Feature Articles

Oil and gas sector applauds deregulation measures

25/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Australia’s oil and gas industry has welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to deliver new deregulation measures for Australian businesses.

Mr Morrison announced the development of a digital environmental approvals process and database aimed at reducing the current approvals process by between six and 18 months.

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the industry welcomed the announcement, saying the measures will reduce red tape and unnecessary regulation, unlocking investment opportunities in Australia.

“The announcement represents an important step forward to improve and modernise the environmental approvals framework, which is currently is time consuming, costly and complex,” Mr McConville said.

U.S. relies on “innovation to reduce emissions”

19/11/2019 Posted by Dale

The United States has initiated formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo announced on November 4, vowing that the country would continue to reduce emissions without compromising economic growth.

This was followed by a US Department of State statement defending the Trump Administration’s position and the The United States as a “world leader in reducing emissions”.

The US Department of State said: “Between 2005 and 2017, US net greenhouse gas emissions dropped 13 percent even as the US economy grew by more than 19 percent, US figures show.

New $8 million cross-river Brisbane gas pipeline commissioned

19/11/2019 Posted by Dale

A new $8 million pipeline — providing surety of long-term natural gas supply to more than 80,000 North Brisbane customers — was commissioned recently.

The 1.84km gas pipeline includes approximately 930 metres running under the Brisbane River to duplicate the river crossing from Murarrie to Pinkenba.

The “delicate and complex project” has been completed by Australian Gas Networks (AGN), part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG).

AGIG’s Chief Customer Officer, Mr Andrew Staniford, said final overall commissioning of the gas pipeline went well after weeks of testing.

“We are pleased to have completed this project which has been a most successful outcome by a dedicated and professional team at the APA Group,” Mr Staniford said.

Dave Monk joins DUG as Distinguished Advisor

19/11/2019 Posted by Dale

DownUnder GeoSolutions (DUG) has announced the appointment of world-respected geoscientist, Dave Monk, in the role of Distinguished Advisor. Monk had recently retired after nearly 20 years in senior roles at Apache Corporation.

DUG said that in Monk’s advisory capacity at the company, he would work alongside DUG’s executive team “as they navigate one of the most successful periods of growth for the company”. DUG has recently launched DUG McCloud: a global cloud, purpose built for HPC, and powered by one of the largest supercomputers on earth.

Global gas demand ‘delivers opportunities for Australia’

19/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Global demand for natural gas will increase over the next 20 years, providing a major economic opportunity for Australia, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the IEA’s World Energy Outlook highlighted the reality that the growing natural gas industry was essential for a cleaner energy future.

“Demand for natural gas is expected to increase 36 per cent by 2040, with gas providing a quarter of global energy demand, the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario* shows,” Mr McConville said. “Gas will become the second largest source of global energy after oil.”

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will overtake pipeline gas as the main form of long-distance trading, accounting for more than 57 per cent of inter-regional trade by 2040, the IEA report said.

Saudi Aramco IPO should be ‘judged on its impact not its valuation’

12/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Following the recent news that Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco will issue its prospectus to potential investors in its initial public offering (IPO); Colin Foreman, Deputy Editor at data and analytics company, GlobalData, provided his view:

“The public sale of shares in the world’s biggest oil exporter will be the first time since the 1970s that private and foreign investors will have been able to own a stake in the Gulf’s upstream oil and gas assets.

“The IPO is a cornerstone play in Riyadh’s Vision 2030 economic reform programme, launched in April 2016, which seeks to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dominated economy and increase the role of the private sector by driving growth and job creation.

Woodside awards new Pluto-to-North West Shelf pipeline project to AGIG

12/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) – a leading national provider and operator of key energy infrastructure – has been awarded a significant new Western Australian project by Woodside for the pipeline component of its Pluto-North West Shelf (NWS) Interconnector.

A new 30-inch diameter pipeline will run 3.2 kilometres, connecting the Woodside-operated Pluto LNG Plant to the NWS Project’s Karratha Gas Plant (KGP), and is the first component of the infrastructure needed to transport gas between the two facilities.

Under the contract entered into with Woodside, AGIG will design, construct and operate the new pipeline in addition to three facilities including:

Iran’s giant oil discovery brings “little material benefit” under sanctions

11/11/2019 Posted by Dale

The discovery of a massive oil field in Iran will deliver little in the way of tangible spin-offs for the second largest country in the Middle East, according to international analysis of the discovery.

The discovery made world headlines recently, but according to data and analytics company, GlobalData, the country is facing challenges reaping the full-benefits of the yield.

Will Scargill, Managing Analyst, Oil and Gas at GlobalData, commented: “Limits on investment and exports due to sanctions mean that the exploration successes at the Namavaran field can’t translate into material benefit.

“Iran already has a large number of projects holding billions of barrels of resources that it cannot fully-realize, and this just adds to that list.

Matt Canavan Minister of Resources Northern Australia

Matt Canavan lauds NT survey as a potential gamebreaker

05/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, has welcomed a new seismic survey probing for gas and mineral resources in the Northern Territory’s Barkly region.

The 820km survey is in an area where little exploration has previously taken place and is being hailed as a potential ‘missing link’ between Mt. Isa and the Betaloo sub-basin.

Mr Canavan described the Beetaloo as a sub-basin with potential to deliver 178,000 Petajoules of shale gas, a bigger basket than any conventional gas resources on the North West Shelf.

“It’s exciting to have a region that could promise the same potential resources,” Mr Canavan said.

Polarcus set for West Africa seismic project

04/11/2019 Posted by Dale

Polarcus has continued its offshore West African safari by announcing another 4D marine seismic acquisition project in the region.

The seismic service provider said the project duration would be approximately two months and is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2019, after a scheduled class docking.

Polarcus did not provide further details about the project and had worked on a seismic project in the same area offshore West Africa earlier this year.