AWE Limited has resisted a proposal from China Energy Reserve and Chemical Group for the acquisition of 100% of its shares. AWE revealed that the unsolicited, non-binding, indicative, and conditional offer came from China Energy Reserve and Chemical Group’s (CERCG) Australian subsidiary. The company said China’s state-owned CERCG wanted to acquire 100% of its shares on a fully diluted basis, at a price of $0.71 cash per share under either a recommended takeover bid or a scheme of arrangement (indicative proposal). The total cash consideration for a 100% share acquisition stands at around $430 million. The $0.
Feature Articles
Zoe Yujnovich becomes first woman Chair of APPEA
The Board of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) was pleased to announce the election of Zoe Yujnovich as Chair and Michael Abbott as Vice Chair following APPEA’s Annual General Meeting in Perth last week. Ms Yujnovich, Chairman of Shell Australia, has more than 25 years’ experience in the international resources industry. She has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from the University of Utah. Ms Yujnovich is the first woman elected as Chair of the APPEA Board. Mr Abbott is the Senior Vice President, Corporate and Legal from Woodside Energy.
OGA releases free UK offshore seismic data
The Oil and Gas Authority in the United Kingdom has released the $35 million government-funded seismic data to promote exploration in under-explored areas of the UK and the North Sea. The datasets, now available to industry and academia, will support the next Offshore Licensing Round, set to open in mid-2018, and contains 19,000km of newly acquired broadband seismic data, new gravity and magnetic surveys, approximately 23,000km of reprocessed legacy seismic data and a rejuvenated set of digital well data, in addition to various supplementary reports.
Global Petroleum extends license offshore Namibia and seeks farm-in partner
Brisbane-based Global Petroleum has been granted an extension by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy for its license offshore in the Walvis Basin and entered into second renewal period. Global, via subsidiary Jupiter Petroleum, holds an 85% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence No. 0029, encompassing offshore blocks 1910B and 2010A located in the Walvis Basin. Global Petroleum’s subsidiary, Jupiter Petroleum, been granted an extension to the First Renewal Exploration Period (Phase 2) of 12 months to December 3, 2018 for Petroleum Exploration Licence No. 29, which covers Blocks 1910B and 2010A.
AWE delivers flow test record from Waitsia field
AWE Energy has popped the bubbly, celebrating one of the highest onshore flow rates in the Australian oil and gas industry. The Sydney independent oil and gas producer revealed that the Waitsia-4 well in the Perth Basin flowed gas at an instantaneous maximum rate of 90 million standard cubic feet per day from the Kingia Sandstone and an average of 89.6 MMscf/d on a 96/64 inch choke at ~2,395 psig flowing well head pressure over a 23-minute period.
Australian subsea sector set to see major activity improvement
THE Australian subsea oil and gas industry is about to see a significant increase in activity, according to one of the region’s leading figures. Marius Martens, the Chairman of national industry body, Subsea Energy Australia. and a senior committee member overseeing content for the 2018 Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG2018) Subsea Forum, says that subsea activity is expected to grow to support both new and recently constructed projects. In terms of new projects; Mr Martens says there are a number of major subsea developments, either as tie-backs to shore or to offshore facilities, underway in Australian waters.
Scholarships for World Gas Conference in Washington DC
The Australian Gas Industry Trust (AGIT) is offering up to five scholarships to be part of the Australian delegation attending the 27th World Gas Conference (WGC18) in Washington DC from June 25-29. Participants under the age of 40 in the Australian gas industry are invited to attend. Hosted every three years by the International Gas Union (IGU), WGC2018 will be the world’s largest gas conference. Over 500 speakers will talk in 100 sessions under the theme “Fuelling the Future” and will include major figures in the gas world such as producers, buyers, governments, international agencies and NGOs.
Geoscientist Employment Recovery Stalled: AIG Survey
The latest quarterly survey of Australian geoscientist employment, covering the third quarter of 2017 shows that employment prospects for geoscientists have remained unchanged since March 2017, despite anecdotal evidence pointing to an upturn in mining and exploration industry activity. The national unemployment rate at 30 September 2017 amongst Australia’s professional geoscientists was 12.2%, up slightly from the 30 June figure of 11.3%. Underemployment amongst self-employed geoscientists for the same period, however, fell to 18.0% from 19.0%. The combined figures point to no improvement in employment prospects for the geoscience professions as a whole since March 2017.
On board Fire Shuts-in Shell Platform
Shell’s Enchilada platform on the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in after two offshore workers were injured in a fire onboard the structure, located about 190km south of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana, This came after the United States Coast Guard and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) responded to a report at 1.20am that the fixed-leg platform was on fire as 46 crew evacuated took lifeboats before transferring to the nearby Salsa platform via the offshore supply vessel, C-Liberty.
IGC Travel Scheme Deadline Looms
The Australian Geoscience Council and the Australian Academy of Science have extended the deadline for the 34th International Geological Congress Travel Grant Scheme for Early-Career Australian and New Zealand Geoscientists. In terms of the scheme, funding has been made available for the early stages of their careers with opportunities to travel internationally to further their careers as geoscientists by, for example, undertaking field work in appropriate areas, visiting and working with appropriate international experts, inspecting appropriate mines or other geoscientific features such as type localities, participating in professionally-organised geoscientific conferences or conventions, etc.