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The China Australia Geological Storage of CO₂ (CAGS) Project is a collaborative project that aims to accelerate the development and deployment of geological storage of carbon dioxide in China and Australia. There are four main programs under CAGS to build CCS capabilities in both countries: research projects, technical workshops, training schools, and scholarly exchanges. All have contributed in advancing CCS/CCUS knowledge and building capability in China and Australia. Now in its third phase and its 10th year, CAGS is regarded as a successful bilateral project, which has produced essential research for advancing CCUS in China, established a strong network for Australian and Chinese researchers and institutions, and contributed to advancing CCUS globally. The paper describes the history of the collaboration and impact of this successful bilateral project.

A review has been undertaken of small scale injection projects of less than 100,000 tonnes (t) of CO2 from around the world, with the objective of assisting countries or organisations wishing to embark on their first CO2 injection test, in a cost effective, time efficient and safe manner. The mean amount of CO2 injected per project was approximately 1,000 t; only 9 out of the 45 projects had injected more than 10,000 t. Costs varied greatly from less than $1 million to $100 million, with the mean total cost in the range of $10-20 million. Half of the projects were based on injection into sandstone reservoirs, although a significant number (28%) involved injection into coals. The source of the CO2 was quite variable; the majority of the CO2 was transported by truck to the site. The depth of injection ranged from approximately 300m to over 4,000m but averaged around 1,200m. The time taken from making the preliminary decision to undertake a project to injection of the first molecule of CO2 was variable but averaged approximately three years. Generally, small scale projects are opportunistic, typically initiated by research organisations; they rely on an alliance with industrial partners for operational expertise and access to suitable locations. In most small scale projects, pre-drill reservoir characterisation consists of the integration of pre-existing geological and hydrological data. Saline reservoir sites are usually data deficient. Reservoir simulations are performed routinely, using a variety of codes, to assess CO2 injection tests and provide valuable information for system design, permitting, and monitoring. The simulations are also useful for providing a systematic framework for integrating site characterisation data, visualisation of model results provide a valuable communication tool. Documentation of storage risk assessment by projects was limited. Monitoring programs for the test injection projects were opportunistic to some degree, utilising existing data to help in establishing a baseline and commonly utilising existing wells for down-hole observations and monitoring-based sampling. Nearly all projects undertook pressure and temperature monitoring as a standard. These small scale projects offer a cost effective way of demonstrating storage technologies in CCS, assisting the progression towards large scale injections.

Australia and China have successfully completed the first phase of a bilateral project that aimed to build capacity in the area of geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) among Chinese researchers, students, policy makers and professionals from academia, government and industry. China and Australia entered into the China Australia Geological Storage of CO 2 Project (CAGS) through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, with funding of AU$2.86m from the Australian Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. In total more than 400 people from more than 70 Chinese, Australian, and international organisations participated in activities including: collaborative research projects on saline aquifer storage, enhanced oil recovery and monitoring and regulations; professional workshops on geological storage; and carbon capture and storage schools. In addition, Chinese researchers were able to take part in a visiting scholar program to Australia and attend significant international carbon capture and storage (CCS) conferences. CAGS has promoted extensive knowledge sharing and networking between Chinese and Australian researchers, and has materially assisted in progressing the assessment of Chinese sedimentary basins for potential geological storage through products such as basin assessment criteria, guidelines for implementing regulation for geological storage, and raising the profile of geological storage among Chinese policy and decision makers.