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Your Voice Matters – Check your junk mail so you don’t miss the PESA member survey

10/08/2026 Posted by Helen

What does PESA mean to you? And what could we do better?

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) is asking members to take a few minutes to complete our 2026 Member Survey.

Your feedback is important. It helps us understand what members value, where we are getting it right, and—most importantly—where we can improve. Whether it’s technical events, networking, professional development, industry engagement, publications or supporting the next generation of geoscientists, your views will help shape PESA’s priorities for the future.

It only takes a few minutes, but your input can make a real difference.

If you’re a PESA member, please take the survey today.

Santos announces successful sale and lifting of first Barossa condensate cargo

07/08/2026 Posted by Helen

Santos and PRISM Energy International Australia have jointly marketed, sold and loaded the first condensate cargo from the Barossa gas project, located approximately 285 km north of Darwin.

The cargo, comprising approximately 300,000 barrels of condensate, was loaded from the BW Opal FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) vessel at Barossa on 24 July 2026 aboard the Aframax tanker Boccadesse for delivery to SK Incheon Petrochem in South Korea. The condensate will feed SK Incheon Petrochem’s refinery in Incheon, producing predominantly naphtha and jet fuel.

NZ Awards First Exploration Acreage since ban reversal

05/08/2026 Posted by Rachel

New Zealand has awarded its first new offshore petroleum exploration permit since the 2018 ban reversal, granting Australian company EnZed Energy a 12-year permit in the Taranaki Basin to explore the Kaheru prospect, located east of the Kupe gas field.

“This permit marks a major milestone for New Zealand’s energy sector and shows that without doubt, we are open for business,” says Resources Minister Shane Jones.

Gold Hydrogen Announce Flow Test Success at Ramsay 1

05/08/2026 Posted by Rachel

Gold Hydrogen Limited (ASX: GHY) has successfully completed appraisal flow testing at the Ramsay 1 exploration well in South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. This is the first time in 3 years that Helium has been produced within Australia, and comes at a time of global shortages. Whilst at an early stage, Gold Hydrogen are targeting commercial scale production within 18 months.

The Ramsay Project on Yorke Peninsula is an exploration project covering 75,000km2 in PEL687. In 2023, Gold Hydrogen undertook exploration drilling, targeting two areas where historical oil exploration had reported occurrences of natural hydrogen.

Shearwater awarded carbon storage seismic survey contract in Australia

05/08/2026 Posted by Rachel

On 29 July, Shearwater Geoservices AS (“Shearwater”) announced they have been awarded a 3D seismic survey contract to support appraisal of the carbon storage potential in the Bonaparte Basin, Northern Australia.

The project is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2026 and will be executed by the SW Bly, with an expected duration of 50 days. The collected geophysical data will be used to high grade and define future injection well locations and serve as a baseline survey for possible future 4D seismic monitoring.

The survey is Shearwater’s second carbon capture and storage-related survey in the Bonaparte Basin following a similar campaign in 2024, reinforcing the company’s presence in the regional CCS market.

Redundancy, and how to make it an opportunity

04/08/2026 Posted by Janny

Redundancy is here to stay, and sooner or later it is likely that you find yourself in the situation where your position has become redundant.

It often comes as a shock, because, although often spoken about, nobody is ever really ready for the actual event, the one where YOU are the one being offered “a package”. Your mind is full; what do I do no? Is the package on offer fair? Do I need to seek legal advice. How am I going to pay my bills. And where will I go next?

It doesn't matter where you work, sooner or later you are likely to be on the receiving end of a redundancy round.

Vale Nigel Edwin Alexander Johnson (1936-2026)

14/07/2026 Posted by Helen

In May this year members of the industry gathered with many others to pay tribute to Nigel Johnson, a colleague whose knowledge of the stratigraphy of WA’s Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary basins was encyclopedic.

Nigel probably sat more wells and wrote or edited more well completion reports than anyone else in Western Australia and possibly Australia. For nearly five decades he earned the respect of his peers for his diligent and dedicated services which meant no stone, or in his case, no grain, was overlooked.

Nigel was quite famous and well-remembered for his rigorous and comprehensive sample descriptions.

PESA Queensland June Meeting

14/07/2026 Posted by Rachel

PESA Queensland were delighted to welcome Dr Matthias Raiber as the speaker to their June technical lunch meeting. Dr Raiber leads CSIRO’s Sustainable Groundwater Futures team in Brisbane and was presenting their work investigating structural controls on aquifer connectivity in the Narrabri region of the Great Artesian Basin.

The presentation highlighted the integrated workflow they undertook to improve understanding of connectivity between coal seam gas reservoirs and the overlying aquifers. Using a combination of airborne electromagnetics, seismic, igneous intrusion dating and hydro-chemical tracer datasets, they were able to identify potential connectivity pathways and test for evidence of hydraulic connection.

The audience of approximately 40 professionals enjoyed the presentation whilst enjoying a delicious lunch courtesy of the Stamford Plaza and it triggered some excellent discussion.

2026 PESA QLD Symposium – A Must-Attend Event for Energy Industry Professionals!

13/07/2026 Posted by Sarah.Harris

Location: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition CentreDate: Monday 7th SeptemberTheme: Energy - Where to from Here?

The PESA QLD Symposium is a full day event focused on bringing togethermembers of the petroleum and energy exploration and production industry here inQueensland. Local and Interstate specialist speakers are invited to present a seriesof papers which address the industry activity within the state from a technical,economic, and social perspective.

This year’s theme will explore the opportunities and challenges surrounding energysecurity and resilience in Australia, particularly within the context of energyexploration, development, and supply.

The organising committee anticipates up to 100 industry delegates in attendancewith approximately 12 presentations scheduled over the day in the four sponsoredsessions.