Australia opportunities

Rapid population growth, urbanization and industrialization added to declining supplies of

domestic crude oil, are fueling demand from industrial and utility customers for large volumes
of LNG and long-term contracts. In this background Australia has the possibility to assume a
leading role as producer of gas in the Asia Pacific Region. There are lots of factors which
contribute to the likelihood of this scenario:
Vast and growing reserves of natural gas
Access to expanding energy-hungry markets
A world demanding cleaner energy
The experience and skill in the development and execution of large resource projects
Therefore the opportunities presented by the Gorgon Project ensure that Australia will be well
positioned to secure a significant share of the growing global LNG market. One more key
factor is that Australia offers a stable investment environment and significantly reducing
investment risk for a long-term international LNG export development. In Australia, LNG
projects receive strong support from Government at all levels [2].
The Gorgon Project will also help underpin the development of new technologies and skills,
for example in disposal of CO2 by injection and subsea technology. Thus additional capacity
for future regional growth will be created and Australia could be a forerunner in these
innovative fields. Moreover the Gorgon Project could lead to further development of other
regional gas resources identified in the area, extending and expanding the benefits of the
initial development [2].

19

Conclusions:
From the analysis proposed in this paper we can draw some simple conclusions:
The estimated 40Tcf of gas, contained in the Gorgon field, will assure a long and
affordable supply of natural gas. This will lead Australia to play an important role in
the energy market, most of all in the Asia Pacific region.
The project will provide immediate economic benefits. A substantial AU$64 billion
net will boost Australias Gross Domestic Product. Peak construction employment in
WA of around 10000 direct and indirect jobs. Anticipated State and Federal
Government revenue of about AU$40 billion.
The proposed project has attracted criticism from conservation groups in relation to
the potential impact upon Barrow Island's ecology. The island is a Class A nature
reserve. Taking account of that, a set of rigorous environmental conditions for the
construction and operation of the Gorgon Gas Development has been planned. The
goal is to demonstrate that conservation and development can successfully co-exist.
Gorgon project proposes also an advanced system to minimize atmospheric emissions.
The proposed LNG facility on Barrow Island has the potential to be among the most
greenhouse gas efficient of its kind in the world. Very significant in this sense is the
carbon dioxide injection technology. Gorgon will be one of the first projects to
implement the CO2 storage underground system in such a large scale. The results
reached will be meaningful in order to evaluate the feasibility of this technology. A
positive outcome could foster other similar projects.

20

References
[1] Chevron, 2nd September 2009, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline
Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine Management System, Paragraph 2.1.4.
[2] Chevron, Gorgon Project Overview of Gorgon Subsea Well Design and Construction
[3] Teobald Neil, 23rd World Gas Conference, Amsterdam 200. The Worlds Most
Significant Gas Fields
[4] Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release, Regional Geology of the Northern
Carnarvon Basin 2010
[5] Brian Fleay, Western Australia Gas Supply Revision 6 - October 2009
[6] Offshore-technology.com. SPG Media Limited, Gorgon, Northern Carnarvon Basin"
[7] Chevron, 2nd September 2009, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline
Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine Management System, Paragraph 2.1.3
[8] Chevron, 2nd September 2009, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline
Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine Management System, Paragraph 2.1.5
[9] Chevron Australia, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline - September
2009
[10] Dr. Mark Pillarella, Dr. Yu-Nan Liu, Joseph Petrowski, Ronald Bower, Air Products and
Chemicals, The C3MR Liquefaction cycle: versatility for a fast growing, ever changing LNG
industry unknown
[11] GE Energy, Liquefied Natural Gas Enhanced solutions for LNG Plants unknown
[12] Chevron Australia, www.chevronaustralia.com

21

[13] Neil Theobald, Innovative supply solutions to the Asia Pacific Gorgon project
2006
[14] Government of Western Australia, department of State Development,
www.dsd.wa.gov.au
[15] The Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Review and Management Program
for the Proposed Gorgon Development
[16] The national newsletter of petroleum exploration society, www.pesa.com.au
[17] DomGas Alliance, Gorgon Gas Project: Application for Joint Selling Authorization
2009
[18] Chevron Australia, Subsurface development of CO2 disposal for the Gorgon Project 2009

22

Bibliography
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, "Offshore Acreage Release 2008: Exploration
History".
Chevron Australia, "Gorgon EIS 2009-Response to Submissions"
Chevron Australia, Project Overview - 2009
DomGas Alliance, GORGON GAS DEVELOPMENT: EPA REPORT 1323 2009
DomGas Alliance, Gorgon Gas Project: Application for Joint Selling Authorization 2009

