LNG

June 15 (LNGJ) - TechnipFMC, the Houston-based subsea and energy technologies company, has been awarded a significant contract by Australian LNG plant operator Woodside Energy to engineer, procure, construct and install flexible pipes and umbilicals for the Julimar Phase 3 development offshore Western Australia. The Company will tie back four subsea gas wells in the Carnarvon Basin to the existing Julimar subsea infrastructure producing to the platform for Wheatstone LNG.

   “We have a strong history of solid project execution with Woodside as demonstrated by the successful delivery of the Pyxis, Lambert Deep, and Greater Western Flank Phase 3 projects,” said Jonathan Landes, President of Subsea at TechnipFMC. “We look forward to continuing this collaborative relationship with this award on Julimar Phase 3 as part of our framework agreement,” Landes added.

Nov 29 (LNGJ) - Santos, the Australian energy company with LNG interests in Australia and Papua New Guinea, has shut down the main natural gas trunkline from the John Brookes platform in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia to the Varanus Island gas processing facilities after a gas leak was discovered. Santos said a return to full production would take four to six weeks after repairs are carried out.

   “The observation of the leak occurred during routine activities on the normally un-staffed facility. The platform and pipeline were immediately shutdown and depressurised and all personnel demobilised,” said Adelaide-based Santos. The company was working with customers and other parties to manage gas supply arrangements while the leak is repaired.

Anglo-Australian global commodities and energy company BHP with long-standing stakes in Western Australian LNG, natural gas and mining and with LNG-powered shipping plans said it planned to hire 1,500 additional people to support its workforce operating across Australia.

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) said its final plan for Western Australia's Dampier-to-Bunbury natural gas pipeline for the 2021 to 2025 period was focused on providing excellent service and low costs.

Australia is gearing up for a new round of oil and gas exploration through 2020 that could lead to new liquefied natural gas projects in the years ahead or to the extension of the life-spans of existing ventures.

Offshore exploration and appraisal drilling is finally beginning to recover, with eight wells to be drilled in 2019, up from only five in 2018.

The Australian consultants EnergyQuest have compiled a report covering the nation’s current and forward oil and gas exploration schedules.

Results for two of the eight wells drilled in 2019 have been announced so far, with important successes at both the Corvus-2 and Dorado-2 wells.

Santos, operator of the Gladstone LNG plant and a stakeholder in two other regional liquefaction and export facilities, confirmed a significant natural gas discovery after a successful appraisal of the Corvus field in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia.

The discovery is in the Corvus 2 well in petroleum permit WA-45-R and in which Santos has a 100 percent interest.

Santos also confirmed major oil and gas resources from well tests in the Bedout Basin, offshore Western Australia, citing analysis of its Dorado-2 appraisal well.

The Dorado-2 well is located in petroleum permit WA-437-P, about 160 kilometres north of Port Hedland and two kilometres away from the Dorado-1 discovery made in July 2018.

The town of Port Hedland is 230km north of the major Western Australian LNG export terminal at Karratha, operated by Woodside Petroleum.

Other wells to be drilled in 2019 include the Achernar-1 by Woodside on behalf of the North West Shelf LNG joint venture. It was spudded in early May in WA-28-P but no result was announced.

“If Achernar-1 is successful, Woodside has approval to drill up to two further exploration wells and three appraisal wells,” said EnergyQuest.

Santos and Carnarvon Petroleum are drilling Roc South-1 and Dorado-3, the first follow-up exploration well to the Dorado discovery and the second Dorado appraisal well.

ExxonMobil is also drilling the Sculpin-1 ultra-deepwater exploration well in VIC/P70 in the established Gippsland Basin in southeast Australia.

“The regulator, approved the environment plan on 17 June, just four months after it was submitted. Diamond Offshore’s ‘Ocean Monarch’ rig, which drilled the unsuccessful Baldfish-1 and Hairtail-1 wells in VIC/P70 last year, will return,” said the EnergyQuest report.

The report said that potentially big offshore wells are also being lined up for drilling in 2020.

Offshore Drilling is planned at Eagle and Kanga (SapuraOMV/Finder), Beehive (Total, Santos, Melbana), Stromlo (Equinor) and Ironbark (BP, Cue Energy, Beach and New Zealand Oil and Gas).

SapuraOMV was formed in January when Austria’s OMV paid US$540 million for a 50 percent stake in the exploration and production assets of Malaysia’s Sapura Energy.

Both companies are making their entry to Australia via the Finder Exploration joint venture.

The Eagle prospect in the Carnarvon Basin is immediately offshore from Onslow and the Wheatstone LNG plant I and has potential 1.2 Tcf of recoverable gas.

“It lies close to existing infrastructure with BHP’s Macedon pipeline and Chevron’s Wheatstone pipeline both running through the block,” said the report.

EnergyQuest noted that the next big offshore well is likely to be Beehive in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwest Australia where French major Total and Santos are working towards the exercise of an option over an 80 percent stake held by Melbana Energy.

Equinor’s Stromlo-1 will be the most anticipated offshore well of 2020, assuming Equinor receives approval for its environment plan and is not delayed by the government’s decision to have the plan reviewed by Australia’s chief scientist.

“If all goes well, Equinor will be drilling Stromlo-1 late in 2020 in the Great Australian Bight off the southern coast at about the same time BP spuds an exploration well at Ironbark in the Carnarvon Basin,” said the report.

“Ironbark is a 15 Tcf prospect, located about 40 km north of the North West Shelf fields and one of the world’s largest gas prospects,” it added.

Australian energy company Santos, operator of the Gladstone LNG plant and a stakeholder in two other regional liquefaction and export facilities, confirmed a significant natural gas discovery after a successful appraisal of the Corvus field in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia.

The Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), one of the nation’s largest natural gas network and transmission companies, has successfully commissioned the Pluto Inlet Station, the new facility connecting the Pluto LNG plant in Western Australia to the Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

US LNG and energy engineering company McDermott International and Baker Hughes-GE have signed an accord with Western Gas Corp. in Western Australia for its Equus natural gas project to provide volumes for LNG production and the domestic market.

Australian pipeline company APA Group that controls connections to LNG plants in the states of Queensland and Western Australia and is building a pipeline to a new FLNG import project near Melbourne has received a A$13 billion (US$9.8 billion) takeover offer from a Chinese consortium

The head of Chevron Corp. in Australia has called for the sharing of LNG infrastructure among the major operators of four world-class liquefaction plants in Western Australia to improve energy economics and profitability.