SEAAOC NEWS

Ground broken on Wheatstone

CHEVRON Australia and its partners have officially broken ground on their $A29 billion Wheatstone LNG project at Ashburton North, near Onslow on Western Australia’s Pilbara coast.

LNG year in review: Bulls 10, Bears 0

QUESTION: In which countries are greenfield LNG projects under construction? Answer: Australia, PNG and… in fact, nowhere else.

Ichthys, LNG projects and Dart - News Updates

AUSSIE banks tee up to snap up the debt funding spoils from Ichthys; meanwhile S&P issues yet another warning on possible credit downgrades for LNG projects; and Dart board scuttles institutional missile on executive pay.

LNG accounts for lion’s share of resource spending

AUSTRALIA’S LNG developments continue to make healthy contributions to the country’s economy, with recent approvals playing a major role in sending capital expenditure in advanced projects up to $A231.8 billion as of the end of October 2011.

Flex flags possible funding issues

FLEX LNG has foreshadowed it is unlikely to reach the final investment decision for the proposed floating LNG facility of the InterOil-led Gulf LNG project in Papua New Guinea by December 15.

Pluto holding steady

WOODSIDE Petroleum appears to be on track for loading the first LNG cargo at its Pluto LNG plant in March next year with its major commissioning efforts remaining on schedule so far.

Octanex wraps up first Bonaparte seismic

OCTANEX has completed its 959km Kingfisher 2D seismic survey in WA-421-P, the first of six surveys it is shooting over six of its permits in the Bonaparte Basin, off Western Australia.

Apache plugs commitment well

APACHE Energy has plugged and abandoned the Hannah-1 exploration well offshore Carnarvon Basin after it failed to encounter hydrocarbons.

Strike-led JV to profit from Shell exploration

AS predicted last week, Strike Energy has expanded its Australian focus to offshore Western Australia after grabbing an operating 33.33% stake in WA-460-P permit.

Inpex says Ichthys LNG FID could be delayed to mid-Jan 2012

Japan's Inpex said Friday its expected final investment decision on the Ichthys LNG project in northern Australia could "slip into mid-January 2012" from an earlier target of end of this year.

Santos still spruiking Darwin LNG expansion

SANTOS remains keen on using the Barossa–Caldita gas fields in the Northern Territory to both backfill and expand the Darwin LNG plant.

Offshore investment of $380 million is on the way

OFFSHORE investment of $380 million is on the way after the release of nine offshore exploration blocks in the second round of the 2011 offshore exploration acreage release but $349.5 million of it will come from a Woodside and Shell joint venture.

Sunrise speculation simmers

SPECULATION is rife that Woodside will pull the Sunrise development from the fire with reports suggesting it agrees with the Timor-Leste government on piping gas to a plant in the country.

On the record: Keeping options open

IT IS pure speculation but a reading of the draft upstream environmental impact statement for the Browse LNG project appears to leave at least some room for Woodside Petroleum to wiggle in. Specifically, I’m talking about alternatives to locating the liquefaction facilities at the proposed James Price Point LNG hub in the Kimberley.

Inpex to sell 10% Ichthys stake

Japanese explorer Inpex plans to sell a 10% stake in its multi-billion dollar Ichthys liquefied natural gas project to eight long-term buyers.

NWS urged to maintain domgas supply

WESTERN Australia’s largest gas users have called on the North West Shelf gas partners to commit to maintaining current levels of domestic gas supply until at least 2025.

Public gets to ‘Browse’ Woodside's plans

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has released the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the upstream component for its proposed Browse liquefied natural gas development in Western Australia.

Inpex: Ichthys on Track

INPEX today said all approvals, including Production Licences, for the Ichthys LNG Project, which is 76% owned by INPEX and 24% owned by Total, are on track for the Project to make a Final Investment Decision (FID) targeted by the end of the year 2011.

Shell taking its time with Woodside

WITH the restrictions on selling its remaining 24% stake in Woodside Petroleum lifted, just what will Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell do now? Opinions range from selling the stakes back to Woodside in exchange for equity in some of its LNG projects to an outright sale to a possible predator, with BHP Billiton once again mooted as one of the sharks in the water.

PNG govt makes FLNG splash

THE clouds of mystery over recent Papua New Guinea government criticism of the InterOil-led Gulf LNG project continue to clear as state-owned project partner Petromin teams up with Norwegian floating LNG specialist Hoegh to create the PNG Floating LNG joint venture.