HOME ABOUT US ADVERTISE PREMIUM SUBSCRIBE SITE MAP HELP CONTACT WORK FOR US  
Wednesday
10 March 2010
Make PNN my HomePage 
 







LAST WEEK'S STORIES

 Monday, 8 March 2010

AWE begins NZ campaign


THE semi-submersible rig Kan Tan IV has started its extensive offshore New Zealand exploration campaign planned for this autumn and winter, spudding the Hoki-1 wildcat well on Friday night.
Full Story...



Shell, PetroChina bid for Arrow


SHELL and PetroChina have, as widely anticipated, made a joint takeover offer for Australia’s Arrow Energy in a deal worth around $3.3 billion.
Full Story...



WA govt awards 10 hot rocks permits


GREENPOWER Energy, New World Energy and Geothermal Energy have snapped up new exploration permits to develop geothermal energy projects in Western Australia.
Full Story...



Lessening the impact of skills shortages


THE future impact of skills shortages can be reduced now if employers invest in recruiting and training entry-level candidates, recruiter Hays Resources & Mining says.
Full Story...



AJ Lucas settles sale of stake in CSG permit


AJ LUCAS plans to reduce debt and restructure its banking facilities after settling the $98.5 million sale of its 15% interest in ATP 651, in the Surat Basin, to Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
Full Story...



STOS confirms workover planned for Maui A platform


SHELL, Todd and Austrian firm OMV have finally confirmed industry rumours that they are repeating the successful $US60 million ($A66 million) Maui B workover program at the more northern Maui A platform off Taranaki, New Zealand.
Full Story...



Adelaide spuds Hollick-1


ADELAIDE Energy has started drilling the Hollick-1 well in PEL 255 of the Otway Basin which could potentially be three times the size of the Jacaranda Ridge-2 discovery.
Full Story...



Slugcatcher on the link between alternative energy projects and government


IT’S not often you get a high and low on the same day. We did last week in the curious world of geothermal energy which might seem to have little to do with petroleum but, as Slugcatcher will demonstrate, has everything to do with oil – and wasteful government.
Full Story...



BJ Services, Medibank snap up Gorgon work


CHEVRON has awarded more contracts for its Gorgon LNG project, inking an $US80 million pipeline precommissioning deal with BJ Services Company and a $20 million medical services contract with Medibank Health Solutions.
Full Story...



NZ exploration activity picking up


THE arrival of American major Anadarko on the New Zealand exploration scene signals significant optimism for the petroleum potential of the country’s frontier basins, investment banker and broker McDouall Stuart Securities believes.
Full Story...



Fugro to shoot NWS seismic


AUSTRALIAN firm OMV has signed up Fugro GeoTeam to acquire around 4000 square kilometres of 3D seismic in WA-362-P and WA-363-P on the North West Shelf to firm up prospects for drilling next year.
Full Story...



Woodside focuses on women


WOODSIDE Petroleum's approach to flexible work and support initiatives for its female employees has earned it the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia’s inaugural Women in Resources award.
Full Story...



Oil, gas players underperform in S&P index


AED Oil and Blue Energy have found themselves bumped from the S&P-ASX 300 in the latest quarterly rebalance to make way for more consumer discretionary and materials stocks.
Full Story...



Asbestos scare at Pluto


WOODSIDE Petroleum has begun probing claims by the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union that workers at Woodside’s Pluto LNG project have been exposed to asbestos.
Full Story...


 Friday, 5 March 2010

Shareholder Movements for the week ending March 5
Exclusively for Premium Subscribers


VOELTE out of, Cilento into Woodside Petroleum; NAB out of Arrow Energy; Tchacos, Audax; Bizzell into Bow Energy; Segal into Caltex Australia; Carson into Caspian Oil & Gas; UBS Nominees out of Dyesol; Beach Energy into Essential Petroleum; Kirk into GB Energy; Stickland into Tap Oil;
Full Story...



Oil hovers around $US80
Exclusively for Premium Subscribers


OIL prices rose just above $US80 a barrel late this week but the strengthening US dollar and weak economic data constrained further gains.
Full Story...



MARKETWRAP: UCG players in the spotlight
Exclusively for Premium Subscribers


UNDERGROUND coal gasification players Carbon Energy and Linc Energy have had very different experiences on the market this week.
Full Story...



Oil production in a slump, gas production growing: EnergyQuest


AUSTRALIAN oil production in 2009 dropped to its lowest level in 40 years while natural gas production continued to grow, setting a new record, according to energy economics group EnergyQuest.
Full Story...



Reinga most prospective in NZ: report


NEW Zealand Crown Research Institute GNS Science believes the offshore Reinga Basin, northwest of the North Island, is one of the most prospective frontier basins in the country.
Full Story...



Personnel Movements for the week ending March 5
Exclusively for Premium Subscribers


SHI Zhen Chun, Dr Dave Matthew, Arrow Energy; Mark Aliprantis, Reflect Geophysical; Richard Werren, AECOM; Ian Tchacos, Gary Roper, Audax Resources; Ian Davis, BP; Edgare Kerkwijk, Jatoil; Dr Malcolm Jacques, Wasabi Energy
Full Story...



Todd claims absurd: Shell


ROYAL Dutch Shell believes Todd Energy's $NZ274 million ($A209 million) damages claim against it and fellow Pohokura partner Austrian firm OMV is "commercially, practically and linguistically absurd".
Full Story...



Empire to spin Carnarvon drill bit


EMPIRE Oil and Gas is gearing up to start a back-to-back drilling exploration program on the EP 439 and EP 459 permits in Western Australia’s Canning Basin.
Full Story...



More funds for explorers


THE Western Australia government has released a second round of exploration funding with Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore encouraging explorers to apply for a share in the more than $5 million on offer.
Full Story...



Hallin, Offshore Unlimited to capitalise on marine growth


BRITISH company Hallin Marine and Tasmania’s Offshore Unlimited are set to capitalise on growing demand for offshore and subsea services with the construction of two innovative vessels.
Full Story...



Lydia-4 starts strong water flow


ICON Energy says its Lydia-4 pilot has started flowing sizeable volumes of water after initially flowing low volumes of water.
Full Story...



AED completes Indonesian acquisition


AED Oil has completed its acquisition of two holding interests in Indonesian oil and gas acreage from Nations Petroleum Company.
Full Story...



TSMarine vessels back in Australia


TWO of TSMarine’s DP2 multi-role support vessels have returned to Australian waters to carry out offshore projects.
Full Story...



Linc acquires US coal leases


LINC Energy has executed deals to acquire coal leases in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, and the Wiliston Basin in Montana and North Dakota from GasTech and Wold Oil Properties.
Full Story...


 Thursday, 4 March 2010

Month in Petroleum: February 2010
Exclusively for Premium Subscribers


THE first signs of collaboration in the coal seam gas-to-liquefied natural gas sector and the start-up of the Van Gogh oil field were two of the major events in February this year.
Full Story...



Lord Jones to address AOG dinner


ATTENDEES of the official AOG dinner on March 25 in Perth will hear from UK Trade and Investment business ambassador Lord Digby Jones on the shifting nature of global economies.
Full Story...



GE ups Gorgon order book to $1.2B


GE Oil & Gas has won a new contract to supply Chevron’s Gorgon project with power generation and subsea equipment, bringing the company’s order book for the project to over $US1.1 billion ($A1.2 billion).
Full Story...



Westside forms alliance with Mitsui


WESTSIDE Corporation has formed a joint venture with Mitsui E&P for the acquisition, flagged in December, of the Dawson Seamgas coal seam gas fields in the Bowen Basin.
Full Story...



Mitsui OSK provides shipping for PNG LNG, Gorgon


MITSUI OSK Lines has inked deals with ExxonMobil for the construction and charter of liquefied natural gas vessels for the PNG LNG and Gorgon LNG projects.
Full Story...



Drillsearch cranks up Cooper CSG resource


DRILLSEARCH Energy’s confidence in its Western Cooper Basin unconventional gas project has received a boost after the second phase of an independent technical review increased the prospective resource potential by more than 360%.
Full Story...



WA lobbying for share in petroleum royalties


SENIOR members of the Western Australian Liberal Party are reportedly lobbying Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to redirect up to a quarter of Commonwealth royalties from the state’s oil and gas projects back to WA.
Full Story...



Gas swaps a possibility in WA


COMPANIES developing onshore unconventional gas projects may be able to discharge their obligations under the Western Australia government’s proposed gas reservation allocation.
Full Story...



Pancontinental ups stake in Carnarvon permits


PANCONTINENTAL Oil & Gas has increased its interest in two prospective onshore and offshore permits in the Carnarvon Basin following the withdrawal of Carnarvon Petroleum.
Full Story...



Buru taking another look at Stokes Bay-1


BURU Energy has started an engineering study to help design a new test to determine if hydrocarbons are present in the Stokes Bay-1 well in Western Australia’s Canning Basin.
Full Story...



EnerMech to train offshore crane operators


UK-based mechanical services company EnerMech has been given the thumbs up by Australia’s National Training Information Service to deliver training in offshore crane operations.
Full Story...


 Wednesday, 3 March 2010

PNG LNG firms up final customer


EXXONMOBIL’S PNG LNG liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea is now on the last lap of its race towards financial close with the signing of the final sales and purchase agreement with Taiwan’s CPC Corporation.
Full Story...



Miclyn launches big IPO


SINGAPORE-based Miclyn Express Offshore is looking to raise $298-365 million from its initial public offering to acquire MEO Finance and repay debt.
Full Story...



VicPet making best of shut-in


WHILE heavy rains continue to keep Victoria Petroleum from bringing its Growler, Snatcher and Mirage oil fields in the Cooper Basin back onstream, the company has found a silver lining.
Full Story...



Avivi fails to find oil


GLOBAL Petroleum has said the Avivi-1 well in the EA5 licence, onshore Uganda, has been plugged and abandoned after failing to encounter oil.
Full Story...



Austin readies Armstrong exploration well


AUSTIN Exploration is set to drill the Ellislie Plantation-1 exploration well this week, the first of three wells at its Armstrong oil project, Mississippi.
Full Story...



Bass Strait flags late March start for Otway seismic


BASS Strait Oil expects to start the data recording phase of its Windermere 3D seismic survey in the onshore Otway Basin permit PEP 167 later this month.
Full Story...



CBM well exceeds expectations: Central


CENTRAL Petroleum’s third well in its five-well coal seam gas drilling program in the Pedirka Basin, central Australia, has encountered coals that were 325% thicker than expected.
Full Story...



Maari gets M2A boost


THE Maari partners have started producing from a second hydrocarbon-bearing formation, the Miocene-aged M2A sandstones, at the Maari oil field platform off Taranaki, New Zealand, according to minority partner Cue Energy Resources.
Full Story...



Tap receives green light for Rangkas farm-in


TAP Oil’s farm-in to the high-quality Rangkas Block, onshore West Java, has been approved by the Indonesian government.
Full Story...



Bloodwood Creek UCG power station delayed


COMMISSIONING of Carbon Energy’s 5MW Bloodwood Creek underground coal gasification power station has been delayed due to remediation work needing to be carried out on the injection well at the first UCG panel.
Full Story...



Petratherm teams up with Enel in Spain


PETRATHERM has signed a memorandum of understanding with European renewable energy company Enel Green Power to jointly assess and develop its producing geothermal projects in Spain.
Full Story...


 Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Linc acquires Alaskan leases


UNDERGROUND coal gasification proponent Linc Energy has entered into an agreement with GeoPetro Alaska to acquire onshore oil and gas leases in the resource-abundant Cook Inlet Basin for an initial $US1 million ($A1.1 million).
Full Story...



Sundance, Pryme get pumps going


SUNDANCE Energy and Pryme Oil and Gas have started production from their respective projects in the United States.
Full Story...



Blackwater power station on track


BOW Energy has said its 30-megawatt Blackwater power station which will use gas from the Blackwater coal seam gas field remains on budget and on time for commissioning in the first quarter of 2011.
Full Story...



Australian gas potential clear: report


GEOSCIENCE Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics have compiled for the first time a comprehensive report on Australia’s identified and potential energy resources.
Full Story...



APPEA points to resources industry needs


PLANNING for uncertainty and placing more emphasis on maths, science and engineering, as well as flexibility, would be the best way for Australia to meet the skill and labour needs of the resources industry.
Full Story...



International Petroleum raises $30M


INTERNATIONAL Petroleum, formerly International Goldfields, has successfully raised $A30 million from institutional investors in the United Kingdom through an initial public offering.
Full Story...



ESG continues work on Tintsfield pilot


EASTERN Star Gas has suspended its third vertical production well and is currently drilling the first lateral production well at the Tintsfield pilot program in PEL 238, New South Wales.
Full Story...



TAG making Cheal plans


FULL control of the onshore Taranaki Cheal oil field and the acquisition of fellow Canadian Trans-Orient Petroleum are already providing TAG Oil with profits and operational synergies as it embarks on exploration, appraisal and development programs.
Full Story...



Subsea conference to feature prominent speakers


CHEVRON and Clough are among the companies presenting at the Subsea Australasia Conference in Perth on March 24-25.
Full Story...




Click here to read today's news stories.

Click here to read our complete archive.