Websites:
International Gas Union, www.igu.org
SubseaIQ, Offshore Field Development, www.subseaiq.com/data
Department of State Development, Australia, www.dsd.wa.gov.au
Domgas Alliance, www.domgas.com.au
Chevron, www.chevron.com
ExxonMobil, www.exxonmobil.com
RoyalDutch Shell, www.shell.com
Chevron, Gorgon, Its time is now http://www.chevronaustralia.com/ourbusinesses/gorgon.aspx

23

Tables
Table 2.1 - Greater Gorgon fields reserves, Chevron, 2nd September 2009, Gorgon Gas
Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine Management
System

Table 2.2 - Key elements of the Proposed Gorgon Development, Final Environmental
Impact Statement. Australia Government, Environmental Protection Authority.

24

Figures

Figure 1.1 - Main structures of Gorgon plant, Gorgon project Overview of Gorgon Subsea
Well Design and Construction
25

Figure 1.2 - Subsea equipments,The Worlds Most Significant Gas Fields: Gorgon Field.
Niel Theobald, Chevron Australia, June 2006

26

Figure 2.1 - Structural elements of the Northern Carnarvon Basin and adjacent basins, oil and
gas accumulations and selected wells, Release Areas W09-12, W09-13, W09-14, W09-15,
W09-16, W09-17, W09-18 and W09-19 Dampier Sub Basin, Western Australia. Australian
Government, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.

27

Figure 2.2 The Greater Gorgon Project fields, Neil Theobald, Innovative supply solutions
to the Asia Pacific Gorgon project 2006

28

Figure 2.3 - Geography of Gorgon Field and Barrow Island, Chevron, 2nd September 2009,
Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline Terrestrial and Marine Quarantine
Management System

29

Figure 2.4 Gorgon classification, Statoil, Kristin Petek, November 2010

Figure 2.5 - Geo-sequestration of CO2, The Worlds Most Significant Gas Fields : Gorgon
Field. Niel Theobald, Chevron Australia, June 2006

30

Figure 3.1 - Location of the gas treatment plant in the Barrow Island, Chevron, 2nd
September 2009, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline Terrestrial and
Marine Quarantine Management System.

31

Figure 3.2 Gas Treatment Plant Block Flow Diagram, Chevron Australia, Gorgon Gas
Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline - September 2009
32

Figure 3.3 Slug Catcher

Figure 3.4 MEG regeneration loop

33

Figure 3.5 Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU)

Figure 3.6 Acid Gas Removal and CO2 Injection System Block Flow Diagram, Chevron
Australia, Gorgon Gas Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline - September 2009

34

Figure 3.7 APCI 5 MTPA Refrigeration Cycle, Chevron Australia, Gorgon Gas
Development and Jansz Feed Gas Pipeline - September 2009

Figure 3.8 C3MR Process, Dr. Mark Pillarella, Dr. Yu-Nan Liu, Joseph Petrowski, Ronald
Bower, Air Products and Chemicals, The C3MR Liquefaction cycle: versatility for a fast
growing, ever changing LNG industry
35

Figure 4.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Efficiency Improvements, Greenhouse Gas

Management, Chevron Australia LTD.

Figure 5.1 National Gross Domestic Product and WA Gross State Product, The Worlds
Most Significant Gas Fields: Gorgon Field. Niel Theobald, Chevron Australia, June 2006

36

Figure 5.2 Employment trend, The Worlds Most Significant Gas Fields: Gorgon Field.
Niel Theobald, Chevron Australia, June 2006

37

Appendices
Appendix 1 Gorgon Subsea Development [1]

38

Appendix 2 Geology of DUPUY formation and CO2 Storage [18]

