Aussie oil shale project moves to Stage 2
The Stuart oil shale joint venture near Gladstone, Queensland, has decided to proceed with the first steps in assessing the $350 million (Australian) second stage of the project even before it has commissioned the demonstration plant in Stage 1.
The JV, comprising Suncor Energy Australia Pty. Ltd., Southern Pacific Petroleum NL, and Central Pacific Minerals NL, will prepare an initial advice statement and undertake an impact assessment study, which includes a comprehensive review of the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the project.
In the meantime, Stage 1-the $250 million, 5,000 b/d pilot demonstration plant-is only 85% complete, albeit on time and on budget. The success of this stage in obtaining oil from the mined shale rock will determine whether the second stage (to produce 15,000 b/d) -and ultimately commercial production-will be viable.
The JV is going ahead with Stage 2 studies, because the regulatory process can take 12-18 months, and Stage 1 is scheduled to come on stream by yearend 1999.
CO2 project
The JV also announced an ambitious carbon dioxide capture trial that involves the development of several reforestation projects. The trials will cost $3.5 million over 4 years and include the planting of more than 180,000 native trees on 150 hectares of marginal plantation land to capture CO2.The trials have three main components: management of the JV's own emissions (expected to be 130,000 metric tons of CO2 over the life of the oil shale project); development of alternate energy; and taking actions outside the JV's operations to offset its own emissions. The goal is to achieve a net level of CO2 emissions in shale oil production comparable with or less than those from conventional oil production.
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