Australia’s national science agency has appointed Dr Cathy Foley to the position of CSIRO Chief Scientist – a unique role which will help champion science, its impact and contribution to the world. Dr Foley is a world-renowned physicist and science leader most noted for her work developing superconducting devices and systems which have assisted in unearthing over $6 billion in minerals worldwide. Dr Foley will start in the role at the end of September. She said her priority will be promoting science, STEM and women in science. “Australia’s future prosperity will be fuelled by science,” Dr Foley said.
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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.
TGS announces updates to Australian data library
TGS is pleased to announce that the purchase of the Capreolus 3D seismic survey from Polarcus has been completed. The Capreolus, full broadband 3D seismic survey is 22,130 km2 and covers two hydrocarbon provinces with proven, but underexplored, oil and gas plays both in the Beagle and Bedout sub-basins offshore north-west Australia. Capreolus 3D includes modern 3D coverage over the Phoenix South and Roc oil and gas discoveries. Additionally, Capreolus 3D also spans the Dorado-1 exploration well and Phoenix South-3 appraisal well, currently being drilled.
PESA WA Winter Warmer 2018
The PESA Winter Warmer, one of the WA branch's main mid-year social events, was held at Ku De Ta's “The Deck”, courtesy of Chemostrat, who have been sponsoring every winter warmer event since they opened their Perth office in 2013. This year's event also marked the culmination of a month long silent auction of a paddle board sponsored by TGS. The event was well attended by 46 professionals, which is consistent with last year’s numbers of 45 individuals.
Phoenix South-3 slow but steady to target
Quadrant has cemented the liner to around 5,205 meters and is drilling ahead to target depth at the Phoenix South-3 well off north Western Australia. Carnarvon Petroleum, which has a 20% interest in the Phoenix project with JV partner and operator Quadrant holding the 80% balance, announced that the GSF Development Driller-1 semi-submersible rig was drilling ahead to a depth of approximately 5,500m. The previously drilled Phoenix South-2 well was unable to fully evaluate the Caley Member due to high pressures encountered in that well.
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.