Feature Articles

Northern Endeavour in limbo as NOGA goes into liquidation

11/02/2020 Posted by Dale

The Australian Government has been advised that the Northern Oil and Gas Australia (NOGA) group of companies has been placed into liquidation.

Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt said this is an unprecedented event in the offshore oil and gas industry in Australia.

“It is regrettable that a commercial solution could not be found to prevent NOGA entering liquidation, but the Government will do everything it needs to do to protect the safety and security of the Northern Endeavour production vessel to protect the environment and keep workers safe,” Minister Pitt said.

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) has advised that as the Northern Endeavour is not currently in production, the risks associated with safety and the environment are low.

Australian LNG cargoes not affected by coronavirus but broader market is impacted

11/02/2020 Posted by Dale

“Suddenly, the global LNG market is being buffeted from all directions. The market was already soft with a warm winter in North Asia and rapidly growing US production. Now the outbreak of the coronavirus has hit oil prices (to which Australian LNG prices are indexed) and spot LNG prices.”

This is according to the latest EnergyQuest report which revealed that Brent had started the month at US$67.05/bbl (A$96.03/bbl) and rose to US$70.25/bbl (A$101.34/bbl) but then fell steadily through the month to US$54.00/bbl (A$80.65/bbl) on 3 February, reflecting the expected fall in Chinese oil demand.

“There has also been a dramatic fall in Asian spot prices with the Platts JKM spot price, dropping to below US$3.00/MMBtu.

Searcher Completes Offshore Peru OpenSeis 2D & 3D Seismic Datasets

11/02/2020 Posted by Dale

Searcher is pleased to announce the completion of its Offshore Peru OpenSeis 2D and 3D Seismic Dataset as part of its Offshore Peru Multi-Client Campaign.

The Offshore Peru OpenSeis Seismic Dataset consists of both 2D and 3D vintage seismic data which has been rectified in a post-stack reprocessing method. The data package comprises of 44,389 km of 2D and 15,526 km2 of 3D seismic data along the coast of Peru.

Offshore Peru offers high impact, moderate-risk exploration in shallow water, with high prospectivity in multiple, unexplored basins, supported by Perupetro that is welcoming foreign investment.

ConocoPhillips acquires operatorship of 3D Oil Tasmania permit

04/02/2020 Posted by Dale

3D Oil Ltd, has executed a farmout agreement with ConocoPhillips Australia whereby the latter will acquire a 75% operated interest in the T/49P exploration permit in the Otway Basin offshore Tasmania for $5 million cash.

Prior to the deal 3D Oil held a 100% interest in the T/49P exploration permit, which covers 4,960km of the Otway Basin and is located adjacent to the producing Thylacine and Geographe gas fields.

The most recent agreement was finalised with ConocoPhillips on Dec 18.

“The beginning of this relationship represents an important step towards 3D Oil’s overarching strategy, to provide much needed...

PO Valley says ‘Mama Mia’ to first gas production in Italy

04/02/2020 Posted by Dale

Australia’s Po Valley Energy has welcomed the Italian Ministry of Environment giving the Selva gas field development in Northern Italy a green light that has brought the project to the cusp of production.

At the same time the company revealed that final environmental approval for the Teodorico offshore gas project was expected in the March quarter following primary environmental approval in 2019.

Po Valley CEO, Michael Masterman commented:

Coronavirus ‘trumps Middle East’s impact on oil prices’

04/02/2020 Posted by Dale

The UAE’s first confirmed case of the Wuhan coronavirus -- the first confirmed case in the Middle East – has had a greater impact on oil prices than Libyan oil shutdown or Iran-USA tensions.

That’s according to data analytics company GlobalData, who said of the recent outbreak and its influence on markets.

“The Gulf region, and Dubai in particular, is a major travel and business hub between Asia and Europe. Its links with China have been an important part of the region’s development in recent years.

Shearwater secures back-to-back work with 3D survey for Reliance in India

04/02/2020 Posted by Dale

Shearwater has been awarded a 3D broadband marine seismic acquisition contract by Reliance Industries in the Bay of Bengal, India. The project is scheduled to commence in Q2 2020.

The survey covers 1,500 sq. km of block KG-UDWHP-2018/1 in the Krishna-Godavari basin and will be executed by the Polar Duchess using a Dual source design, Shearwater has announced.

“We are pleased to add Reliance as a new customer with this award for the coming season in India” said Irene Waage Basili, the CEO of Shearwater GeoServices. “This is the third contract award we have won in India in recent weeks.

New five-year plan set to deliver WA gas supplies at ‘lower cost’

28/01/2020 Posted by Dale

Maintaining strong safety, reliability and service performance with lower revenue and costs are the focus of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group’s Final Plan for Western Australia's Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBP) for the 2021 to 2025 period.

The Plan also puts in place measures to support the DBP continuing to deliver gas to an evolving Western Australian energy market well into the future.

The Plan was presented this month to WA’s Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) and follows an extensive 18-month consultation period with customers of the pipeline.

The pipeline - part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure...

Santos achieved record annual production, sales and revenue in 2019

28/01/2020 Posted by Dale

The largest company in South Australia reported production of 75.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in 2019 – up 28 per cent from 58.9 mmboe the previous year.

The report says Santos sold 94.5 mmboe over the year, up from 78.3 mmboe in 2018 – and it achieved sales revenue of $4.03 billion, up from $3.66 billion in 2018.

Santos Managing Director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that the company had also delivered lower unit production costs and strong cash flow in 2019.

“The year was highlighted by highest ever free cash flow of more than $1.1 billion, record onshort drilling performance, lower unit production costs and significant progress on our diversified portfolio of growth projects,” he said.

Pioneering WA Geoscience teacher praised for key ‘Australian of the Year’ nomination

28/01/2020 Posted by Dale

A Perth geoscientist who has pioneered taking science out of the classroom into a hands-on, in-the-field experience – particularly for remote area schools – has been praised for her nomination among Saturday night’s “Australian of the Year” awards in Canberra.

Ms Suzy Urbaniak was WA’s nominee in the “Australian of the Year - Local Heroes” award category.

The ‘Local Hero’ award acknowledges extraordinary contributions made by Australians in their local community – with Ms Urbaniak currently making significant inroads into science education in WA’s Pilbara region.

A former 2016 Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching...