Geothermal Energy: A pragmatic consideration of how to commercialize Australia’s misunderstood resource
Australian CCUS in 2024 – project status, policy and the future
July 18 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
$40.00 – $70.00
Society of Petroleum Engineers Western Australia is proud to present the details of our July 2024 SPE WA Technical Meeting which will be held jointly with PESA.
About the Presentations
Geothermal Energy: A pragmatic consideration of how to commercialize Australia’s misunderstood resource
Geothermal energy is a readily available, reliable, zero-emissions resource that provides numerous advantages in a balanced energy portfolio, as well as societal and environmental benefits, that can help Australia meet its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Renewable energy projects are central to achieving Australia’s decarbonization objectives: electricity is the largest source of emissions in Australia, at ~33% of the national total. Recent trends have seen substantial decreases in power-related generation in the past decade; however, existing and planned wind, solar and battery storage projects are not capable of offsetting planned retirements of thermal power plants – especially when considering anticipated increases in electricity demand and baseload supply issues. Supply shortfalls and grid reliability issues represent serious risks to safe, secure, clean and affordable energy.
Geothermal resources address these issues by providing flexible, dispatchable, baseload power that complements solar and wind projects by providing “always-on” power, supplementing those significant, but intermittent resources. Furthermore, geothermal is highly scalable, allowing fit-for-purpose power solutions, including behind the meter provision, “islanded” grids in remote areas, and baseload or dispatchable supply to the grid in more populous areas.
This talk provides an overview of geothermal energy in an Australian context, including next-generation technologies that have transformed the global industry over the past decade; the benefits and challenges that will shape the sector in the coming decades; and critical commercial, regulatory, ESG and other success factors that will drive geothermal energy as a significant component of Australia’s decarbonized future.
Australian CCUS in 2024 – project status, policy and the future
CCS project maturation in Australia has seen highs and lows since it was first initiated 1999 with the GEODISC study. Changes in government support and market forces have seen periods of greater activity (notably 2008-2011 with state and Federal support for CCS to address coal emissions thorough the CCS Flagships program) through to the doldrums of the 2010’s with the removal of both CCS incentives (carbon tax and meaningful emission reduction schemes) and wholesale government support through funding.
The 2020’s saw a change in public sentiment and the setting of corporate, state and national Net Zero 2050 targets which supported a renewed interest in CCS in Australia, this time linked to emission reduction from LNG gas processing, hard to abate industries and the rise in third party CCS as a service hubs.
In this talk Rosie will give a look back on CCS in Australia, give a view of the current status of projects and potential future trends.
About the Speakers
Dr Trey Meckel has more than has more than 30 years of experience at the forefront of the global energy sector, including decarbonised energy solutions, petroleum E&P, and energy R&D.
Presently, Dr Meckel is the Head of Subsurface for Earth’s Energy, Australia’s only pure play ASX-listed geothermal company; and Chief Exploration Officer for Groundbreaking Energy, a privately held Australian geothermal company. Through his consultancy, Monteverde Energy, Dr Meckel is involved in other geothermal projects in Australia and the USA.
Previously, Dr Meckel was the Storage Program Manager at CO2CRC (Australia) and Vice President of Global Exploration, New Ventures, & Geosciences for Pluspetrol, Latin America’s largest private, diversified energy company. Earlier in his career, Dr Meckel worked for Shell and Woodside Energy.
Dr Meckel is the Secretary of the Australian Geothermal Association, a Global Ambassador for the Geothermal Energy Advancement Association, and a tutor for the University of Cambridge (UK) Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
He holds a PhD in Earth Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich), an MA in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin (USA), and a BA with Honors from Williams College (USA).
Rosie Johnstone is a sedimentologist and geoscientist with 25+ years’ experience in both oil and gas exploration and carbon capture and storage (CCS) across Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and the UK. Rosie was Shell’s focal point for CCS sink identification in the Australia/Asia-Pacific region, from high-level screening to injection site planning in the Petrel Sub-Basin.
Since 2021 Rosie has been Head of CCS Solutions for GeoVault, a wholly owned subsidiary of Buru Energy and a “CCS as a service” company specialising in onshore geological storage of CO2. GeoVault leverages Buru’s extensive onshore experience in the Canning and Carnarvon Basins (Kimberly and Pilbara) of WA, drawing on geological, operational and stakeholder experience.
Rosie is the current Interim Chair for the CCUS Network Australia and actively engages with federal and state government regulators, research institutions, local communities and emitters.
About the Event
Price: Early Bird SPE Member $40 <Until 11 July 2024>
Early Bird Non-Member $60 <Until 11 July 2024>
SPE Member $50
Non-Member $70
Date: Thursday, 18 July 2024
Location: Parmelia Hilton Hotel
Location: 14 Mill Street, Perth WA 6000
Time: 5:00pm – 5:30pm Registration & Networking.
Time: 5:30pm – 6:45pm Opening remarks and presentation.
Time: 6:45pm – 7:00pm Q&A Session.
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm Networking drinks & nibbles.
Free tickets are available for Students. SPE WA in conjunction with our sponsors is kindly sponsoring students to attend the monthly technical events. Please apply through your Student Chapter.
