European gas prices slump as risk of Australian strike recedes
With inventories nearly full well before the start of the heating season and industrial demand subdued, the continent for now remains well supplied.
Australasia
Oil and Gas Australasia
Inpex, Total secure more gas for Ichthys exports
"This acquisition is also supported by the efforts undertaken with Inpex in the Bonaparte CCS Assessment joint venture to appraise the area’s potential for geological storage of CO2, in order to abate CO2 emissions from the Ichthys LNG project.”
Australian union flags safety concerns at Woodside platform
The OA said Woodside should be held to account for “running their facilities and their workforce into the ground. Clean your act up Woodside as the health and safety of our members and your 'Licence to Operate' depends on it.”
Wood wins Woodside extension, FEED work
Woodside also awarded Wood front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the Goodwyn Alpha Low-Low Pressure project, off Western Australia.
Contractor woes at Waitsia drive Beach changes
Beach Energy has appointed a new CEO, Brett Woods, as it faces the fallout from challenges at its Waitsia project.
Australia’s Santos reports $2.5bn profit surge from higher oil and gas prices
Santos (ASX:STO) today announced its full-year results for 2022, reporting record free cash flow of US$3.6 billion and underlying profit jumping 160% to US$2.5 billion. The results reflect significantly higher oil and LNG prices compared to 2021, due to stronger global energy demand, combined with a higher interest in PNG LNG following its merger with Oil Search.
All Australasia Posts
Rampart energy secures 80% working interest in Australian exploration block
Rampart energy has secured rights to an 80% interest in an oil exploration block offshore Western Australia- its second asset in the country.
KDM Marine International appoint new regional manager for eastern hemisphere
KDM Marine International have appointed a regional manager for their work in the eastern hemisphere. The company, which is part of the James Fisher Group, has appointed Faisel Chaudry as their new regional manager for the eastern hemisphere. Faisel, who has more than eight years' experience in the oil and gas and offshore renewables industries, is tasked with growing the market-leading company's presence in regions like the Middle East, India, North Africa and Asia Pacific.
Empire Oil and Gas secure drilling contract for up to give Perth Basin wells.
Empire Oil and Gas have secured a drilling contract with Enerdrill that will allow it to drill for up ti five wells in the Perth Basin in Western Australia. Enerdrill, a highly experienced contractor with extensive experience in the Perth Basin, has recently drilled the successful Waitsia well for AWE limited.
Woodside shuts down LNG plant
Woodside Petroleum has been forced to shut down its $15billion Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant after a submersible drilling rig began to drift near to its flowlines. The Australian operator said the move was taken after the rig was torn from its moorings in a cyclone. The rig had been drilling at Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG project nearby.
China and India build oil stockpiles to offset risk of disruption in supplies
China and India are poised to fill up their strategic oil reserves this year, taking advantage of lower prices, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The two nations are building emergency stockpiles with millions of barrels of crude that mirror the reserves of oil and refined products that the US and its western allies amassed after the first oil crisis of 1973 to 1974.
Kea surrenders its Mercury licence
New Zealand-focused oil and gas company Kea Petroleum today announced the relinquishment of its Mercury licence, PEP 52333, offshore Taranaki, and an update on its ongoing strategic review. The Mercury permit was awarded to Kea on October 13, 2010. It covers an area 90 square miles, mainly offshore in the north Taranaki area.
China’s carbon emissions drop for the first time since 2001
China’s emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, offering fresh evidence that efforts to control pollution in the nation of 1.4billion people are gaining traction. Total carbon emissions in the world’s second-biggest economy dropped by 2% in 2014, compared with the previous year.
Solar powered plane touches down in India
The pilots of a solar-powered aircraft on an historic round-the-world journey say they want the people of India to support their campaign for clean energy to save the global environment. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg spoke to reporters in the western Indian city of Ahmadabad a day after Mr Piccard flew the single-seat plane there from Muscat, Oman.
Global Petroleum says it is well-placed to “profit from the new market realities”
Australian oil and gas, upstream exploration company Global Petroleum today reports a widening of first half pre-tax losses to £1.54million. The latest trading deficit comes after losses of just over £1million a year earlier.
China’s crude oil imports slump by nearly 9%
China’s commodity trade slowed in February as the lunar new year holiday crimped imports of oil, iron ore, copper and soybeans while exports of aluminum and steel fell. Oil and iron ore imports slowed to the weakest in three months, according to customs data released Sunday in Beijing.
Senex Energy announced oil discovery in south Australia
An Australian energy company has announced the discovery of oil in a well in the south of the country.
Construction on Australia’s Dingo pipeline completed
An Australian oil and gas company has completed the construction of its 28-mile Dingo pipeline. Central Petroleum Limited (CPL) made the announcement today as they begin a hydro-testing programme.
