Australia's Santos proposes outback carbon storage - Reuters

Source: Reuters

Australia's Santos proposes outback carbon storage
Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:56PM EDT

SYDNEY, June 14 (Reuters) - An Australian oil and gas company
said on Thursday it has made a proposal to the Australian
government to store hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon
dioxide in depleted outback oil and gas reservoirs.

Santos Ltd. (STO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), which operates
the vast Moomba oil and gas basin in central Australia, said it
hoped to set up a large-scale carbon storage hub, capable of
storing more than 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

In the long term, Santos said it aimed to store more than
20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, estimating that each
one million tonnes would equal taking 250,000 cars off the road.

-snip-

Santos said a A$700 million ($590 million) -plus demonstration
phase proposal would need some one-off government funding,
while subsequent development would rely on the emergence of
a carbon price under an emissions trading scheme.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSYD115170

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Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Greens wary of carbon storage proposal

June 14, 2007 - 1:55PM

The Greens say a carbon storage hub in central Australia,
proposed by oil and gas producer Santos Ltd, is at least a
decade away.

South Australian Greens MP Mark Parnell said the project
would rely on the successful and cost-efficient development
of clean coal technology.

-snip-

Mr Parnell said clean coal technologies were unproven,
energy-hungry and expensive and were not likely to play a
role in the most immediate efforts to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.

"While it remains to be seen whether burying coal's
pollution can be demonstrated to be safe, sustainable and
economically viable, the Greens believe taxpayers' research
funding should be directed to the young and underfunded
renewable energy, energy efficiency and biofuels sectors,"
he said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Greens-wary-of-carbon-storage-proposal/2007/06/14/1181414437991.html

ATMOSPHERIC CO2. This doesn't deal with the problem in a meaningful way. It's just sweeping it under the rug.

I am appalled whenever I hear this suggested.