CARNARVON Petroleum Limited has reported that a new 3D seismic survey has commenced over the Dorado and Roc discoveries and a number of nearby prospects off the north-west coast of WA. Known as the Keraudren 3D survey, the seismic data acquired will assist with the advancement of the Dorado oil and gas field development and to prepare for the potential drilling of a number of high graded exploration targets. The
THE Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) has welcomed the further steps taken by Queensland and South Australia to meet eastern Australia’s ongoing natural gas needs. The Queensland Government recently awarded more than 2700 square kilometres of exploration acreage to four companies and opened a new round of bids to explore 3700 square kilometres of land in central Queensland. In South Australia, over 20,000 square kilometres has been made
ACCORDING to research by Wood Mackenzie, Australia’s Beetaloo basin is the only new gas resource with sufficient scale to supply the east coast market in the long term. Australia’s east coast market has seen a rapid transition from conventional gas resources to unconventional gas supplies. As legacy gas sources mature and decline, the race is on to seek alternative supplies to meet east coast demand. Last year, unconventional coal seam
INTERNATIONAL energy company, Equinor, has released its draft Environment Plan (EP) for the proposed Stromlo-1 exploration drilling programme in permit EPP-39 in the Great Australian Bight for public comment. The development of the EP is a key step in the offshore exploration regulatory process. It details Equinor’s planned activity and all the measures to be put in place to avoid and mitigate impacts on the environment. The EP concludes drilling can be done safely. This is
SANTOS has reached an agreement to align the company’s interests, under its operatorship, across four exploration permits in the Bonaparte Basin offshore Northern Australia adjacent to a large existing contingent resource. Santos’ position in the Bonaparte Basin already includes an 11.5% interest in the Bayu- Undan gas-condensate field and the Darwin LNG plant, as well as a 25% interest in the Barossa field, which is currently in front end engineering
AFTER a difficult few years, the exploration sector is back in the black – and keen to stay there. New studies from international industry anlysts Wood Mackenzie shows that explorers’ success in 2018 reflects a disciplined approach that’s set to continue this year. “We are seeing a long-overdue recovery in the sector. Last year conventional exploration returns hit 13% – the highest calculated in more than a decade. As 2018’s
THE share price of ASX-listed Calima Energy Limited (ASX: CE1) jumped more than 11 per cent in early markets after the company reported promising early results from coring operations at its maiden well into the prolific Montney Formation in Canada. Calima reported that elevated gas readings were recorded during coring operations of its Calima Tommy A-54-C/94-G-09 well, with a large section of the targeted Montney Formation successfully cored. The well
CARNARVON Petroleum Limited reports that the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up drilling rig has been secured to drill an appraisal programme on the exciting Dorado oil discovery off the Western Australian coast. The company said the shallow water depths mean that the Dorado Joint Venture is able to utilise a cost-effective jack-up drilling rig for its Dorado appraisal wells. The JV is well versed in the capabilities of the Noble Tom
THE Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has conducted the first real-world seismic experiment to determine the effects of marine noise on fish and pearl oysters. The experiment, using the seismic vessel the BGP Explorer, surveyed two sites off the northwest of Western Australia over ten days. The experiment, which has taken the collaborative efforts of more than 100 people 12 months to design and co-ordinate, could help to clarify
LEADING Australian gas producers Santos and Shell have been appointed as preferred tenderer to explore new acreage in Queensland’s key gas-producing Surat and Bowen Basins in a 50-50 joint venture. Santos is the designated operator in this exploration acreage. The PLR201718-2-5 licence covers approximately 400 sq. Km, located 19 km east of the town of Surat, and was released by the Queensland Government exclusively to boost domestic gas supply on