Industry

NSW Labor ‘plays politics with state economic recovery’: APPEA

08/06/2020 Posted by Dale

The decision by the NSW Labor Party to vote with the Greens and a slew of independents in support of a gas moratorium was a vote against NSW jobs and for higher gas and electricity prices for NSW customers, APPEA has said in reaction to the latest political development.

APPEA Chief Executive, Andrew McConville said that the Bill moved by MLC Justin Field would, if it ever were implemented, condemn NSW to higher gas prices and a slower economic recovery, particularly in regions like Narrabri that are already struggling after years of drought and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PESA Webinars prove popular in a world of COVID isolation

02/06/2020 Posted by Dale

COVID-19, and the subsequent lockdown that quarantined the popular PESA lunches, has had a creative spin-off that has proven to be spectacularly well-subscribed with dozens of Australian and overseas members gravitating to the recently introduced PESA webinars.

The initiative, inspired by WA President Helen Debenham, has attracted regular weekly participants numbering 100-160 members and has proven to be so popular that the initiative has been flagged as a regular activity in the post-COVID era.

Helen said the idea behind the webinars came about as motivation to give paid up members meaningful interaction after the world went into lockdown and regular events were frozen.

Upstream PS appoints Matthew Campbell as National HSSEQ Manager

02/06/2020 Posted by Dale

Upstream Production Solutions has announced the appointment of Matthew Campbell to the role of National HSSEQ Manager.

Prior to joining Upstream PS, Matthew worked for CNOOC in Houston managing HSE across deep water projects in the Americas. Prior to this, he has worked for Shell in various locations around the world including the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, Africa and Middle East.

In Australia and New Zealand, he was the Safety Manager for Shell Australia supporting Prelude, Queensland Gas Company (QGC), non-operated ventures (Gorgon, Browse, Arrow and North West Shelf) and Shell NZ projects).

Matthew will oversee Upstream PS national Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Quality (HSSEQ) people, systems and processes, as well as our regulatory relationships.

Beach Energy seeks green light for offshore drilling in New Zealand

02/06/2020 Posted by Dale

Beach Energy has applied for a ‘consent to discharge trace amounts of harmful substances’ from the deck drains of a mobile offshore drilling unit as part of an exploration drilling campaign in the Canterbury Basin, off New Zealand.

This was revealed by the Environmental Protection Authority of New Zealand, which said residual amounts of harmful substances were sometimes found in deck drainage after the clean-up of minor spills.

Public submissions on the application will be open until Friday, 6 July 2020. Thereafter, if any parties request to be heard, a public hearing will be held within 40 working days.

Beach Energy has applied for the period of the consent to last up until 7 November 2029.

Tech Investment paper plots path to lower emissions

25/05/2020 Posted by Dale

The recent release by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor of the Federal Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap discussion paper has been endorsed as “an important step to achieving a lower carbon economy”.

Welcoming the release of the discussion paper, APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville agreed that the path to a lower carbon future must include investing in energy technology at home and abroad.

“The discussion paper clearly identifies the need for a system-wide appreciation of our energy requirements and that there are different roads we can take to get there.

Woodside plans to abandon three wells

12/05/2020 Posted by Dale

NOPSEMA is assessing a decommissioning plan submitted by Woodside for subsea infrastructure no longer required for production from the Echo Yodel field located in the Dampier Sub-Basin in permit WA-23-L.

The plan, which was was submitted on April 17, make provision for Woodside to permanently plug for abandonment purposes the Yodel-3 and Yodel-4 production wells and the Capella 1 exploration well via the deployment of a mobile offshore drilling unit.

Plugging for the three wells is expected to take about 20 to 60 days per well to.

Jobless Geos climb in first quarter, but COVID impacts limited

11/05/2020 Posted by Dale

Australian geoscientists reported a deterioration in employment in the first three months of 2020. Fears, however, that the coronavirus pandemic would have a deep and dramatic impact on employment, have not as yet materialised.

Unemployment amongst Australia’s geoscientists increased to 10.0% at the end of the March 2020 quarter compared to 7.3% at the end of the 2019 December quarter. Under-employment amongst self-employed geoscientists increased from 13.1% to 18.1% for the same period.

Australian geoscientists reported a deterioration in employment in the first three months of 2020.

Queensland Government supports exploration

07/05/2020 Posted by Dale

APPEA has welcomed the announcement by Queensland Resources Minister Anthony Lynham of a range of measures to support exploration as the industry confronts challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

These measures announced will provide for relief and flexibility to support explorers. It also encourages innovative exploration activities through a direct grant process.

The package provides companies with the ability to continue to operate now, and respond quickly when the health crisis abates, and Australia’s economy recovers.

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said this package would particularly help smaller exploration companies that continue to play a critical role in the identification and development of new energy resources.

WA research streamlining the study of Earth’s earliest life forms

04/05/2020 Posted by Dale

A new publication summarising more than 50 years of geoscience research on Western Australia’s microbialites is setting a new standard for the study of some of Earth’s oldest fossils. Created by microbes, some of these fossils date back to the Archean period, around 3.5 billion years ago.

Eminent scientist and retired Chief Paleontologist from the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), Dr Kathleen Grey, worked with Professor Stanley Awramik from the University of California, Santa Barbara, to develop GSWA Bulletin 147 Handbook for the study and description of microbialites.

This handbook sets a benchmark for universal terminology and descriptive methodology for the study of microbialites, which includes stromatolites like those from the Shark Bay World Heritage site.

CSIRO study finds hydraulic fracturing fears unfounded

27/04/2020 Posted by Dale

An independent and authoritative review by Australia’s leading scientific agency, the CSIRO, provides further evidence there are no negative impacts of hydraulic fracturing that can’t be managed by robust regulation and high industry operating standards.

The study conducted by the CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance, found the use of hydraulic fracturing to extract coal-seam gas in Queensland has little to no impact on groundwater, waterways, soils or air quality.

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said the CSIRO field study backs up over a dozen independent scientific inquiry that have confirmed that properly regulated, hydraulic fracturing is a safe practice.