Wood Group Kenny secures FEED contract with Woodside
Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has secured a contract with Woodside to provide the front end engineering design (FEED) of the flowline system on its North West Shelf (NWS) project in Western Australia. The company will also provide associated procurement support on the proposed Greater Western Flank Phase 2 (GWF-2). The primary engineering focus of the GWF-2 flowline FEED is to develop the flowline system for the final investment decision planned for the second half of 2015.
Buru Energy spuds Sunbeam 1 exploration well
Buru Energy has spudded the Sunbeam 1 well in the Canning Basin of Western Australia. The well has a maximum depth of 1,200metres and is expected to take some 16 days to drill. It is located in the exploration permit of EP 129 and the completion of the well will satisfy the four year work commitment on that permit.
Chevron strikes LNG deal with SK Group
Chevron has struck a deal with South Korean conglomerate SK Group to buy 4.15million tonnes of LNG over five years. The oil major has been looking to secure long-term contracts for its Australian liquefied natural gas. The deal will see the SK Group purchase the gas over a five year period from its Gorgon LNG project.
Oil holds losses as China growth fails to spur demand confidence
Oil held losses below $50 a barrel as China’s economic growth failed to spur confidence demand will be enough to eliminate a global supply glut. Futures were little changed in London after falling 2.7% on January 19, the most in a week. China’s gross domestic product expanded by 7.4% in 2014, the slowest rate since 1990, official data show. In the US, where oil production has surged amid a shale boom, the government will let the market “decide what happens” with supply and demand, according to Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s energy envoy.
Kea Petroleum suspends production at New Zealand site
Kea Petroleum has shut in production at its Puka site in Taranaki. The company said it had been working hard to resolve problems with the Puka-1 well, while continuing to produce from Puka-2. A spokesman said the current problem cannot be resolved with the equipment currently available.
BG loads up first QCLNG cargo
BG Group has loaded up its first cargo from the QCLNG (Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas) project. The company said the first vessel being loaded is from the Methane Rita Andrea. A second cargo will be loaded onto the Methan Mickie Harper which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January.
Australia backs proposed gas link seen as ‘pipeline to nowhere’
Australia is keen to develop a potential $1.1 billion natural gas project that’s been described as a “pipeline to nowhere.” APA Group, the nation’s largest gas pipeline owner, has signaled its interest in building the project linking the Northern Territory with east-coast markets. The federal government sees it as a way to ease a looming shortage.
Santos cuts spending by 25% in 2015
Australian energy company Santos has cut its capital expenditure for 2015 by 25%. The company said there will be a drop in spending from $2.7billion to $2billion. However managing director, David Knox, has insisted the company’s financial position remains strong.
BG Group sells Australian pipeline for $5billion
BG Group has agreed to sell its Australian pipeline business for $5billion to the APA Group. The subsidiary, QCLNG Pipeline, owns a 543 kilometre underground pipeline network which links BG group’s natural gas field in southern Queensland to a two-train export facility. It was constructed between 2011 and 2014 and has a value of $1.6billion.
China buying REC Solar for $640million to avoid trade dispute
A Chinese company offered NOK4.34billion ($640million) to buy REC Solar ASA, one of the last makers of solar panels in Western hands, a move that may help circumvent trade disputes in the US and Europe. The deal by a unit of China National Chemical Corp. would follow a surge in demand for solar panels, absorbing much of the production that companies supported by the government in Beijing built in the past decade. Authorities in Brussels and Washington have imposed restrictions on Chinese solar panel imports after accusations from competitors that products were sold below cost. That has required Chinese companies that dominate the panel manufacturing industry to establish subsidiaries with factories abroad that are outside sanctions.
Western Australia: Buru Energy drills first well in Apache farm out deal
Buru Energy has started drilling operations on the first well at EP 390 in Western Australia following a farm out deal with Apache. Work on the Commodore 1 well began today and is the first to be drilled since the agreement was made in November last year. Buru said the cost of the well will be funded by Apache under the terms of the farm out which includes a commitment by Apache to fund a $25million exploration program on EP 390, 438, 471 and 473.
Sonardyne strengthens presence in Australasia
Sonardyne has appointed Scope Engineering as its agent as it looks to expand its investment in the offshore industry across Australia, New Zealand and surrounding territories. Scope Engineering delivers a range of marine engineering anf fabrication services as well as third party technology solutions for offshore monitoring and inspection surveys. It will collaborate with the company on commercial opportunities within subsea asset monitoring, exploration and reservoir surveillance, ocean science, vessel positioning and offshore drilling.
New discovery for CNOOC
China oil giant CNOOC has made a discovery in the Eastern South China Sea. The discovery well Lufeng 14-4-4 was drilled and completed at a depth and completed at a depth of 4,098 meters and encountered oil pay zones with a production level tested at 1,320 barrels per day.