Salty gas: the ecological risk of saline effluents from coal seam gas and other hydrocarbon resources. The objective of this project is to predict the effect of saline water produced from coal and coal seam gas extraction activities on freshwater systems. The findings will assist decisions on whether to permit discharge of such waste water, and if permitted under what conditions (e.g. water quality criteria) so as to prevent environment damage.
Tracking water on planetary surfaces using data from the Curiosity rover, the laboratory, meteorites and Australian field sites. A fundamental question in science is why does Earth have so much liquid water, but other planets do not? This project will answer this question using the Curiosity rover on Mars, studying alteration minerals that record the action of water. The project will develop new methods to improve our understanding of alteration minerals in martian meteorites, under controlled ....Tracking water on planetary surfaces using data from the Curiosity rover, the laboratory, meteorites and Australian field sites. A fundamental question in science is why does Earth have so much liquid water, but other planets do not? This project will answer this question using the Curiosity rover on Mars, studying alteration minerals that record the action of water. The project will develop new methods to improve our understanding of alteration minerals in martian meteorites, under controlled environmental conditions and in field samples that are relevant for Mars. It aims to build expertise in the environmental aspects of planetary surfaces and in novel instrumentation. This research will improve methods to examine returned extraterrestrial samples, to evaluate land degradation and to search for energy and ore deposits.Read moreRead less
Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could ....Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could shape important decisions in the future and impact on environmental risk assessment.Read moreRead less
Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. This project will research the deterioration of structural integrity and remaining life of marine assets such as ships and offshore energy facilities, by integrating structural response analysis methods with aged-structure assessment techniques. Maritime assets exposed to ocean conditions suffer from time dependent phenomena, which reduce structu ....Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. Deterioration of structural integrity of ageing ships and marine platforms. This project will research the deterioration of structural integrity and remaining life of marine assets such as ships and offshore energy facilities, by integrating structural response analysis methods with aged-structure assessment techniques. Maritime assets exposed to ocean conditions suffer from time dependent phenomena, which reduce structural capability, affect safety and could have catastrophic environmental and economic consequences. Making assets available and affordably safe is a problem for operators. The key to prolonging asset life is in understanding the interrelationships over time between the asset’s structural condition and its use. Anticipated outcomes are superior safety, expected lifetime and economic benefits of maritime assets.Read moreRead less
Dynamic tomography: high-resolution, four-dimensional imaging of processes. This project will develop imaging technology that allows us to collect detailed, three dimensional movies of complex, microscopic processes in a laboratory. This technology will have applications in soil science, biology, oil extraction, and carbon sequestration.
Fear and licensing in Australia: Investigating the social licence to operate of an emerging coal seam gas industry. Australia’s nascent coal seam gas (CSG) industry is the site of substantial social tension. For some the industry can transform and safeguard national energy sources and fuel booming Asian exports. For others it damages both the environment and communities. This tension is vividly expressed by local protests and regulatory bans. Communities, mining companies and government invoke a ....Fear and licensing in Australia: Investigating the social licence to operate of an emerging coal seam gas industry. Australia’s nascent coal seam gas (CSG) industry is the site of substantial social tension. For some the industry can transform and safeguard national energy sources and fuel booming Asian exports. For others it damages both the environment and communities. This tension is vividly expressed by local protests and regulatory bans. Communities, mining companies and government invoke a 'social licence to operate' as fundamental to industry viability. This landmark project explores the concept of a social licence to operate in Australia's CSG industry to tease apart the dynamic risks, opportunities and tensions at work between corporations, rural and regional Australian communities and government, and offers policy and practice recommendations. Read moreRead less
Oil And Gas: National Coordination - Seismic And Other Issues
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$426,973.59
Summary
The commercial fishing industry is under intense pressure from the O&G sector (exploration, seismic surveys, deployment of gear and now decommissioning of gear), jeopardising commercial fishing access rights, commercial fishing sustainability and potential commercial fishing resource impacts (such as Bass Strait scallop mortality) and overarching impacts on the broader marine environment (such as plankton mortality) for many fisheries.
The O&G industry also seeks relevant science to u ....The commercial fishing industry is under intense pressure from the O&G sector (exploration, seismic surveys, deployment of gear and now decommissioning of gear), jeopardising commercial fishing access rights, commercial fishing sustainability and potential commercial fishing resource impacts (such as Bass Strait scallop mortality) and overarching impacts on the broader marine environment (such as plankton mortality) for many fisheries.
The O&G industry also seeks relevant science to use within their environment plan submissions to offer the best ALARP practices regarding their interactions with the commercial fishing sector and the commercial fishing resource.
There is an urgent need for a national role coordinating O&G / commercial fishing specific R&D needs, seeking and updating available material and identifying gaps in the science with all materials to be available via a publicly accessible portal. Benefits for commercial fishers, O&G, eNGOs, students and the broader community.
Primary focus seismic activities plus other relevant science.
Current O&G / commercial fishing industry engagement is done in isolation with an inconsistent use of research (relevant or otherwise), inconsistent process, lack of uniformity of overarching messaging, lack of access to current and appropriate research and the duplication of work across all states.
Objectives: 1. Deliver a publicly accessible portal - a "one stop shop" for seismic research bibliographies, case studies and other relevant commercial fishing O&G information etc. 2. Deliver ongoing identification and qualification of relevant research papers and reference cases including annotated summaries to ensure relevance for ready and easy access by the commercial fishing sector, O&G and the broader community. 3. Deliver a set number of supported research applications relevant to the effects of oil and gas activities on commercial fishing / commercial fishing stocks etc, i.e. gap analysis and prioritisation. 4. Deliver a "best practice" document for commercial fishing representative bodies to use as a strong base for environment plan submissions. 5. Deliver a "best practice" document for commercial fishing representative bodies to use as a strong base and consistent process for fee-for-service environment plan consultation. Read moreRead less
Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. This project aims to design distillation and absorption columns, perhaps the most important unit operations in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, and whose optimization is integral to overall performance of any LNG plant. This project will use 3D printers to rapidly prototype concepts of columns and their internals, and test them using flow characterization ....Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. This project aims to design distillation and absorption columns, perhaps the most important unit operations in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, and whose optimization is integral to overall performance of any LNG plant. This project will use 3D printers to rapidly prototype concepts of columns and their internals, and test them using flow characterization tools and numerical models. The final outcome of the project will be a set of designs of the columns, which should be more efficient, safer and cheaper to operate, and have smaller physical and environmental footprints, thus helping the Australian LNG industry to stay globally competitive.Read moreRead less
Long-term Analysis Of The Sea-state In The Great Australian Bight
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$21,261.00
Summary
The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Association (ASBTIA) operates in shelf and offshore waters of the Great Australian Bight (GAB). In recognition of the exposed nature of the offshore GAB environment, ASBTIA have requested information to better understand the climatology of the physical meteorological and oceanographic conditions which contribute to the ‘sea-state’ and ocean conditions at a deep water petroleum permit location in the Great Australian Bight.
This project will provide ....The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Association (ASBTIA) operates in shelf and offshore waters of the Great Australian Bight (GAB). In recognition of the exposed nature of the offshore GAB environment, ASBTIA have requested information to better understand the climatology of the physical meteorological and oceanographic conditions which contribute to the ‘sea-state’ and ocean conditions at a deep water petroleum permit location in the Great Australian Bight.
This project will provide the oceanographic services required to identify, access and analyse long-time series of relevant met/ocean parameters and statistically describe their climatology in order to better understand the ‘sea state’ characteristics of the GAB and how they compare with sites located within other international oil production regions.
Objectives: 1. To understand the exposure and sea-state of the Great Australian Bight relative to three other regions of interest. 3. For each location and parameter (detailed in methods), provide a summary of monthly sea-state climatology described by the mean, variance, frequency and intensity. 3. For each location and parameter, determine of the probability of extreme events to occur at fixed return periods. Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH130200012
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,748,358.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Basin GEodyNamics and Evolution of SedImentary Systems (GENESIS). ARC Research Hub for Basin GEodyNamics and Evolution of SedImentary Systems (GENESIS). This Research Hub aims to undertake simultaneous modelling of deep Earth and surface processes, spanning basin scales to individual sediment grains. The Hub will develop and apply cutting-edge basin simulation approaches to transform the seeding and testing of basin exploration models, extending their viability to complex, ....ARC Research Hub for Basin GEodyNamics and Evolution of SedImentary Systems (GENESIS). ARC Research Hub for Basin GEodyNamics and Evolution of SedImentary Systems (GENESIS). This Research Hub aims to undertake simultaneous modelling of deep Earth and surface processes, spanning basin scales to individual sediment grains. The Hub will develop and apply cutting-edge basin simulation approaches to transform the seeding and testing of basin exploration models, extending their viability to complex, inaccessible remote and deep exploration targets. The Hub will fuse multidimensional data into five dimensional basin models (space and time, with uncertainty estimates) by coupling the evolution of mantle flow, crustal deformation, erosion and sedimentary processes, achieving a quantum leap in basin modelling and petroleum systems analysis.Read moreRead less