Australia’s resource and energy export earnings in 2016–17 increased to $204 billion, and are forecast to reach a record $211 billion in 2017–18, before declining to $201 billion in 2018–19. The Resources and Energy Quarterly – September Quarter 2017, released by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, shows a 27 per cent increase in earnings in 2016–17. The report shows this increase was largely driven by price increases in iron ore and metallurgical coal, which are Australia’s top two resources and energy commodity exports.
Dale
Geoscience Australia to sponsor AGCC 2018
The Australian Geoscience Council Convention, AGCC 2018, has announced that Geoscience Australia will be the patron sponsor of the event, which will be held in Adelaide from Sunday 14th to Thursday 18th of October next year. The Convention, which is expected to attract more than 2,000 delegates from Australia and overseas, will cover all aspects of geoscience, with technical themes on theoretical and applied geoscience, mineral and energy resources, environmental and societal science, geoscience education and communication, and emerging technologies.
Norway has one trillion reasons to smile
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has surpassed one trillion US dollars in value for the first time. That’s some achievement for the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, universally known as the ‘oil fund’ that only received its first capital injection in 1996 from the Norwegian government as a means of securing wealth for the country’s future generations. As said on the fund’s website: “The Government Pension Fund Global is saving for future generations in Norway. One day the oil will run out, but the return on the fund will continue to benefit the Norwegian population.
Po Valley sells ‘pizza’ two Italian licences
AUSTRALIA’S Po Valley has announced the sale of its interest in two onshore Italian oil exploration licences for $1.69 million. The company said it is selling its 85% share in the fully awarded large oil exploration licence, Cadelbosco di Sopra, and 100% of the immediately adjoining small oil exploration licence, Grattasasso, to a private oil and gas company backed by a private equity fund based in London. Both licences are located northwest of Modena in the Emilia Romagna Region.
Polarcus announces broadband 3D project in Asia Pacific
Polarcus has received a letter of award for a broadband 3D marine seismic project in Asia Pacific. The project is due to commence in the fourth quarter and will run for approximately one month. Polarcus did not reveal which country the operation will be conducted in or for which client. It is also not certain which vessel the company will deploy. The vessel which is believed to be in the region, however, is the Polarcus Naila, which previously operated in Malaysia.
CGG starts CWAZ survey in Gulf Of Mexico
CGG has announced the start of acquisition of its first Complementary Wide-Azimuth survey, known as AC CWAz, a BroadSeis™ 3D multi-client program in southern Alaminos Canyon, Gulf of Mexico. Extending over 130 OCS Blocks and covering Great White and the recent Whale discovery, CGG said AC CWAz is supported by industry funding and complements its existing surveys in the area by adding azimuth and offset coverage to the historic wide-azimuth data. “All the data will be combined and reprocessed using the latest 3D deghosting, Full-Waveform Inversion (FWI), especially Reflection-based FWI (RFWI), and Tilted Transverse Isotropy (TTI) imaging technology.
Frogtech unravelling mysteries of Guyana Suriname Basin
Frogtech believes that its multi-client Guyana Suriname study will help clear up a number of ambiguities associated with a Basin that has proven to be a focal point for the world’s major E&P players. The Canberra-based company said that in 2012 the United States Geological Society had estimated that the Guyana Suriname basin contains 26,000 MMBO of technically recoverable oil. “This makes for the third-most prospective basin in the South American and Caribbean region, the eighth largest in the world,” Frogtech said in a media release.
Norway attracts record bids for APA round
Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum has announced a record application from 39 companies – six more than last year - for new acreage in mature areas on the Norwegian continental shelf as part of the awards in pre-defined areas (APA 2017). The APA 2017 round included blocks in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea, was announced in May and the application deadline expired on September 1.
Senex secures Surat Basin lease
The Palaszczuk Government in Queensland has announced that it is “moving rapidly to boost gas supplies for industry” with confirmation that a Queensland company is the preferred tenderer for a Petroleum Lease on land in the Surat Basin released to supply the domestic market. Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said he was very pleased to see emerging gas producer Senex secure the rights to supply such a critical resource for our market. “The Palaszczuk Government is leading the nation with practical measures to increase domestic gas supplies and support local jobs,” the Minister said.
NPD names new exploration director
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NDP) has appointed Torgeir Stordal as their new exploration director, a position he stepped into on September 1. Stordal, 55, studied applied geophysics and has a Master of Science from the University of Bergen. He has worked for Shell since 1989 where his roles included geophysicist and geologist within exploration and field development. In more recent years, he has held several management positions within exploration. During the period 2009-2013, he was the exploration manager in Norske Shell and has since held a global role within resource evaluation at Shell’s headquarters in the Netherlands.