CO2 will be separated from the hydrocarbon gases at the proposed LNG processing facility to
be built on Barrow Island. Established global practice is for this reservoir CO2 to be vented to
the atmosphere; however the Gorgon Joint Venturers plan to dispose of this reservoir carbon
dioxide by injecting it underground into the Dupuy Formation beneath Barrow Island. General
sketch of the purpose is shown in figure 1. Subsurface evaluation of the Dupuy Formation
for CO2 disposal has focused on reservoir characterization and narrowing subsurface
uncertainty ranges.
The Gorgon Project has overcome several technical challenges during the concept selection
phase of development: one of the longest sub-sea tie-backs in the world (145kms) in water
depths greater than 1km and challenging seafloor terrain with the pipeline crossing the
continental shelf; Barrow Island is a remote location and a Class A Nature Reserve; the
nearest major logistical staging point (Perth, Australia) is over 1200km away from Barrow
Island; strict quarantine management regime in place to prevent non-indigenous species
contact; and finally, the Gorgon gas field has approximately 14% CO2 in the reservoir fluid
composition which represents a significant volume of CO2 (of the order of 2 Tscf ). CO2
present in the produced reservoir fluids from the Greater Gorgon Area Fields must be
removed from the raw gas stream prior to the liquefaction process of LNG manufacture due to
CO2 becoming solid under process conditions. CO2 will be removed before liquefaction via an
amine contact process and a large volume of CO2 will be produced at high pressure.
The Dupuy Formation is located more than 2 km below Barrow Island. The disposal of
Gorgon Project reservoir CO2 is a significant commitment by the Joint Venture participants
due to the size of the Greater Gorgon Area Fields and overall volume of CO2 it contains. Over
the duration of the Gorgon Project it is expected that more than 2 Tscf or ~ 120 million tonnes
of CO2 will be injected in the Dupuy Formation.
Processing of the Gorgon Project gas will occur on Barrow Island, with the associated CO2
being disposed beneath Barrow Island into the Dupuy Formation. The Dupuy Formation is
Late-Jurassic aged and consists of sandstones and siltstones, with overall thickness of between
200m and 500m. Barrow Island itself is the surface expression of the dominant anticlinal

39

feature of the Barrow Sub-basin of the offshore Carnarvon Basin, off the Northwest coast of
Western Australia.
The Dupuy Formation is a regionally extensive clastic formation, thought to have been
deposited in a deep water slope depositional setting. This unstable sandy slope was dominated
by gravity processes with sediment interpreted to have been sourced from a number of influx
points at the edge of a large hinterland to the east. The Dupuy Formation, which lies at a
depth of more than 2000mSS, has been divided into four major rock units; the Basal Dupuy,
the Lower Dupuy, the Upper Massive Sand, and the Upper Dupuy. These units are shown in
figure 2.
The lowermost unit, the Basal Dupuy, is a sideritic cemented, fine to medium grained
sandstone, with generally poor reservoir quality. The Basal Dupuy is not an injection target.
The Lower Dupuy, which is the lower injection target, is a fine grained sandstone and
siltstone. It is mostly sandstone (up to 90% sandstone) in the northern portion of Barrow
Island and is shaley siltstone in wells to the south. The Upper Massive Sand is the upper
injection target and is a fine to medium grained, blocky sandstone, capped by a fining upward
unit at the top. The Upper Massive Sand, which is thought to be a slope deposit, contains
important intra-reservoir siltstone baffles, such as the Perforans Shale (actually a very low
permeability siltstone). The Upper Dupuy is a bioturbated siltstone with minor interbedded
sandstone lenses. It forms a barrier/baffle at the top the Dupuy Formation, and is not an
injection target. The Upper Dupuy is thought to have been deposited in a shelfal/offshore
transition environment.
Immediately above the Dupuy Formation is the Basal Barrow Group Shale, which is a deltaic
shale unit at the base of the Barrow Delta. It is present in every well which penetrates down to
the top of the Dupuy Formation on Barrow Island, and is therefore considered to be a
regionally extensive and continuous barrier. The stratigraphy of Barrow Island is shown in
figure 3.
The Jurassic Dupuy Formation is the CO2 injection target. Beneath Barrow Island, the Dupuy
Formation is folded into an open anticline. It is planned that CO2 will be injected into the
Lower Dupuy and lower part of the Upper Massive Sand (below the Perforans Siltstone;
Figure 5). During injection, the laterally discontinuous siltstones in the Upper Massive Sand
(both above and below the Perforans Siltstone) and the Perforans Siltstone are expected to
impede the vertical migration of the injected CO2. If vertically migrating CO2 reaches the top
40

of the Upper Massive Sand, the upwards migration of the CO2 will be further slowed by finegrained beds in the Upper Dupuy. Migrating CO2 will then encounter the Basal Barrow Group
Shale, which is expected to form an effective barrier to CO2 movement from the Dupuy
reservoir into the Lower Barrow Group.

Figure 1 - CO2 separation and sequestration general draft, Executive Summary from Gorgon
Due Diligence, Government of Westren Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum .

Figure 2 - DUPUY formation, Executive Summary from Gorgon Due Diligence,

Government of Westren Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum .
41

Figure 2 - Stratigraphy of Barrow Island, Executive Summary from Gorgon Due Diligence,
Government of Westren Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum .

42