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SA ups the PACE to hit the gas

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Against the gloomy background of a looming gas famine and associated energy crisis in Australia, South Australia announced the recipients of the first round of PACE Gas Grants with five exploration and development projects to share in $24 million in State Government funding. Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the grants would generate up to $174 million in new investment by oil and gas companies in local production projects. In a statement Mr Koutsantonis said gas extracted through the...

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Geoscientist employment recovery stalls

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The improvement in employment prospects for Australia’s geoscientists evident during 2016 came to an end in the final quarter of 2016. This was revealed in a report released by an AIG Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey from data collected during February 2017 which elicited 485 responses with an estimated one in 10-15 geoscientists contributing to the survey. At 31st December 2016, the unemployment rate amongst Australian geoscientists was 14.4% and the under-employment rate was...

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Gas supply warning a result of flawed state policies

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The Australian Energy Market Operator’s warning of severe gas shortages in eastern Australia as early as next summer is the consequence of many years of policy failure by successive state governments in Victoria and New South Wales. APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts said the Gas Statement of Opportunities released last week was the latest in a long list of credible warnings that eastern Australia was racing towards a gas supply cliff. “For years now, politicians in Victoria and...

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Cairn clarifies timeline for SNE Oilfield development

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SNE Oilfield Operator Cairn Energy has announced a timetable for the development of the offshore oilfield that encompasses development concept selection this year and first oil between 2021 and 2023. Cairn, with a 40% working interest in three blocks offshore Senegal (Sangomar Deep, Sangomar Offshore, Rufisque Offshore) counts Australian independent Woodside (35%), Melbourne-based exploration junior Far Ltd (15%) and the Senegal National Oil Company, Petrosen (10%) as its JV partners. In...

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Exxon inks $2.8 billion Mozambique deal with Eni

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SUPERMAOR ExxonMobil has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Eni to acquire a 25% indirect interest in the natural gas rich Area 4 block, offshore Mozambique. In a joint statement the two companies said terms included a cash price of approximately US$2.8 billion and that the acquisition would be completed on a number of condition precedents being met, notably clearance from Mozambican and other regulatory authorities. Eni holds a 50% indirect share in the block via a 71.4% stake in...

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Po Valley exclaims ‘Mamma Mia’ at licence award

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Australian listed oil and gas exploration, development and production company, Po Valley Energy Ltd (ASX: PVE), which has energy assets in northern Italy, has been granted the large onshore Torre del Moro oil exploration licence, located southeast of Bologna, in the eastern Po Valley region of Italy. Po Valley said the licence covers an area of 111km2 and contains a large, attractive oil exploration target. The licence has a six year initial exploration period. Its main exploration play is...

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Spectrum concludes Santos Campos survey offshore Brazil

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Spectrum has completed of the 17,700 km2 Santos Campos Ph.2 2D seismic survey offshore Brazil. Spectrum said the new acquisition program was an outboard extension of Spectrum’s 2012 Santos Campos Phase 1 survey, and ties other programs in the Santos, Campos and Espirito Santo Basins producing a continuous dataset covering the prolific pre-salt oil fields in these basins. The survey has been acquired with a 12,000m cable to record data necessary to understand basin architecture as well as...

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APPEA calls for gas rollout to slash Aussie emissions

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Australia should seek to emulate the United States in slashing its emissions through increased use of natural gas for generating electricity. This was said by APPEA Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Roberts in his assertions that Australia was squandering an historic opportunity to significantly reduce emissions from the generation sector by switching to natural gas. “Energy-related emissions in the US in the first half of 2016 were at their lowest level since 1991, having fallen about 13 per...

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OPEC says oil production cuts can slice deeper

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The Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has reported that OPEC and non-OPEC countries are on the right track towards full conformity with their adjustments in production, but there is still room for improvement. This emerged after the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) held its inaugural meeting on February 22 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, where conformity with production level cuts featured high on the agenda. The cuts decided on by OPEC in November...

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PESA benefit that saves home buyers a small fortune

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Many people working in the oil and gas sector are unaware of a “hidden’’ benefit of PESA membership that can save them thousands of dollars, reports Christina Granger. Some major lenders offer a waiver of lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) to PESA members, which can equate to a benefit of many thousands of dollars. LMI must be paid by most people who borrow more than 80% of the value of a property, whether that is a owner-occupied home or an investment property. With median house...

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