Latest News — Gas Today — The magazine for Australia’s natural gas industry

Mock ROV developed for offshore testing

Thu, 2 February 2012 Velocious Australia has added to its portfolio of subsea engineering and remote technology services through the development of a new mock remotely operated vehicle.

Inpex and Total announce Ichthys FID

Fri, 13 January 2012 Inpex Corporation and Total S.A. have today confirmed the final investment decision on the $A32 billion Ichthys LNG Project, with first production targeted at the end of 2016.

Orders in for world’s largest FLNG

Thu, 12 January 2012 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation has received orders for three compressor trains and a power generation system for Shell’s Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project, located approximately 200 km offshore the coast of Western Australia.

New year sees start of new offshore regulators

Mon, 9 January 2012 Two new offshore regulating bodies – the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator – have completed their first week of operation.

Company news: Falcon, Woodside, Adelaide, APLNG, John Holland, Santos

Wed, 23 November 2011 International company Falcon Oil and Gas are hot on the heels of Beach Energy’s shale success, having successfully produced gas at each shale interval during its testing program of the Shenandoah-1 well, located in the Beetaloo Basin, Northern Territory.

Offshore exploration permits awarded

Tue, 22 November 2011 Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson has awarded nine new offshore exploration permits, enabling petroleum exploration investment worth $A380 million.

Rough waters ahead for LNG shipping industry: Wood Mackenzie

With first LNG export for a number of major projects expected within the next five years, numerous orders have been made for LNG tankers. However, a report released by Wood Mackenzie warns against this sudden ordering boom.

Family ties: sister vessel makes fleet complete

Thu, 13 October 2011 Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has added a second Mark V roll-on/roll-off vessel to its fleet – the MV Parsifal. The MV Parsifal represents a new generation of vessel, and is a sister vessel to the MV Tonsberg, which was delivered to Wallenius in March this year.

SEAAOC Returns to the Top End

Wed, 31 August 2011 IIR conference's 17th Annual South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC), delivered in partnership between the Northern territoru Government and IIR Conferences, returns to darwin from 5-7 October 2011.

Paving the way for the national offshore petroleum regulator

The Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson has tabled a package of amendment Bills into the House of Representatives that will create a single, national regulatory body for the offshore petroleum industry.

SEAAOC returns to the Top End

IIR Conferences’ 17th Annual South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC), delivered in partnership between the Northern Territory Government and IIR Conferences, returns to Darwin from 5–7 October 2011.

Feeding global gas demand: LNG production in the Top End and beyond

A number of projects are currently in the planning and design phase for development of gas resources located offshore Northern Territory, in the Timor Sea and onshore Papua New Guinea. Gas Today provides an update on the progress of these projects and the different technologies being used to support them.

Six new features Mark the new generation RoRo vessel

Wallenius Willhelmsen Logistics has made waves by launching the Mark V, the newest and largest RoRo vessel in the world, measuring in at 265 m long and 32.26 m wide. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan delivered the first of this type of vessel in early 2011 and it has been docking in Australian ports since July 2011.

Contractor sells offshore assets

Tue, 9 August 2011 Clough has agreed to sell its offshore marine construction division to Malaysian-listed SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad for $A127 million.

PTTEP lodges FLNG proposal

Wed, 6 July 2011 PTTEP Australasia has lodged a proposal with Australian environmental regulator the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC) to develop a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility in the Timor Sea, 680 km west of Darwin.

Green light for Ichthys

Wed, 6 July 2011 Federal Environmental Minister Tony Burke has granted project approval for Japanese company Inpex to proceed with its multi-billion-dollar Ichthys Gas Field plans, to be built off Western Australia’s Kimberly coast.

Prelude contracts subsea services and turret mooring

Wed, 29 June 2011 FMC technologies has been awarded a contract to supply subsea production and associated topside systems to Shell’s Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility at the Prelude Gas Field off Australia’s north west coast.

Keeping Australia’s offshore gas facilities safe

Thu, 23 June 2011 The Federal Government’s inquiry into the security of Australia’s offshore oil and gas facilities is progressing well, according to Federal Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese.

Shell developing first floating LNG plant

Wed, 25 May 2011 Royal Dutch Shell has taken the Final Investment Decision on the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project in Australia, building the world’s first FLNG facility which will produce gas from offshore fields, and liquefy it onboard by cooling.

Acreage release boosts economy

Over 200,000 sq km of exploration acreage was released by the Australian Government at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Conference in Perth in April 2011.

A year on from the PRRT

Discussions surrounding the proposed extension of the petroleum resource rent tax and a potential carbon price are likely to distract the gas industry from broader tax issues affecting the sector. KPMG national Tax Leader for Energy and Natural Resources Rod Henderson outlines the key tax issues facing gas companies.

Branching out in Bass Strait

Victoria is not currently attracting as much attention for its natural gas developments as many other Australian states. A very major gas project, however, is taking place just off the Victorian coast.

Onsite with Origin at Otway

Valve Tech Engineering recently completed operations at Origin Energy’s Otway Project, located in Port Campbell, Victoria. The company provided onsite labour and testing equipment to service more than 150 valves for onshore and offshore platforms.

Finder Exploration finds its feet in the Australian market

Based in Western Australia, Finder Exploration has a primary focus of capturing and de-risking prospective acreage on the North West Shelf of Australia with the goal of unlocking new and previously overlooked play concepts within proven hydrocarbon basins.

Federal approval Prelude FLNG development

Thu, 18 November 2010 Shell’s proposed floating LNG (FLNG) facility, to be located off the northwest coast of Western Australia at the Prelude Gas Field, has received environmental approval from Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke.