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Environment & Sustainability Projects

 

​Moonie N 2  – EOR Project

The Moonie tertiary enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project using CO 2  has been suspended indefinitely.
On 12 June 2024 the Queensland State Parliament passed legislation (the Mineral and Energy Resources and Other Legislation Amendment (MEROLA) Act 2024) banning all
projects that inject greenhouse gas (GHG) streams, including CO 2 , within the area of the Great Artesian Basin.  

The objectives of the Moonie CO 2 -EOR project were to recover up to 8 million barrels of additional oil through EOR and sequestrate up to 10 million tonnes of CO 2  in an
environmentally responsible manner – CO 2  that will now be emitted to the atmosphere.  

Before this legislation was passed, using CO 2  for carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects was authorised under the Petroleum Act.    This legislation, implemented without industry consultation, has resulted in multiple lost opportunities for the state of Queensland:  
lost royalties from potential increased oil production, and  
fewer potential methods to meet the state’s ambitious GHG reduction targets by banning the ability to sequester CO 2  in an area where oil currently is and has been extracted for decades. Considerable resources have been devoted to this project, which was well advanced in the rigorous state government approval process.  The company is revisiting the EOR potential of the Moonie field using inert Nitrogen (N 2 ), as the injection gas. There are several successful analogues from around the world which have used the N 2
immiscible gravity flood technology. It is anticipated that anywhere from 4-12% of the original oil in place might be recovered through compression and injection of this stable and inert gas.