Feature Articles

New domestic gas supplies in the pipeline for North Queensland

14/10/2019 Posted by Dale

Blue Energy has signed a non-binding MOU with North Queensland Gas Pipeline No.1 Pty Ltd and North Queensland Gas Pipeline No. 2 Pty Ltd (together referred to as NQGP) to facilitate bringing new domestic gas supplies into the strong Townsville market.

NQGP is North Queensland’s only source of natural gas. The 391km onshore natural gas pipeline system transports gas from the existing Moranbah Gas Project in the Bowen Basin to power and industrial users in Townsville, Queensland.

Blue Energy said that as part of the MOU, NQGP will facilitate introductions to potential customers in Townsville for Blue Energy’s Northern Bowen Basin gas reserves in the Sapphire Block of ATP814P, which is located in close proximity to the NQGP.

Santos-ConocoPhillips’ $2.2 billion deal underpins a ‘bright gas future’

14/10/2019 Posted by Dale

Santos has snapped up a big basket of onshore and offshore ConocoPhillips assets in a $2.2 billion deal motivated by the Adelaide-headquartered oil and gas company’s big vision for future gas demand in Australia.

“We see a big future for gas,” Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said as details of the purchase emerged.

“Through to 2040 it is the fastest-growing energy source and that’s why there’s such demand for our product across Asia.”

ConocoPhillips and Santos already have a long-standing partnership in the Northern Territory, the former as operator and major stake holder in the Darwin LNG plant, which gets feedstock from the Bayu-Undan offshore field in which Santos has an 11.5% share.

PGS welcomes a bumper northern hemisphere winter

07/10/2019 Posted by Dale

PGS says it is fully-booked for seven vessels in the fourth quarter of 2019. PGS has now committed to a MultiClient program in West Africa for the eighth active vessel. The program is expected to last more than 100 days and has strong industry funding. PGS said: “As a consequence, PGS will operate all eight active vessels also over the winter period and Sanco Swift has commenced transit from Norway to West Africa.

Project Atlas natural gas pipeline completed

07/10/2019 Posted by Dale

Senex Energy Ltd has celebrated notification from Jemena that it has completed the Project Atlas natural gas pipeline. In June 2018 Senex partnered with energy infrastructure provider Jemena to build, own and operate a 15 petajoule per annum (40 TJ/day) gas processing facility and 60km buried pipeline to the Wallumbilla Hub. Senex said Jemena has now reached mechanical completion of the pipeline, less than three months since construction began in July. Construction of the Project Atlas gas processing facility is ongoing, with commissioning of the facility and pipeline to begin soon.

CGG Delivers Advanced 4D Images for BP Angola Survey in eight weeks

07/10/2019 Posted by Dale

CGG Subsurface Imaging, part of CGG’s Geoscience division, has delivered state-of-the-art broadband 4D seismic results ahead of schedule from BP Angola’s latest monitor survey offshore Angola. This achievement builds on previous 4D seismic processing projects undertaken for BP Angola. CGG said the enhanced imaging volumes from the Greater Plutonio development in the Lower Congo Basin were delivered four weeks early for this time-critical BP project.

Total and Santos given extension for Beehive decision

07/10/2019 Posted by Dale

Total and Santos have requested a one-month extension from Melbana Energy for the deadline date to decide whether to acquire a 40% interest in WA-488-P by agreeing to jointly fund drilling of the Beehive-1 exploration well. Last April the six-month option period for Total and Santos to farm into the Melbana-operated Beehive prospect and drill the first exploration well started. This followed approval of 3D seismic data from the Beehive 3D survey. The project was further de-risked in June this year after Melbana had confirmed key technical characteristics of Beehive-1.

Successful Dorado-3 Baxter flow test exceeds expectations

24/09/2019 Posted by Dale

Initial flow testing of the deeper Baxter reservoir of the Santos-operated Dorado-3 well has successfully exceeded expectations. Carnarvon Petroleum, which holds a 20% stake in Dorado, said the initial clean-up flow rate test over the Baxter Member was conducted over a 12-hour period with the flow rate constrained by the surface well equipment. The company said the flow rate achieved a maximum possible measured rate of approximately 48 million standard cubic feet (“MM scf”) per day of gas and 4,500 barrels (“bbls”) per day of associated condensate through a 60/64” choke.

Life-of-project enterprise agreements ‘a critical IR reform’

24/09/2019 Posted by Dale

Allowing enterprise agreements to run the full length of major project construction is a sensible and long overdue reform, critical to securing the next wave of resources and energy project investment, says the Australian Resources and Energy Group. Life-of-project agreements are the subject of a policy discussion paper released last week by Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Christian Porter. CEO of Australian Resources and Energy Group AMMA Steve Knott said this would be a critical reform providing certainty around cost and timing of world-class resources and energy projects which take up to seven years to complete.

Drone attacks put petrochemical feedstock supply under strain

24/09/2019 Posted by Dale

Drone attacks on Saudi Aramco will severely disrupt NGL and petrochemicals supply - much more than oil. The impact on global economic and geopolitical dynamics will be huge, writes Joseph Chang, Global Editor, ICIS Chemical Business. The drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s oil and gas facilities and key infrastructure will have significant ripple effects in the global energy and petrochemical markets, as well as the global economy, as oil prices rise and natural gas production is disrupted. The drone strikes on 14 September hit the Khurais oilfield and Abqaiq, the world’s largest crude oil and natural gas processing site.

AEGC 2019 sets a new benchmark

24/09/2019 Posted by Dale

On every score the second Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference (AEGC2019) lived up to its rock star billing by exceeding even the wildest expectations. Record breaking numbers tallied after the gathering at Crown in Perth revealed that 1182 delegates, including 459 full conference subscribers, attended the four-day event in the first week of September. This represented growth in excess of 30% from last year’s inaugural event in Sydney comprising identified members that included: two AIG-ASEG-PESA, three AIG-PESA, 53 ASEG-PESA, 43 AIG-ASEG, 93 AIG, 245 ASEG and169 PESA memberships.