About 60 stakeholders including several Shire of Harvey representatives visited the exploratory drilling site of WA’s first onshore carbon capture and storage project last week to mark the start of drilling.

Department of Mines and Petroleum carbon strategy coordinator Dominique Van Gent said the data gathered from the Harvey 1 Well on a Riverdale Road farm near Cookernup would help assess the capacity and suitability of the Lower Lesueur formation for carbon dioxide geosequestration.

‘‘Not only is the well gathering carbon storage research, it is also exploring for underground heat for geothermal energy, as well as assessing water and other resources,’’ he said.

At the end of the DMP led drilling program, the data will be analysed by a team of specialist geologists and scientists.

The project involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources before they are released into the atmosphere.