The potential for Queensland’s Bowen Basin to be a major contributor to Australia’s diminishing east coast gas supplies has received a further timely boost with a significant resource upgrade announced by Brisbane-based Blue Energy Limited (ASX: “BUL”). The upgrade – from the Company’s Northern Bowen Basin gas fields - comes amid continued analysis of the parlous state of gas supply to east coast consumers and now the forecast potential for reduction in LNG export volumes from Gladstone from 2025, due to lower than expected field gas supply to the six LNG export trains.
Company Updates
Leigh Creek Energy operations breakthrough unlocks huge reserve
Leigh Creek Energy (LCK) has extracted commercial quantities of synthetic gas (Syngas) at its former Leigh Creek coal mine site for the first time. In a development touted as a “boon for the South Australia”, Leigh Creek said the milestone achievement provides the company with the data and evidence it needs to have a portion of its ‘resource’ gas deposit just north of Leigh Creek in the state’s far north, upgraded to gas ‘reserve’ status. “The upgraded status will enable the company to access SA’s largest gas resource for commercial development outside the Cooper Basin.
Senex achieves Roma North construction milestones
Senex Energy has achieved major construction milestones at the company’s Roma North natural gas development in south-west Queensland. Roma North is part of Senex’s Western Surat Gas Project and is about 30km north-east of Roma. The development involves construction of a natural gas processing facility and a 5.2km steel pipeline to transport gas to the customer, Santos GLNG. Construction of the gas processing facility is quickly taking shape. Civil works are complete and four gas compressors, each weighing up to 40 tonnes, were delivered and lifted into position in the past few days.
Australia’s newest major natural gas pipeline commissioned ahead of schedule
Australia's newest major natural gas pipeline project - built by the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) to deliver gas to fuel the power stations at Newmont Mining Corporation's Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory - has been commissioned ahead of schedule. AGIG's Chief Customer Officer, Mr Andrew Staniford, announced that the NT Government had granted the milestone final consent for AGIG to operate the pipeline and for Newmont to take gas for its Tanami mining operations. "We have now commissioned the pipeline and gas is already flowing into Newmont's Tanami mine site," he said today.
Searcher completes Airborne Geophysical Survey in Papua New Guinea
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.
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.