Beach Energy is in preparations to drill a second well at the Haselgrove-4 site near Penola in South Australia, called ‘Haselgrove-4DW1’, to further optimise the initial natural gas discovery made at the site in late 2019. Haselgrove-4DW1 will be a deviation well, meaning it will use the existing well hole for approximately 2300m, before deviating to target a different section of the Sawpit Sandstone. Drilling at the site will commence in February and is expected to take about 4-6 weeks. Beach is also close to commissioning first gas from the Katnook Gas Processing Facility, which has undergone a $2... more

Shell has been directed to complete remediation works and to not conduct intrusive activities into plant and equipment at its Prelude FLNG facility offshore northern Western Australia, where a potential loss of hydrocarbons could result in risk to the health and safety of persons at or near the facility. In November 2018, NOPSEMA conducted an inspection with a focus on safe isolation of plant and equipment. The written aspects of the safety management system (SMS) were broadly consistent with good industry practice; however the report made 10 recommendations to improve minor gaps. Since September 2019, the... more

A landmark project which will enable 20 Santos oil wells in South Australia and Queensland to be powered by solar energy rather than crude oil has been completed. AGL’s Business Energy Solutions (BES) team has installed 1.2 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and more than 2 megawatt hours (MWh) of batteries over remote sites in the Cooper Basin. Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said from an initial pilot well, the conversion project has been progressing above expectations. “We created Australia’s first oil well running on solar and battery, off grid,” Mr Gallagher... more

Construction has commenced on Shell’s first industrial-scale solar electricity farm near Wandoan in central Queensland. The 120-megawatt solar farm will connect to the National Electricity Market grid with the capacity to generate enough clean energy to power 50,000 homes. Energy Minister Dr Lynham said the solar farm will generate clean energy for QGC’s natural gas processing plants, showing how gas as a transition fuel and clean energy assets can coexist. “With Shell sanctioning this 400,000-panel solar farm it will become part of Queensland’s clean energy revolution, which is providing the wo... more

ExxonMobil has increased its estimated recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than 8 billion oil-equivalent barrels and made a further oil discovery northeast of the producing Liza field at the Uaru exploration well, the 16th discovery on the Stabroek Block. The new recoverable resource estimate includes 15 discoveries offshore Guyana through year-end 2019. The Uaru discovery is the first of 2020 and will be added to the resource estimate at a later date. “With recent high-quality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefit... more

Total, through its wholly owned affiliate Total Solar International, will establish its presence on the Spanish solar market through two agreements by developing nearly 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects.  Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Renewables at Total said Spain benefits from a solar resource that is unparalleled in Europe. “Its photovoltaic market is one of the most dynamic in Europe, with an expected capacity increase from 6 GW to nearly 40 GW by 2030*.” Total Solar International and Powertis, a developer of utility-scale solar plants in Europe and South America, have agreed to establi... more

The Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has called-off negotiations on the development of the ExxonMobil-operated P’nyang natural gas field in PNG’s Western Highlands. The P’nyang field has a certified gross 2C contingent resource of approximately 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and if the development was to go ahead it could double LNG exports from PNG. Initially, the ExxonMobil-led joint venture involving Santos and Oil Search was proposing to add three new trains to Exxon’s existing two-train PNG Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) development – one operated and fed by ExxonMobil’s gas... more

Equinor and its partners in the Statfjord area have approved plans to extend production from the field towards 2040. On 9 January 2020, Equinor announced that a new business plan will ensure even higher use of resources, extract more value from the field, and allow plans for decommissioning of the Statfjord A platform in 2022 to be deferred. Equinor notes that, based on extensive mapping of the underground, the remaining potential of the Statfjord area is still considerable. As a result, Equinor and its partners have resolved a new business plan for the Statfjord main field and satellite fields. Vår En... more