Review of cements, steels and microbial activity for Qld CSG wells

This project will collate details on materials used in well casings and cements from information contained within Well Completion Reports. It will also review information on microbial activity in related geological formations from published papers and CSIRO studies.

Previous research by CSIRO’s GISERA, the Queensland Audit Office, and The University of Queensland’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas has shown that failure of CSG wells is of significant concern to the community and landholders. This concern relates to potential environmental impacts, such as contamination of underground aquifers and gas leakage.

Local landholders, and the community more broadly, find the information available regarding well completion and abandonment hard to access and difficult to understand due to the highly technical nature of the data included in the Well Completion Reports.

The information collated as part of this project will be analysed, and reported in a format that can be readily understood by non-technical stakeholders. This research will help to improve understanding and reduce uncertainty about steels, cements and microbial activity within CSG wells across the Surat and Bowen basins that may have an impact on long-term well integrity.