PESA President Steve Mackie drew on the archives of exploration history in Australia to strike a note of optimism in sobering times at the opening of the ASEG-PESA-AIG Conference in Adelaide. Addressing delegates at the opening of the 25th conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre, Dr Mackie said the event theme, Interpreting the Past, Understanding the Future, was appropriate when it came to reflecting previous legacies of discoveries in Australia.
Company Updates
MEO sets spud target date for Cuba
MEO Australia is targeting early 2017 as a spud date for Cuba’s Block 9, taking its cue from Canada’s Sherritt International’s identifications in adjacent Bock 10, as it ponders a high impact exploration well in New Zealand and seeks to complete farm out processes in Australia. The Melbourne-based explorer said following assessment of the Lower Sheet play, continuing assessment of the remaining two plays, the Upper Sheet and Shallow Tertiary plays, was progressing as planned. Preliminary assessment was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.
BP wins deadlines extension for big Bight plan
NOPSEMA has granted BP an extension to lodge a third and final environmental plan to drill the Stromlo-1 well in the Great Australian Bight. The submission is now expected to be lodged by August 31 and BP now faces a race against time to begin drilling the Stromlo-1 well in the calmer seas of summer following assessment of the supermajor’s game plan and safeguards by the offshore regulator.
Woodside goes on African safari in Senegal.
Woodside has bought ConocoPhillips’ exploration stake in Senegal, acquiring a 35% stake in the SNE and FAN deepwater oil discoveries and the option of becoming operator, for US$430 million. The deal gives the Perth-based company exposure to a potential 560 million bbl oil discovery, which Woodside appears to have picked up for a significant discount at about US$2.30 per barrel to the US$7 per barrel valuation of RBC Capital Markets. Melbourne-based FAR Energy, which holds a 15% stake in the Senegal venture, was trading 13% lower at 7.3c in a trading halt.
BP invests in Bunker facility for Bight program
BRITISH Petroleum has signalled its commitment to Australia by announcing a multi-million dollar investment in infrastructure establishing a new fuel bunkering facility in Port Adelaide’s inner harbour. BP and Flinders Ports said the $8 million facility would support operations for BP’s planned $1 billion Great Australian Bight program which, subject to approval will see the first two wells drilled from late 2016, by providing safe, efficient and simultaneous refuelling of vessels and receipt of fuel into the terminal.
CGG wins prestigious award in Paris
CGG Processing Manager Singapore, Joe Zhou, has won the EAGE 2016 Guido Bonarelli Award in recognition of the best oral presentation for his paper entitled ‘Unlocking the full potential of broadband data with advanced processing technology, a case study from NWS Australia’. The paper was co-authored with Peter Chia from Shell Australia and Jingyu Li, Henry Ng, Sergey Birdus, Keat Huat Teng, Phan Ying Peng, Jason Sun and He Yi from CGG and presented during the 77th EAGE Conference & Exhibition in Madrid in June 2015.