EMPIRE Energy hosted energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor at its Carpentaria-1 well Friday, as well as Senator Sam McMahon and the Northern Territory leader of the opposition Lia Finocchiaro and the Darwin representative of Australia’s peak oil and gas lobby body. 

The well is in Empire's EP187 in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Sub-basin, which is first cab off the rank for the government's $28.3 million Strategic Basin Plans, to develop five of Australia's gas basins, announced as part of the federal budget.  

A second trip tomorrow will involve members of the sitting Territory government which was returned to power last month.  

"We've met with him (Taylor) before earlier this year but this is the first well (drilled) in the basin since the gas-fired recovery was announced and on the back of that we invited him to join us on site," managing director Alex Underwood told Energy News. 

It's an unusual trip in some ways given the Empire is nowhere near the size of other Beetaloo players Origin Energy, which shares the Kyalla-189 well with Irish Falcon Oil & Gas, or Santos  but perfect timing given the well results of last week.  

Last Monday Empire announced the well, being drilled with Schlumberger Land Rig 183, had intersected an "extensive" interval of liquids rich gas in the Velkerri Shale based on mud gas liquids readings and the proportion of liquids "dramatically" exceeds analogue wells previously drilled in the area and also exceeds its own pre-drill estimates.  

The well will be cased and then after data is analysed a forward drilling program for next year's dry season will be developed.  

"It's very encouraging for the company that we now have strong support at the Territory and federal level for development of this basin, the government here has shown leadership with respect to development and Darwin is already a major LNG hub," Underwood said.  

"The government here recognises that that gas development will bring broader economic benefits and that gas will be part of the energy mix as renewables have a larger share of power generation to stablise the grid. 

"I just think it was important for a senior member of the federal government to see the results of this basin."  

"The Beetaloo Basin is a world-class resource that has the potential to drive significant development in the Top End to create local jobs and help Australia remain a world leader in gas," a statement from Taylor's office  said. 

"The government's Strategic Basin Plans will accelerate this development, driving investment and job creation in our regional and Indigenous communities as we recover from COVID-19." 

The same day anti-fraccing group Lock the Gate posted protest photos on its Twitter account but Underwood said there had been no protests at the site and was caught off guard when first asked about protests by Energy News Friday. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here

The last few months have created a new focus across Australia Supply Chains, especially the reliance on imported goods and extended supply chains. For many products the case for ‘making it here’ is being re-assessed. This is a trend that has been underway for at least five years in North America and Europe, but COVID 19 is finally prompting a re-evaluation of Australia’s over-reliance on international supply chains.

This interactive webinar will discuss and review the following:

What are the considerations about where to source?

• What are the hidden costs (total) of extended Supply Chains?
• What has changed that necessitates a re-evaluation of past sourcing decisions
• What are the six steps required to successfully bring production home?

• Learning Outcomes:

  Guidelines to help decide which inputs to source locally and which to import.

• The six steps that businesses need to take to successfully re-establish local production
• How local suppliers can position themselves to benefit from the move to local sourcing. 

Attendee numbers will be limited to 30 as this will be a fully interactive workshop.

REGISTER NOW

Presenter: Tim McLean

Tim has 32 years’ experience in the manufacturing industry in management and consulting roles. Tim is the author of two books focused on the manufacturing and supply chain challenges faced by SMEs. As the MD of TXM Lean Solutions Tim has worked in around 20 countries and 1000 factories over the past 15 years, providing him with unique insight into the current state of manufacturing and how technology and Lean is shaping businesses across a range of industries.

 

TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER WEBINAR 12:30PM-2:30PM AEST

PRESENTER Tim McLean TXM

 

AUSTRALIAN LNG giant Origin Energy and its venture partner Falcon Oil & Gas have completed 11 stages of fraccing at the highly anticipated Kyalla-117 well in the Beetaloo Basin of the Northern Territory.

Late Friday, Falcon Oil & Gas, which holds a 22.5% stake in the Beetaloo project, told shareholders operator Origin Energy (77.5%) had completed an 11-stage fraccing program across the high-profile, high-cost, Kyalla-117 well. 

The fraccing program aimed to stimulate 11 sections across a 1579-metre horizontal section of the well targeting the Lower Kyalla Formation. 

With the fraccing activities now complete, the venture is preparing for flowback and an extended production test. According to Falcon, early stage gas flow rates are expected in the coming weeks. 

"We look forward to the next phase of operations with the production testing of the Kyalla-117 well and will update the market as results become available," Falcon chief Philip O'Quigley said in a short statement. 

Initial results from the flow test are expected in the coming weeks, and full results from the production test should be available within the first quarter of next year. 

Kyalla-117 was drilled to a total depth of 3809 metres with a 1579 lateral section in February this year. Total costs of drilling and completing the well are expected to be in the range of $50 million. 

During drilling, elevated gas shows with relatively high liquids were observed across all three of the target reservoirs. 

Origin is paying the full amount of the current operations, up to A$25 million, as part of its farm-in agreement with Falcon. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here

THE MORRISON government is seeking to “turbo charge” investment in resources by broadening the scope of projects eligible for funding under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

The government NAIF fund has already provided $2.4 billion in financing for major projects across the Top End. Projects include Kalium Lakes' gas plant and lateral gas pipeline, and $37 million for Merricks Capital's Hudson Creek P12 MW gas power Station in Darwin. 

It has also helped finance Genex Energy's pumped hydro project in northern Queensland and some solar and wind renewables projects. Its largest single finance in the energy sector is worth $500 million.

