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
PTTEP seeking to divest Cash-Maple gas asset in Australia this year
Thailand’s state-backed energy company PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) expects to sell its Cash-Maple gas and condensate field in Australia in 2023, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.
Mega Australia-Singapore solar cable project wins lifeline to carry on building
An ambitious plan to power Singapore using Australian solar won another lifeline on Wednesday after a court in Sydney agreed to a sales process put forward by the project’s administrators.
Australia’s Woodside pumps record oil and gas, eyes more FIDs in 2023
Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) produced record volumes of oil and gas in 2022, the Australian LNG exporter announced today as it released its fourth quarter financials. Woodside is also getting ready for numerous final investment decisions (FIDs) on various projects in 2023.
Santos Barossa LNG project hit again by indigenous culture worries
The development of the Santos-operated Barossa offshore gas development that will backfill the Darwin LNG export plant in Australia looks set to be further delayed after the offshore regulator suspended planned construction of an offshore pipeline due to indigenous heritage concerns.
ExxonMobil hires US contractor Helix for Australia decommissioning
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), operator of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture, has hired the Helix Q7000 semisubmersible vessel to support decommissioning activities in the Gippsland basin offshore Australia, as ExxonMobil ramps up decommissioning work.
Japan’s INPEX pursues giant CCS hub as part of clean energy future in Australia
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will form a key plank in INPEX’s (TYO:1605) efforts to progressively decarbonise its Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in Australia’s Northern Territory. It will also help Japan’s biggest energy company establish the foundations for the next generation of clean fuels.
Shell’s troubled Prelude LNG project restarts again in Australia
The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker to berth at Shell's (LON:SHEL) Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) project off Western Australia since it was shut down after a fire has started loading, Refinitiv data shows.
Inpex targets ramping up LNG output in tight market
Inpex, Japan's biggest oil and natural gas explorer, plans to accelerate its expansion of production and sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it expects the LNG market will remain tight in the mid-term.
Low-carbon investments to rise by $60bn in 2023 as hydrogen and CCUS spending surges
Spending on low-carbon projects will increase by $60 billion this year, 10% higher than 2022, led by wind developments, but helped by a significant rise in funding for hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure, Rystad Energy research shows.
The $21bn Sun Cable project to power Singapore enters administration
One of Australia’s most ambitious renewable energy projects has entered into voluntary administration after shareholders couldn’t come to a consensus on the future direction and funding of the plan to power Singapore using a 4,200-kilometer (2,600-mile) submarine cable.
$674m gas project stalls as Australia meddles in markets
The risk to future investment from the Australian Government’s radical intervention in the gas market has been demonstrated, with Senex Energy pausing a A$1 billion (US$674 million) domestic gas supply expansion, involving hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars of investment in regional communities, according to APPEA.
Air Liquide wins Woodside hydrogen deal
Woodside Energy has awarded a major contract to Air Liquide Engineering and Construction (Air Liquide) for the liquefaction equipment at its proposed H2OK hydrogen project in Ardmore, Oklahoma, US.
Methane cloud over Australia coincided with pipeline gas release
Last month, a satellite flew over the dry, arid landscape of South Australia state’s Cooper Basin and spotted a large cloud of the super potent greenhouse gas methane.
Hydrogen projects in Australia are struggling to lure investors
Australia has only one committed hydrogen project out of a vast pipeline of proposals worth A$266 billion ($178 billion), showing the challenge in becoming a major exporter of the zero-carbon but still unproven fuel.
Unprecedented price caps pit Australia’s leader against big gas
Hastily assembled legal teams. Accusations of Soviet-era policy. Counter jabs about “Putin profits.” Warnings of a threat to future investment.
Top gas exporter Australia caps prices despite industry protest
Australia passed a law to cap domestic prices of natural gas to limit the impact of soaring global costs on local power bills, ignoring protests from the nation’s powerful energy exporters.
BP invests $13.6m in Australia solar company
BP ventures has made a A$20 million (US$13.6 million) investment in 5B Holdings, an Australia-based renewable energy company, which BP said has technology to enable the rapid deployment of solar power at scale.
TotalEnergies’ Papua LNG to use electric liquefaction trains in net zero push
TotalEnergies (LON:TTE), operator of the Papua LNG project, plans to use electric liquefaction trains at its proposed LNG export development in Papua New Guinea (PNG), as part of an effort to slash emissions, which also includes CCS.
Japan urges Australia to act with caution on gas market policy
Japan has urged Australia to consider its trading partners after gas producers warned they would halt investment if long-term price caps proposed by the government were introduced.
Gas producers in Australia slam Labor’s near nationalisation of market
Australia’s Labor government is planning to seize control of domestic gas prices when it introduces extraordinary new legislation to parliament on Thursday in what has been likened to a near nationalisation of gas markets.
East Timor President finds no progress with Australia on gas project
East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta said that Australia has shown no signs moving forward with a long-stalled gas pipeline project that runs through the Southeast Asian country, leaving around $100 billion in potential revenue untapped.
Australia caps gas and coal prices to ease power bill pain
Australia will impose a cap on domestic energy prices and provide as much as A$1.5 billion ($1 billion) in energy bill relief to ease cost of living pressures caused by soaring global commodity prices.
Australian contractor Clough’s collapse leaves more than $8bn of projects in limbo
More than $8 billion worth of gas, power, rail and mining projects across Australia, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) face delays following the collapse of engineering company Clough on Monday.
East Timor’s NOC calls Woodside ‘corporate bully’ in latest Sunrise LNG spat
East Timor’s national oil company (NOC) TimorGAP has branded Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) a “corporate bully” after the Australian LNG developer refused to agree to a production-sharing contract (PSC) that would commit gas from Greater Sunrise to be processed onshore East Timor.
Further delays for Barossa LNG as Santos loses court appeal
Santos’ (ASX:STO) appeal to restart drilling at its Barossa gas development offshore Australia that is planned to backfill the Darwin LNG export terminal has been dismissed adding further uncertainty and delays for the project.