Archives for July 2018

PESA Queensland 2017 Scholarship Winner Presents to Group

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PESA Queensland were delighted to welcome 2017 Scholarship winner Peter Manchee to present on his honours project at their recent technical meeting. Peter is an alumni of University of Queensland graduating from his Bachelor of Science (Geology) in 2016 before completing his honours in 2017, working with Professor Joan Esterle and Dr Valeria Bianchi. Coming from an agricultural background, he had a particular interest in the sustainable management of groundwater and was offered a research project working with Arrow Energy analysing the Condamine Valley Transition Zone. Peter now works for Anglo American as a Graduate Geologist at Lake Lindsay coal…

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The Ichthys train finally arrives at the station

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One cannot be sure what as more audible. The whoosh of hydrocarbons or the sighs of relief in Japan as Inpex’s belated Ichthys LNG project finally delivered first gas to begin an expected 40-years of production. While Tokyo boasts the most punctual trains in the world - marginally superior to the Swiss – at the Ichthys field offshore Western Australia it was a case of better late than never yesterday as Inpex proudly announced the milestone moment from its flagship project. Inpex said that it now expects to ship first cargo from the estimated $54 billion project’s LNG plant in…

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TGS and PGS commence Lewis Hill 3D multi-client project offshore East Canada

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Norwegian seismic players TGS and PGS have teamed up and begun a new 3D multi-client project in East Canada. The Lewis Hills 3D Geostreamer survey will cover approximately 3,400 km² in an active Newfoundland area of the Flemish Pass Basin with data to be acquired by the PGS Ramform Sterling vessel, TGS announced in a media release on Friday. As previously announced, this vessel will also acquire approximately 2,700 km2 of additional data on the 2017 Harbour Deep and Cape Broyle 3D survey outlines. Acquisition is expected to be completed late in the third quarter of this year, or early…

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Chevron Q2 earnings take off on the wings of soaring oil prices

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Supermajor Chevron has posted more than double earnings for the second quarter of 2018 compared to the corresponding period a year earlier. Boosted by soaring oil prices, the San Ramon-headquartered oil giant reported earnings of US$3.4 billion for the first three months of this year, corresponding with US$1.5 billion from the same period in 2017. Sales and operating revenues during the second quarter of this year were US$40 billion, contrasting with US$33 billion a year ago. “Second quarter earnings were up significantly from a year ago,” said Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth. “Results in 2018 benefited from higher crude oil…

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Triangle Energy says no spilled hydrocarbons sighted after Cliff Head Alpha shut-in

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Triangle Energy has asserted that no hydrocarbons were sighted in the marine environment or shoreline following a “low-level spill” and shut in at the Cliff Head Alpha platform in the Perth Basin, 14km offshore Western Australia. Severe weather and rough seas last Tuesday caused a small crack in the flow meter on the CH6 Well, prompting the suspension of production and the launching of an Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) to conduct safety and environmental assessments. Triangle Energy said in a statement that the loss of produced fuel comprised zero to 10,000 litres. After no hydrocarbons had been sighted on…

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PGS Ramform Hyperion

PGS is back in the black

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Petroleum Geo Services posted a profit of US$10.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, reversing a loss of US$32.2 million from the same corresponding period a year earlier. The Norwegian seismic services company reported that revenues were flat at US$239.7 million in 2Q 2018, compared to US$240.5 million in the same period in 2017, but had delivered an EBIT of US$30.5 million. PGS said: "Most of our active 3D vessel capacity was allocated to MultiClient in the quarter and pre-funding revenues dominated the sales mix. MultiClient late sales did not benefit materially from any license rounds, but the quarter…

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ADNOC awards world’s largest combined onshore and offshore 3D seismic survey to CNPC affiliate

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The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded contracts worth US$1.6bn, representing the world’s largest continuous 3D onshore and offshore seismic survey, covering an area up to 53,000 square kilometres. ADNOC said the latest award was part of the company’s ongoing strategy to “identify and unlock new opportunities and maximize value from its hydrocarbon resources and deliver on its 2030 smart growth strategy”. Adding to the 2D and 3D seismic data already acquired across Abu Dhabi, the new seismic survey will cover an area of up to 30,000 km2 offshore and 23,000 km2 onshore. The contract has been awarded…

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Schlumberger flags accelerated E&P spending

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Schlumberger has posted second-quarter revenue of US$8.3 billion, an increase of 11% compared to a year ago, and is flagging an increase in exploration and production spending in a brightening disposition. The company said revenue was primarily lifted by a 43% lift in operations in North America to US$3.1 billion. Schlumberger said offshore activity began to recover during the second quarter with new drilling projects in Eastern Canada, the US Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, resulting in sequential offshore revenue growth of 22%. Schlumberger’s international business revenue was a little over $5 billion, which was one percent down compared…

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OGA offers frontier blocks in 31st offshore licensing round

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The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched the 31st Offshore Licensing Round, offering blocks in frontier areas of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), supported by government-funded data to stimulate interest in these under-explored basins and assist companies in their activities. A total of 1766 blocks (370,000 km2) of open acreage is now available across the West of Scotland, the East Shetland Platform, the Mid North Sea High, South West Britain and parts of the English Channel, covered by over 80,000 km of high-quality, publicly-available seismic data generated through the 2015 and 2016 Government seismic programmes. The new seismic data,…

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Cliff Head reveals a potential 29-million barrel bounty

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Perth-based Triangle Energy has announced that a recently completed static model has unveiled a prospective resource estimate of up to 29 million barrels of oil at its Cliff Head field in the Perth Basin. This represents an 80% increase over previous estimates of 15.7MMbbl in a discovery located 10km offshore in depths of 15-20 metres. The ASX-listed junior explorer said the “near field” prospects are located in close proximity to Cliff Head’s discovered, producing reservoirs where future potential development was well positioned to take advantage of existing pipelines and infrastructure. The company said oil initially-in-place in the discovered areas, along…

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