Gazprom, China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) and Royal Dutch Shell are predicted to be the big global spenders on planned and announced projects among oil and gas companies. That is according to data and analytics company, GlobalData, which revealed that Gazprom tops the list with estimated capital expenditure of US$160bn expected to be spent on 84 oil and gas projects globally to 2025. Sinopec and Royal Dutch Shell follow with US$87bn (74 projects) and US$86bn (91 projects) respectively.
Industry


Bass says steady oil prices piqued production in July
Melbourne-based oil and gas producer Bass Oil says continued high monthly average oil prices of US$68.52 had piqued performance at its 55%-owned Tangai-Sukananti oil field onshore Sumatra, Indonesia, in July. The company said during July production volumes had totalled 11,350 barrels of oil (6,243 barrels net to Bass) and sales volumes 11,628 barrels of oil. However, production and sales had been impacted by scale problems at production wells. Bass said a remediation program underway was expected to restore daily production levels to those achieved in May, “with a strong full year (31 December 18) of oil production still expected”.

MGPalaeo and Petrosys to expand GPinfo’s Capabilities
MGPalaeo, Australian biostratigraphic experts, and Petrosys, an industry leader in mapping, surface-modeling and data-management software solutions, have signed an agreement that will allow data from MGPaleo’s AUSTRALIS™ geological database to be made available within the GPinfo data visualisation and manipulation package. In a media release, MGPalaeo announced that from August 2018, GPinfo subscribers will be able to view a high-level summary of all available geological data (biostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphic picks, plus wireline logs, checkshot surveys, deviation data, and more) within MGPalaeo’s AUSTRALIS database.

Ironbark takes its Cue for a delayed crescendo
Cue Energy has been granted a 12-month extension and suspension on exploration permit WA-359-P, host to the Ironbark gas prospect offshore Western Australia, entailing work commitment deferrals. The Melbourne headquartered oil and gas company said the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator had notified it of the extension, which was to allow Cue to time for detailed well planning using newly available data and preparing for drilling the Ironbark-1 well, which is targeted for 2019.

Wood wins new contract for Scarborough gas field development
Wood has been awarded a new contract by Woodside to support the execution of concept definition for the proposed Scarborough upstream development, offshore Western Australia. Wood said secured under a long-standing master services agreement, this latest contract extends the company’s 35-year relationship with Woodside across their asset portfolio. Concept definition level engineering associated with the floating production unit, subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines, flow assurance and overall system integration of the upstream development, will be delivered by Wood’s specialist field development studies team in Houston, US and Perth, Australia.

Challenges keep China’s shale gas in early stage development
China’s upstream industry is turning to natural gas as a way to reduce air pollution created by the consumption of coal. However, despite the progress made in the shale gas industry since 2011, China has been facing challenges to develop efficient shale gas extraction, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. With 27 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven shale gas reserves China has emerged as the world’s largest shale gas producer outside the U.S. and Canada.

Bight offers huge benefits for State and nation
Potential Bight benefits great for State and nation Successful oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight could see the creation of more than 2,000 jobs in South Australia and generate over $7 billion in average annual tax revenue to Federal and State governments over the next four decades, a new study has found. The indirect benefits of the activity and the associated tax revenue could see almost 5,000 jobs created across Australia in the period between 2020 and 2060.

Employment recovery back on track for Geos – but no sign of a boom
The recovery in employment opportunities for Australia’s geoscientists resumed in the June quarter, with the unemployment rate falling to 8.5% from 11.1% in March. A small increase in the underemployment, or skills underutilisation rate was observed, with 12.9% in March coming in at 13.2% in the latest Australian Institute of Geoscientists survey. This survey series experienced continued, strong support from Australian geoscientists with just over 700 responses received from across Australia. The number of responses increased in every state. AIG spokesperson Andrew Waltho welcomed the survey results.

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The Ichthys train finally arrives at the station
One cannot be sure what as more audible. The whoosh of hydrocarbons or the sighs of relief in Japan as Inpex’s belated Ichthys LNG project finally delivered first gas to begin an expected 40-years of production. While Tokyo boasts the most punctual trains in the world - marginally superior to the Swiss – at the Ichthys field offshore Western Australia it was a case of better late than never yesterday as Inpex proudly announced the milestone moment from its flagship project.
