Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill 2008

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The Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill is draft Australian legislation which was released for public consultation in May 2008. The bill has been referred to the House of Representatives Primary Industries and Resources Committee for review. The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, has flagged that he hopes the bill will be introduced into Parliament later in 2008.

International Power submission

In a submission to the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill 2008 submitted by International Power Australia's Regulatory Policy Manager, Patrick Gibbons, the company argued that Carbon Capture and Storage "will be critical to the long term future of the Latrobe Valley's brown coal based electricity production in a carbon constrained world provided the design of the emissions trading scheme is conducive to its development."

The company also cautioned that "depending on the details of the emission trajectory and the pace at which the new emission charge is introduced, it could cause a retreat from brown coal being used as a main fuel source." The alternative, it warned, would be the use of gas which it claimed there was a "finite supply" of "in the South East".

While stating that "the Bill is likely to provide a template for similar legislation by the states and territories for onshore storage International Power Australia complained that it preferenced "treatment for existing holders of petroleum rights" over "storage prospectors and potential injection licence holders. The company noted that, if existing exploration licence holders had "veto" rights over carbon storage exploration, this would affect approximately 80% of the Gippsland Basin.

Links to documents

• Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy, "CCS legislation open for Public Consultation", Media Release, May 17, 2008.
• Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill, Parliament of Australia, May 2008.
• Australian Government Solicitor, "Readers' Guide to the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill", May 16, 2008.
• Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geological Storage Australian Regulatory Guiding Principles, 2005.
• Amendments to Offshore Petroleum Legislation to provide for Greenhouse Gas Transport, Injection and Storage in Commonwealth Waters: Regulation Impact Statement, May 2008.

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Carbon Capture and Storage
• Carbon Capture and Storage in Australia
• C02CRC Otway Project
• New South Wales Government Clean Coal Fund
• The Australian Coal Association's Proposed Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce

External Articles

• "Draft carbon capture laws unveile", Australian Associated Press, May 17, 2008.
• Chris Hammer, "Clean-coal draft law paves the way for seabed storage", The Age, May 17, 2008.
• Senator Christine Milne (Australian Greens), "Carbon storage liability issues will destroy ‘clean coal’ pipedream even faster than technology failures", Media Release, May 19th 2008.
• Stephanie Peatling and Marian Wilkinson, "Hope still high on carbon burial", Sydney Morning Herald, May 19, 2008.

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