The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association has torpedoed the ‘Shipping Away Our Competitive Advantage’ report released by the Australian Workers’ Union, saying the release “confirms that the AWU’s campaign to control gas exports is disconnected from economic reality”. “The AWU report’s central claims do not withstand scrutiny,” said APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts. “The report ignores the latest independent data, such as the Gas Price Trends report to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the December 2017 report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Feature Articles
The Eagle has Landed – in Carnarvon’s basket
Carnarvon Petroleum has been awarded the AC/P63 permit within the Southern Vulcan Sub-basin, on Western Australia’s North West Shelf, which will be known as the Eagle Project. This 585km² permit is in shallow water and contains multiple attractive leads in the same proven oil producing basin that includes the Talbot, Jabiru, and Cassini / Challis oil fields. Carnarvon said prides itself on applying leading technologies to its technical work to assist in unlocking an area’s potential.
CGG and Ardiseis complete highest-density seismic survey ever acquired
CGG, its technology partner, and Ardiseis, subsidiary of the Arabian Geophysical and Surveying Company (ARGAS), the Middle East’s seismic acquisition specialist, have announced the successful completion of the world’s highest-density broadband seismic survey ever acquired onshore or offshore. The ultra-high density of the data recorded on the West-Kalabsha survey on behalf of Apache Corporation (Apache) heralds a step-change in the quality of seismic that can be economically acquired in Egypt’s Western Desert and a quantum leap in imaging for the Middle East and North Africa region, CGG said in a media release.
CNOOC plans 132 exploration wells and will splash out up to $12.7B in 2018
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has announced that it will drill up to 132 exploration wells in 2018 and that it will also bring five projects into production.
The giant Chinese oil and gas major said it will acquired about 19000km² of 3-D seismic data as it also strives to bring the Hess-operated Stampede oil field in the United States, the Weizhou 6-13 oil field, Penglai 19-3 oil field 1/3/8/9 comprehensive adjustment project, Dongfang 13-2 gas fields and Wenchang 9-2/9-3/10-3 gas fields offshore China into production.
Bloomberg said the $12,7 billion that CNOOC planned to spend in 2018 represented the company’s highest capex in four years.
‘AWU missing the point with calls to curb gas exports’
The Australian Workers’ Union should be calling for the immediate removal of state government-imposed bans on natural gas development instead of demanding heavy-handed restrictions on gas exports. APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts said the gas reservation policies being pushed by the AWU would discourage investment in new domestic gas supply, drive up energy costs for businesses and families and, ultimately, cost union members their jobs. Dr Roberts said the AWU was relying on economic modelling that is dated and ignores evidence that gas prices are falling.
Katalyst Data Management Launches Well File and Well Log Scanning “Paper to Digits” Service
Katalyst Data Management announced that it has launched well file and well log scanning services for the oil and gas industry. The company now has the capacity to scan volumes of well logs and associated files that are created during the life cycle of a well into an accessible PPDM database. This announcement follows Katalyst's recent completion of a successful well file scanning project involving the scanning and classification of physical well files associated with over 20,000 wells in the US Lower 48.
Prime time live-streamed Mexican acreage bids up for grabs
Mexico, currently a global hotspot for exploration, will tomorrow open bids for awarding its deepwater oil and gas exploration acreage as it enters the Fourth Tender of Round 2. Tenders will be made for license contracts in 29 offshore contractual areas in the oil provinces of Perdido, Mexican Cordilleras and the Salina Basin. The Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) has released a list of the nine individual companies that qualified for bidding; BHP Billiton, CNOOC, ExxonMobil, Noble Energy, Pemex, Petronas, Shell, Statoil, and Total. Seventeen consortia also taking part and in total the bidders are from 16 different countries.
Cairn sees the start line for SNE development
Cairn Energy has flagged development approval for the SNE field offshore Senegal - which counts Woodside, Far and Petrosen as JV partners - by the end of 2018. This follows the third phase of a completed offshore drilling program to further evaluate the SNE field using the Stena Drill Max drillship and an operational update from the independent UK-based independent aiming to expedite developments at SNE.
PO Valley advances Saffron Energy expansion with binding deals and £14m capital raise
Shareholders in Australian gas producer, Po Valley Energy have moved a step closer to benefiting from a three-way deal to become part of a larger European energy play under formal contract signings announced recently. Perth-based Po Valley said the signed binding Share Sale and Purchase Agreement with AIM-listed Saffron Energy meant Saffron would acquire onshore and offshore oil and gas production, development and exploration assets in northern Italy held by Po Valley Operations, a 100%-owned subsidiary of Po Valley Energy.
Astronaut Reilly set for lift-off as US Geological Survey Director
Former astronaut, geologist and current technical adviser to the United States’ Air Force National Security Space Institute, James Reilly, is set to become director of the US Geological Survey. This was revealed by the Trump administration, with the White House announcing on Friday that it would nominate Reilly for the role. Reilly spent 13 years at NASA during which time he participated in three spaceflight missions in which over 856 hours of spacewalks were recorded, the White House said.