Source: Energy News Bulletin

FRANCE’s Total will become Total Energies as part of its outline to change its business model and lower emissions in the next decade and predicts gas will feature heavily in its portfolio. 

The company plans to be selling 50 million tonnes of LNG per year by 2025, with cash flow from its LNG business to rise by 40% to US$4 billion per year by then, assuming a $50 per barrel oil price. It plans to decarbonise gas with biogas and hydrogen, while reducing fugitive emissions.  

It already has two hydrogen projects in Europe under development, trialling both methane-sourced hydrogen and renewable-sourced hydrogen  

INPEX has sent its 200th LNG cargo from its Ichthys LNG project 11 months after sending cargo 100 from its Darwin facility on Bladin Point. Inpex made the announcement via LinkedIn yesterday. 

It said the cargo is bound for Chiba, Japan.  

"The Energy Advance vessel loaded with 145,000 cubic metres of chilled LNG and is on its way,"  it said.  

Inpex has delivered 345 cargoes, with the remainder made up of LPG and condensate cargoes.  

EMPIRE Energy confirmed this morning it will spud its Carpentaria-1 well in the Beetaloo Sub-basin with the Schlumberger Land Rig 183 rig now onsite at EP187. 

 Speaking to Energy News, drilling managing director Alex Underwod said "I'm proud we're an Aussie company playing a key role in the development of the basin".  

It plans to drill the well to 2900 metres then log, case and suspend it. The team will evaluate unconventional targets the Velkerri and Kyalla shales, which have been independently certified by unconventional specialists Netherland, Sewell and Associates with a best estimate prospective resources of 2.4 trillion cubic feet of gas.  

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here

WOODSIDE Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman declared yesterday that the market needed to start preparing for the future hydrogen economy, noting the cost competitiveness of green hydrogen was likely to be reached within the next decade.

Speaking about the future of energy at Business News's leadership breakfast at the Perth Convention Centre, Coleman noted despite the buzz around hydrogen, there was still no market for it yet, and even when it comes there will still be challenges in transporting it. 

However he said the company's trade partners, including Japan and Korea were rapidly creating the market for the gas, similarly to how the Japanese established the LNG market. 

He noted hydrogen produced using steam-methane reforming was well known and could be done at scale, while the potential for green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis, was great. 

"This is nirvana, it's making it from water," he said. 

"It's great but there's nothing at scale, everything is bespoke, every electrolyser is made for the application that it's put into, so there's no massive scale and so there's no cost reduction," he said. 

He referred to the EU's plans to build 6GW of green hydrogen electrolysers by 2024 which would help bring costs down, but said the true tipping point for electrolysers to be competitive would be when China starts to produce them at scale. 

"It's going to be ten years in the coming, and we need to start now," he said.

"The technology is there, we know what the cost curves are like, we know what we need to do in the market, and there's a solution there, but you've got to manage the energy input with the production, and then you've got to distribute the darn stuff" he said. 

Woodside has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Gas Corporation to study the feasibility of a green hydrogen export project, and is also on the Hydrogen Council's steering committee. 

The Korean government aims to build 100 hydrogen refuelling stations in the country over the next four years. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here

ORIGIN Energy and its smaller Irish joint venture partner Falcon Oil and Gas have begun fraccing the Kyalla-

On Monday afternoon Falcon Oil and Gas, which holds a 22.5% stake in the Beetaloo project, told shareholders operator Origin Energy (77.5%) had commenced fraccing activities at the high-profile, high cost Kyalla-117 well. 

The venture had been forced to abandon fraccing plans and completion of the Kyalla-117 appraisal well earlier this year after the pandemic led to movement restrictions and hard border closures. 

The appraisal well has been labelled a "well to watch" by analysts and industry. The success of the well is seen as a litmus test of the prospectivity of the new frontier region and the challenges other operators, including Santos and Empire Energy may encounter.

Consultancy EnergyQuest put the well on its watch list last year, meanwhile the NT government has heralded it as a "new era" of domestic gas exploration. The peak body for the oil and gas sector, the Australian Petroleum Production Exploration Association has previously said the well would play a "vital role" in the future of the Beetaloo Sub-basin.

Kyalla-117 was drilled to a total depth of 3809 metres with a 1579 lateral section in February this year. Total costs of drilling and completing the well are expected to be in the range of $50 million. 

During drilling elevated gas shows with relatively high liquids were observed in all three of the target reservoirs encountered. 

It aims to test the extent of the Velkerri liquids-rich gas play. 

After fraccing the next phase of operations will be to production test the well. 

"Initial results from this are expected by the end of the year, with full results in the first quarter of 2021," Origin said on Monday.

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here

DANISH drilling multinational Maersk Drilling has pledged to cut its carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030 as it looks to boost efficiency from its fleet of deepwater rigs.

Maersk is a major player in the Australian offshore oil and gas industry, alongside Noble Corp and Diamond Offshore, and is currently supplying semisubmersibles for Inpex's upcoming work for the Ichthys field. 

It is the first of its kind to announce such major cuts to emissions. In an announcement on Friday it pledged to halve its emissions from current levels. 

"Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our society today, and we want to do our part in addressing this," Maersk chief executive Jørn Madsen said. 

"Expert consensus is that renewable energy will not be able to replace all traditional energy production within the foreseeable future. Therefore, the answer must be to provide affordable energy, including oil and gas, while keeping CO2 emissions under control." 

Maersk's emissions reduction target is in line with most oil and gas companies' 2030 targets and supports the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.

To date the company has managed to upgrade two of its largest jackups to become low-emission rigs with battery storage and energy emission efficient software as well as an emissions capturing system which uses ammonia to convert gas into water and nitrogen. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

Read more here