Feature Articles

Magseis goes back to black in second quarter

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Norwegian ocean bottom Seismic services provider Magseis returned to profitability in the second quarter of 2017 as revenues rose to $19.4 million from work done in Saudi Arabia and Norway. The company said its survey for Saudi Aramco with the Artemis Athene vessel in the Red Sea, as well as OBN work for ConocoPhillips in the Eldfisk field, off Norway, had booted revenue substantially compared to prior year’s 2Q revenue of $7.7 million. Magseis posted a profit of $3.3 million for the...

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‘Don’t kill the golden gas goose’

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The latest Reserve Bank Statement on Monetary Policy, which highlights the key role LNG exports are playing in Australia’s economic growth, deserves more attention in the polarised political debate about the east coast gas market. APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts said the statement confirms how significant LNG exports are to sustaining economic growth in Australia. The RBA found: “LNG exports are expected to contribute almost ½ percentage point directly to annual GDP...

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Woodside to shut down Enfield oil field

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Woodside has begun the process of ceasing production from the Enfield oil field in production license WA-28-L off Western Australia and remove the Nganhurra FPSO from the area. The Perth-headquartered oil and gas company has submitted an environmental plan with NOPSEMA to cease production and decommission, dismantle and remove facilities from the oil field, located approximately 52km north-west of Exmouth. Developed using subsea wells, manifolds and flowline systems tied back to the...

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Spectrum increases revenue and slashes losses

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Spectrum has substantially increased revenue and slashed losses in the second quarter of 2017, the Norwegian company has revealed in its quarterly report. Spectrum said that its net loss had dropped to $2.98 million in this year’s second quarter from $10.99 million in the corresponding period a year ago. The company’s net multi-client revenues increased by 130% to $30.4 million in the second quarter of 2017 from $13.2 million in the same period of 2016. The greatest portion of...

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AWE strikes gas at Waitsia in the Perth Basin

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AWE Limited has toasted the taste of hydrocarbons with its appraisal of the Waitsia gas field north of Perth successfully encountering gas at the first target level. The company reported that the Waitsia-4 appraisal well has successfully intersected the Kingia formation, with good gas shows observed and wireline logs to be acquired to confirm reservoir quality. The well is now drilling towards the second primary target, the High Cliff Sandstone, and is expected to take five weeks to...

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WA onshore release areas for petroleum exploration

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The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) continues to promote the petroleum potential of Western Australia’s vast sedimentary basins using a specific area release system. On 16 May 2017, DMIRS gazetted a total of five onshore release areas in the central and southern Canning Basin (Fig.1). Release area size ranges from 5324 km2 to 6667 km2. This gazettal was timed to coincide with the 2017 APPEA Conference in Pert, reports Richard Bruce, DMIRS exploration geologist...

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Gorgon boosts Chevron profit ahead of Wheatstone start-up

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Chevron has reported a net income of $1,45 billion for the second quarter, a significant reversal from a loss of $1,47 billion a year ago. “Second quarter results improved substantially from a year ago and year-to-date net cash flow is positive,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson. “We’re delivering higher production with lower capital and operating expenditures.” Results were boosted with upstream income contributing $853 million, compared to a second quarter loss of $2.46...

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Canada’s Pacific NorthWest LNG succumbs to sluggish market forces

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Australia’s reputation as the ‘Lucky Country’ beneficiary of $200 billion LNG project investment decisions has been enhanced with news that the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG project at Port Edward in British Columbia, Canada has been canned by its JV partners. This follows a major review of the proposed plant’s viability and revelations from Anuar Taib, Executive Vice President and CEO Upstream for majority partner Petronas, that ongoing subdued market conditions had prompted the...

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CGG completes multi-client survey to optimise Saturno field imaging

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CGG has announced the completion of an extension of its Santos VII broadband 3D multiclient survey offshore Brazil. The 1,867 sq km extension to the original footprint gives CGG a total of almost 16,000 sq km of newly acquired and imaged pre-salt coverage. CGG said the extension was made to fully image this highly prospective area after images recently delivered from the Fast-Track PSDM over a priority area of the Saturno field clearly indicated further structure to the east. This...

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Export controls risk jeopardising future gas supply

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Restricting gas exports to boost domestic supply is likely to be counterproductive, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) has warned. APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts said the government’s proposed Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) was a short-term fix and not a long-term solution. The Government today confirmed it has begun the formal process to consider whether the ADGSM will be required to restrict Queensland liquefied...

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