Archives for December 2019

December 2019

Shell makes ‘significant’ gas discovery offshore Australia

31/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Shell has stepped on the gas, announcing a “significant gas and condensate discovery” at the Bratwurst-1 well in the Browse Basin off the North West Coast of Western Australia.

Shell said that the drilling of the Bratwurst-1 exploration well, within title AC/P64, was safely and successfully concluded on December 4 after a 78-day campaign.

This campaign was completed in just over 18 months from bidding and 12 months from award of the AC/P64 title, Shell said in a statement.

This discovery is located 160km north east of the Shell operated Prelude FLNG facility and presents an opportunity for a future tie-back to Prelude.

Shearwater awarded hybrid node-streamer seismic survey in Malaysia

27/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Shearwater has announced the award of hybrid node and towed streamer seismic survey by Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited. The survey is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020 and is expected to take two months to complete.

The project covers approximately 1,000km² of ocean bottom and towed streamer seismic on Repsol’s operated block offshore Peninsular Malaysia. The Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) SW Vespucci will acquire the seismic using Flexisource triple source in combination with Qmarine towed streamer and ocean bottom nodes.

“By combining ocean bottom and towed streamer seismic using an MPV we offer our customer...

Chevron and BP to invest $116M on exploration in Australia

27/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Chevron and BP will invest $116.5 million on oil and gas exploration in Australia, with the focal point being South Australia as both oil and gas majors endeavour to shore up future energy supplies to eastern states.

This was revealed in a joint statement by Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan and South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekaan.

The announcement followed the conclusion of Good Standing Agreement negotiations between both parties after both BP and Chevron had in recent years abandoned plans for exploration in the Great Australian Bight.

Minister Canavan said: “BP and Chevron ceased their programs of exploration in the Great Australian Bight in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

“Bleak outlook” for natural gas output expected for Northwest Europe

17/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Natural gas production for Northwest Europe is forecast to decline by approximately 25% from current levels over the next five years as upcoming projects struggle to offset overall declines, according to data and analytics company, GlobalData.

The company’s report, ‘2019 Northwest Europe Upstream Development Outlook – Surge in New-Build Oil and Gas Project Starts for 2020’, reveals that gas production fell year on year over the last two years, a trend that is set to continue over the forecast period.

The lack of major upcoming gas projects, alongside a production phase out at the giant Groningen gas field, has set a clear downward trend for gas production in Northwest Europe.

CGG’s completes Jumpstart for the North West Shelf and Banda Arc

17/12/2019 Posted by Dale

CGG has completed JumpStart™ multi-client geoscience packages for the North West Shelf (NWS) of Australia and the Banda Arc in the Asia-Pacific region. Both packages are now available and enhance understanding of the prospectivity of these two high-potential regions, allowing the assessment of exciting new plays, the Paris headquartered company said.

JumpStart packages mobilize the full suite of CGG’s geoscience capabilities to accelerate and support exploration efforts. They integrate all available data in a specific geographical area and frame it within a geological context.

Senex and Orora agree long-term gas sales agreement

17/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Senex Energy has announced an expansion of its natural gas sales agreement with Orora Limited, agreeing to supply 13.2 petajoules of natural gas from Project Atlas.

On 1 May 2019, Senex announced a two-year gas sales agreement with Orora for supply of 3.3 PJ of natural gas from 1 January 2020.

Senex and Orora have now agreed an expanded gas sale agreement, with Senex to supply a further 9.9 PJ of natural gas from Project Atlas over six years from 2022 to 2027, bringing the total contracted volume under this gas sales agreement to 13.2 PJ.

Gas will be supplied at the Wallumbilla Gas Hub in Queensland at market price escalated annually by CPI.

How the USA became the world’s largest crude oil exporter in 2019

17/12/2019 Posted by Dale

In the 1970s, Americans faced long lines at gasoline pumps. Today, the United States is a net oil and petroleum exporter. How did this happen? Two words: technology and innovation.

“Modern technology means more oil and gas can be extracted from the same wells. It’s called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,” says ShareAmerica, an organisation that informs global audiences about life in the US and offers engaging material on a number of topics.

“Frackers pump water and chemicals down deep wells to fracture rocks and tap resources that had been thought irretrievable.

Industry scholarship awarded to petroleum student

10/12/2019 Posted by Dale

The 2019 winner of APPEA’s prestigious Tony Noon Memorial Scholarship is Elliot Foley, a PhD candidate from James Cook University based in Townsville.

Mr Foley – who is studying geoscience – was awarded the $3,000 scholarship for his research on sedimentary basins and petroleum prospectivity in north-eastern Queensland, focusing on the Carpentaria Basin.

The annual Tony Noon Memorial Scholarship provides a one-off grant for honours, Masters or PhD students from a range of disciplines, including geology, safety, engineering, economics, law or environmental management.

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville applauded the high-achieving PhD student, who impressed judges with his ground-breaking research relating to Australia’s oil and gas industry.

Saudi Aramco IPO sets new records, but “raises questions for businesses in Saudi Arabia”

10/12/2019 Posted by Dale

Following the recent news that Saudi Arabia’s national oil company has completed the initial public offering (IPO) of 3 billion shares — raising $25.6bn — international analysts have reacted saying the listing was not a complete success.

Richard Thompson, an Editorial Director at GlobalData, commented:

“Aramco’s IPO has several important objectives for the company and for Saudi Arabia. Most obvious is that it has raised $25.6bn in equity for the company that will be immediately reinvested into strategic projects.