ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE 2004

Abstract

This paper presents the highlights of development activity of 2004 for the petroleum industry within Australia. In the face of declining oil production within Australia there were few new oil field developments in 2004 (Exeter- Mutineer; Jingemia). The start up of liquids stripping at Bayu-Undan in the Timor Sea and other gas/condensate fields such as Apache’s Linda, however, helped to arrest the declining trend. The first oil fields that define a new oil province in the Exmouth Sub-basin were the subject of extensive appraisal programs and Woodside gave the green light for start of the A$1.48 billion Enfield development.

The story for natural gas in 2004 is somewhat more buoyant with several developments in domestic supply around Australia, including coal seam methane (CSM) production on-stream on the east coast. The national pipeline grid extended with the opening of the A$500 million SEAgas pipeline between Port Campbell and Adelaide. Minerva gas production followed at the end of the year, leading the way for the approval of gas developments at Thylacine- Geographe (A$1.1 billion) and Casino (A$200 million) in the Otway Basin. The Yolla gas production platform was installed on site in the Bass Basin. Apache and Santos signed an agreement to supply gas from John Brookes, offshore Carnarvon Basin, and Woodside looked to Blacktip, in the Bonaparte, to supply gas to the Northern Territory.

2004 was a cornerstone year for LNG. A new carrier was delivered to the NWS Joint Venture and gas flowed from the fourth LNG train for the first time. Deliveries under new contracts started to Japan and Korea and a major contract for supply was signed with China. Other potential LNG projects began significant appraisal programs at fields such as Scarborough on the NWS.