Declaration of an identified Greenhouse Gas Storage Formation
A DoSF is the mechanism in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act) that allows a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) assessment permittee or petroleum retention lessee or production licensee the ability to transition into a GHG injection licence.
A DoSF is not a title and does not provide the titleholder the right to inject or store a GHG substance (see note).
The declaration of a storage formation as an ‘identified GHG formation’ by the responsible Commonwealth Minister, is a critical step in establishing the technical viability of a potential storage site for GHG injection and storage operations. To be declared as an identified GHG storage formation, the storage formation must be deemed capable of permanently storing a particular amount of a particular injected GHG substance, injected over a particular period at particular injection points, with or without engineering enhancements, and with a suitable sealing mechanism.
The fundamental suitability determinants are the basis for determining the estimated spatial extent of the GHG storage formation. These matters are defined by section 21(8) of the OPGGS Act. These set out the maximum volume of GHG substance (which must be overwhelmingly CO2) that is suitable to be stored in the identified GHG storage formation, and the maximum period over which injection operations can occur.
The information contained in a DoSF application must satisfy the responsible Commonwealth Minister that the applicant’s understanding of the geological environment is sufficient to allow the applicant to identify all geological risks relating to the containment of the ghg substance in the identified storage formation. The applicant’s understanding is expected to be based on relevant, high–quality data.
Before an application can be made for a GHG holding lease or GHG injection licence, one or more identified GHG storage formations must be declared to be wholly situated within the relevant title area. If an application is made for a GHG holding lease or GHG injection licence, other matters such as the financial resources and technical advice available to the titleholder will be assessed at that time.
It is expected that titleholders will continue to appraise the identified GHG storage formation as the project progresses towards an application for a GHG holding lease or GHG injection licence and site plan. If the titleholder’s understanding of the fundamental suitability determinants of the identified GHG storage formation changes, the titleholder may apply to the responsible Commonwealth Minister to vary the DoSF.
