Concerns are often raised by environmentalists about the impact of offshore seismic surveys on whales and dolphins. However, according to John Hughes, an expert in this area, there is no evidence from over four decades of seismic surveys that whales and dolphins are adversely affected by seismic sounds. This is not surprising given that the […]

While Australian domestic gas contracts are increasingly being linked to oil, the global momentum is in the opposite direction. The US Department of Energy continues to approve LNG projects for export to non-FTA countries. By our count there are now 53 Mtpa of approvals in place, more than the industry generally expected. Companies were talking […]

EnergyQuest has released a new, confidential study, Australian Coal Seam Gas 2013: All Aboard the LNG Train. Some of the key findings include: Upstream there is little activity outside the CSG LNG projects and certainly no discoveries of new “sweet spots”. If anything CSG exploration acreage appears to be shrinking. For the LNG projects, the biggest challenges […]

Last week Shell announced that its Corio refinery at Geelong is up for sale. he likelihood is that the refinery will close. If this happens Australia will be down to four refineries from eight in 2002, with one in Melbourne, two in Brisbane and one in Perth. Australia consumes twice as much oil as it […]

Speculation continues about the potential volume of US LNG exports to countries that do not currently have free trade agreements (FTA) with the US. However, as I understand it, countries with FTA agreements that are able to import from the US (such as Korea) are not restricted to consuming the LNG in the home country. […]

More from Platts on plunging US ethane prices: http://plattsenergyweektv.com/news/article/236857/293/010613-MS—Plunging-Price-of-Ethane  

The treaty between Australia and Timor Leste governing development of the Sunrise field for LNG lapses in seven weeks, on 23 February 2013. Sunrise straddles the border of the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) and an area of sole Australian jurisdiction. In the Timor Sea Treaty (2003) between Australia and Timor Leste, the resources of the […]

An interesting piece in Platts on a report from the Dallas Fed on the growth of US petrochemicals based on ethane from shale gas. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Petrochemicals/6969992 It is often assumed that methane is a feedstock for petrochemicals but the relevant feedstocks are ethane and naphtha (produced from condensate). Australia produces ethane from the Cooper Basin and […]

Each December the US Oil and Gas Journal publishes its estimates of global oil production for the current year and its estimate of proven oil and gas reserves for the start of the coming year. http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-12/special-report-worldwide-report/global-oil-production-up-in-2012-as.html The estimates are widely quoted. However they are released prior to the end-of-year announcements of reserves and production by the […]

Private Empire. ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll won the FT/Goldman Sachs prize for best business book of 2012 and deservedly so, the book is actually much better than the publicity. It focusses on the fairly recent history of ExxonMobil under Lee Raymond and Rex Tillerson. Each chapter covers a particular topic like the […]