Searcher Seismic has announced completion of the regional multi-client airborne gravity, gravity-gradiometry and magnetics survey covering the transition zone of the Gulf of Papua. The Roho Airborne Gravity, Gravity-Gradiometry and Magnetic Survey covers approximately 60,700 square kilometres (~52,700line km) along the southern coast of PNG. The survey compliments several marine seismic and geochemical projects recently completed by Searcher aimed at assessing the hydrocarbon potential of the Gulf of Papua and adjacent Coral Sea areas, offshore PNG.
Company Updates
Maiden gas reserves for Po Valley’s Selva field
Australia’s Po Valley Energy Limited has announced maiden gas reserves for its majority-owned onshore Selva Malvezzi field, northeast of Bologna in northern Italy. The maiden gross 2P reserves for Selva of 13.3 were prepared by CGG, from previously reported gross contingent resources (“2C”) but also includes results from new drilling on the field early last year (Podere Maiar 1 well). The milestone estimate announced delivers 8.38 bcf of net 2P reserves attributable to Po Valley and represents the company’s first reserves for this gas field.
CGG and TGS announce Greater Castberg Survey in Barents Sea
CGG and TGS have announced the Greater Castberg TopSeis™ survey in the Barents Sea. The survey is 5,000 sq km, and will be acquired and processed with the latest developments of CGG’s TopSeis acquisition and imaging technology. The survey will include the highly prospective Castberg area, and cover existing and newly awarded licenses in addition to open acreage with several play models in multiple geological layers. The acquisition is expected to commence late Q2 2019 with final delivery to clients in Q4 2020. The project is supported by industry funding.
Total steps on the gas with South Africa’s biggest discovery.
South Africa’s first ever globally significant oil and discovery was announced by Total last week when the French supermajor revealed it had made a billion-barrel oil equivalent gas find in the Southern Outeniqua Basin. The discovery is big enough to meet South Africa’s imported fuel needs for four years and is located 175km offshore in the Brulpadda Prospect, which is about 180km from South Africa’s gas-to-liquids plant at Mossel Bay on the Cape south coast.
AGIG welcomes NT Government announcement on new $170m pipeline
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) has welcomed the Northern Territory Government’s decision to grant conditional consent to commission and operate the new $170 million Tanami pipeline infrastructure. The recent announcement by NT Minister for Primary Industry and Resources, Paul Kirby, said construction of the Tanami Gas Pipeline was complete and AGIG could now test the pipeline by introducing gas at the pressure under which it will operate. The Minister said once testing is successfully completed and independently verified, the pipeline will be able to go into full operational mode.
Anadarko pens Mozambique gas sales agreement with CNOOC
U.S. oil and gas company Anadarko has signed 1.5 million tonnes per annum gas sale and purchase agreement for 13 years with China’s CNOOC for gas to be produced from its gas field offshore Mozambique. Mitch Ingram, Anadarko Executive Vice President, International, Deepwater & Exploration said: “We are pleased to announce this SPA with CNOOC, an important global energy player in one of the biggest and fastest growing LNG markets in the world.
Talon Petroleum casts its North Sea net for Encounter Oil
Australia’s Talon Petroleum is making a bid for 100 % takeover of EnCounter Oil, which is the owner of two UK North Sea licenses. EnCounter, a private UK-based company, was formed in 2012 by the former executive management team of EnCore Oil and was involved in 25 wells and produced significant hydrocarbon discoveries at Breagh, Cladhan, Catcher, Varadero. EnCore was acquired by Premier Oil in 2011 for £221 million. Talon said the completion of the transaction is subject to final legal and financial due diligence on EnCounter and all required shareholder approvals.
Lightning strikes for Otto Energy with significant Gulf Coast discovery
Otto Energy shareholders had reason to celebrate yesterday after the ASX-listed exploration and production company announced a ‘Lightning strike’ in the Gulf that spiked its share price 69 per cent, to $0.071, before closing at $0.060 yesterday. The West Perth-headquartered company, which is already producing shallow oil from its SM 71 well, Louisiana, revealed that exploration well Green 1, which is testing the Lightning prospect in Matagorda County, Texas, had reached total depth of 15,218 feet. Otto, which has a 37.
FAR completes survey across WA-458-P permit
Late last quarter FAR concluded stakeholder engagements with CGG to join in the much anticipated Davros Extension Multiclient 3D Survey. FAR received a Notice of Start of Acquisition from CGG in mid-December as the MV Geo Coral began its mobilisation from southeast Asia. After a brief port call in Broome, the vessel commenced deployment of in-water equipment whilst on route to the survey area. Post end of the quarter, seismic acquisition across permit WA-458-Pbegan. The survey was safely and securely completed in mid-January and FAR anticipates receiving the final processed data in the second half of 2019.
AGIG Pluto facility taps into more gas for WA
The Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) has announced the successful commissioning of the Pluto Inlet Station – the new facility connecting the Pluto LNG Project to the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP). The successful commissioning allows additional gas supply to reach Western Australian consumers. Woodside – which operates the Pluto LNG plant near Karratha in WA – engaged AGIG’s development group to undertake a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study to convert an existing outlet meter station to an inlet facility, along with the required compression.