On Friday 2 November, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released the Australian Government’s final response to the report of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Review (PRRT) provided by Michael Callaghan. Introduced in the mid-1980s, the PRRT is a profits-based resource tax generated from the sale of marketable petroleum commodities in Australia. In an announcement last week, Mr Frydenberg said that the nature of petroleum production has changed since the tax was first introduced, shifting from crude oil and condensate to a more significant role for liquefied natural gas (LNG). “In fact, over the past 30 years... more

Minister for Natural Resources, Dr Anthony Lynham has  announced that 6600 square kilometres of unexplored land in gas-rich Queensland is to be made available for exploration – with over 900 square kilometres of it to only supply the Australian market. On Friday 2 November, Dr Lynham invited companies to bid for the right to explore for gas south-west of Chinchilla in the Bowen and Surat basins. “A secure domestic gas supply is on everyone’s lips right now, and Queensland continues to do the heavy lifting, releasing more land for exploration and putting the right policy levers in place to encourag... more

UK: The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has issued its first Well Insight Report, following a period of two years collating and verifying well data and provides a comprehensive insight into United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) well stock and activity. The report’s key messages emphasise the requirement to substantially increase new well drilling, coupled with improved performance, to deliver the substantial UKCS reserves potential, improve well management to maximise production, and a need to improve well abandonment planning to reduce costs. In brief, the findings of the report include: Over 7800 w... more

Global research and consultancy group, Wood Mackenzie, has forecast that global oil and gas development spending needs to increase by around 20 per cent to meet future demand growth and ensure companies sustain production in the next decade. Malcolm Dickson, Director of Wood Mackenzie Upstream oil and gas commented that, “companies will need to start investing again to sustain their business. But decision-making will be fraught with uncertainties, the oil price and energy transition not least among them". Wood Mackenzie’s research outlines the recovery is much slower and shallower than in previous cyc... more

“Saudi Arabia has no intention of unleashing a 1973-style oil embargo on Western consumers and will isolate oil from politics,” said Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih on Monday in the heart of the crisis that has developed over the killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. “There is no intention,” he declared to Russia’s TASS news agency when asked whether there could be a repeat of the oil embargo. The 1973 crisis that Mr Falih is referring to began when members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo on nations perceived as supporting Israel ... more

US: WorleyParsons has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Jacobs Engineering Group Inc’s Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) division, a leading global technical services provider across hydrocarbons, chemicals and mining and minerals for US $3.3 billion, consisting of $2.6 billion in cash and $700 million in WorleyParsons shares.    Jacobs ECR is ranked number one globally for its delivery of complex petrochemical and chemical projects, its maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) for hydrocarbons projects, including onshore and offshore production facilities and integrated project deliv... more

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its third annual Global Gas Security Review to assess the evolution of liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets. According to the review, global natural gas markets are being reshaped by the development of major emerging LNG buyers led by China, and the rising production and exports from the United States. However, China’s supply shortfall over the last winter, which triggered ripple effects around the world, highlighted the pivotal role of LNG in enhancing global gas security and flexibility of supply. In Europe, the response to a string of cold spell epi... more