Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has been awarded a contract by PTTEP for redeployment of the rig Tom Prosser in Australia for a single new production well at Montara. The 2014-built jack up rig, which had been warm stacked in the United Arab Emirates since last October on expiry of its drilling contract with Quadrant Energy, will be deployed for two months from early September to late October 2017 at a day rate of US$130,000.
Company Updates
SA ups the PACE to hit the gas
Against the gloomy background of a looming gas famine and associated energy crisis in Australia, South Australia announced the recipients of the first round of PACE Gas Grants with five exploration and development projects to share in $24 million in State Government funding. Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the grants would generate up to $174 million in new investment by oil and gas companies in local production projects.
Geoscientist employment recovery stalls
The improvement in employment prospects for Australia’s geoscientists evident during 2016 came to an end in the final quarter of 2016. This was revealed in a report released by an AIG Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey from data collected during February 2017 which elicited 485 responses with an estimated one in 10-15 geoscientists contributing to the survey. At 31st December 2016, the unemployment rate amongst Australian geoscientists was 14.4% and the under-employment rate was 19.5%, up slightly from 13.9% and 18.8% respectively at the end of September 2016.
Gas supply warning a result of flawed state policies
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s warning of severe gas shortages in eastern Australia as early as next summer is the consequence of many years of policy failure by successive state governments in Victoria and New South Wales. APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts said the Gas Statement of Opportunities released last week was the latest in a long list of credible warnings that eastern Australia was racing towards a gas supply cliff. “For years now, politicians in Victoria and New South Wales have wilfully ignored these warnings,” Dr Roberts said.
Cairn clarifies timeline for SNE Oilfield development
SNE Oilfield Operator Cairn Energy has announced a timetable for the development of the offshore oilfield that encompasses development concept selection this year and first oil between 2021 and 2023. Cairn, with a 40% working interest in three blocks offshore Senegal (Sangomar Deep, Sangomar Offshore, Rufisque Offshore) counts Australian independent Woodside (35%), Melbourne-based exploration junior Far Ltd (15%) and the Senegal National Oil Company, Petrosen (10%) as its JV partners. In 2015 the JV, which then included ConocoPhillips prior to the sale of its interest to Woodside, submitted a three-year evaluation work plan to the Senegal government.
Exxon inks $2.8 billion Mozambique deal with Eni
SUPERMAOR ExxonMobil has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Eni to acquire a 25% indirect interest in the natural gas rich Area 4 block, offshore Mozambique. In a joint statement the two companies said terms included a cash price of approximately US$2.8 billion and that the acquisition would be completed on a number of condition precedents being met, notably clearance from Mozambican and other regulatory authorities. Eni holds a 50% indirect share in the block via a 71.
Po Valley exclaims ‘Mamma Mia’ at licence award
Australian listed oil and gas exploration, development and production company, Po Valley Energy Ltd (ASX: PVE), which has energy assets in northern Italy, has been granted the large onshore Torre del Moro oil exploration licence, located southeast of Bologna, in the eastern Po Valley region of Italy. Po Valley said the licence covers an area of 111km2 and contains a large, attractive oil exploration target. The licence has a six year initial exploration period. Its main exploration play is a Mesozoic carbonate structure with structural analogies to the ENI Villa Fortuna field (230 million bbls produced).
Spectrum concludes Santos Campos survey offshore Brazil
Spectrum has completed of the 17,700 km2 Santos Campos Ph.2 2D seismic survey offshore Brazil. Spectrum said the new acquisition program was an outboard extension of Spectrum’s 2012 Santos Campos Phase 1 survey, and ties other programs in the Santos, Campos and Espirito Santo Basins producing a continuous dataset covering the prolific pre-salt oil fields in these basins. The survey has been acquired with a 12,000m cable to record data necessary to understand basin architecture as well as to image prospective zones in the pre-salt section.
OPEC says oil production cuts can slice deeper
The Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has reported that OPEC and non-OPEC countries are on the right track towards full conformity with their adjustments in production, but there is still room for improvement. This emerged after the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) held its inaugural meeting on February 22 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, where conformity with production level cuts featured high on the agenda. The cuts decided on by OPEC in November last year were the first since 2008.
PESA benefit that saves home buyers a small fortune
Many people working in the oil and gas sector are unaware of a “hidden’’ benefit of PESA membership that can save them thousands of dollars, reports Christina Granger. Some major lenders offer a waiver of lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) to PESA members, which can equate to a benefit of many thousands of dollars. LMI must be paid by most people who borrow more than 80% of the value of a property, whether that is a owner-occupied home or an investment property.