Company/Alliance: Monash Energy as a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between Shell Energy Investments Australia Pty Ltd and Anglo American: Anglo Coal Australia
Location: Victoria, Australia
Feedstock: Brown Coal to Liquids
Size: 60,000 barrels of synthetic hydrocarbon liquids (80% automotive diesel) per day, 13 million tonnes of CO2 per year captured and stored
Capture Technology: Pre-combustion - Coal to Liquids
CO2 Fate: Sequestration offshore, beneath depleted oil fields in Gippsland Basin at depth of approximately 3km
Timing: Technical and commercial study (2007), feasibility phase and demonstration activities (2008-2009), and commissioning (by 2016)
Motivation/Economics: The total cost of the project is estimated at AUD $ 5 billion (US $4.3 billion).The output is estimated to have an indicative oil price of US$ 50/barrel and will contribute to the balance of payments of more than US$ 1 billion per year. The government is providing AUD $100 million (US$ 82 million) for an AUD $750 million (US$ 620 million) HRL plant in the Latrobe Valley that dries the brown coal, increasing efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 30%.
Comments: Monash Energy is currently securing a site for the demonstration plant. For the storage location, it is considering the offshore Gippsland Basin in the Bass Strait with an estimated potential to store 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year and a confirmed minimum storage capacity of 2 billion tonnes.
Project Link: Monash Energy Project Overview
Other Sources and Press Release:
Additional $100 million to boost clean coal [PDF] (March 2007)
Monash Energy Moving Forward on 60Kbpd Coal-to-Liquids with Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project (September 2006)
Inquiry into the Science and Application of Geosequestration Technology in Australia (August 2006)
Anglo American and Shell form a clean coal energy alliance (May 2006)
Monash Energy Report 2005 [PDF]
