Judy Maksoud
International Editor
Australia is creating an attractive invest- ment environment for foreign compa-nies. Late last year, Australia's Ministe-rial Council on Energy approved the establishment of the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), replacing 17 state-based reg-ulators and a confusing labyrinth of legislation. The new agency will be effective July 1.
Offshore New Zealand, six new permits were awarded in the latest bidding round in the Taranaki basin. Domestically sourced gas remains an important issue, and the country is working to significantly increase exploration activity.
Australia
Three blocks were awarded off Australia last September, resulting in an estimated $49 million in exploration investment of southeast Australia's offshore basins over the next six years.
Also in September 2003, ChevronTexaco Corp. received in-principle approval from the Western Australia state government for the restricted use of Barrow Island for a foundation development.
The Gorgon development proposal centers on establishing an LNG facility on Barrow Island, which lies directly between the Gorgon gas fields and the Australian mainland.
Gorgon JV participants are ChevronTexaco with 57.14% interest, Shell with 28.57% interest, and ExxonMobil with 14.29% interest.
A major seismic program is underway to delineate the deepwater Jansz field in the Carnarvon basin, adjacent to the Gorgon field. Jansz and the interconnecting IO fields hold an estimated 20 tcf of gas.
Australia's offshore petroleum resources mainly come from Bass Strait off the southeast tip of the continent and the North West Shelf off the northeast portion of Western Australia. The North West Shelf has become a leading supplier of LNG.
Blocks in these two prospective areas will be part of this year's bidding round, along with blocks from the 2003 round that did not receive bids.
Apache Corp.'s announcement in early January increasing reserves on the John Brookes field in Western Australia's Carnarvon basin might bring even more interest to the region. An appraisal well on the field led total gross recoverable reserves being revised upward from 400 bcf to 800 bcf.
Woodside Energy Ltd.'s 125-MMbbl deepwater Enfield development in the same area got into gear early this year with an award to FMC Technologies Inc. to supply subsea systems. The agreement includes 13 subsea trees, production controls, and associated systems. FMC Technologies also will furnish technical services related to installation and startup. Enfield is expected to begin production by 4Q 2006.
Government plans for 2004 include maintaining the focus on providing a stable internationally competitive regime, awarding exploration acreage from the 2003 bidding round, releasing additional acreage for bidding, and redrafting petroleum laws.
New Zealand
In late September 2003, the government of New Zealand awarded two blocks in the Canterbury basin. Australia's Tap (New Zealand) Pty. Ltd. and AWE New Zealand Pty. Ltd. won 6,647-sq-km permit PEP 38259 in the southern section of the basin. PEP 38258, a 10,950-sq-km predominantly offshore block, went to Indo-Pacific Energy (NZ) Ltd. and Durum Energy (New Zealand) Ltd.
Tap and AWE's work program provides for reprocessing 1,500 km of existing seismic data, reservoir characterization, and geochemical studies. A well is planned in the third year of the permit.
The Pohokura joint venture (Shell, OMV, and Todd) has determined the decision to develop the $1-billion gas-condensate field project will be made no later than June 2004.
The JV confirmed the work program proposed by operator Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd.
The partners also reviewed the progress of the Pohokura field's development studies and the project plan.
The current target for commissioning the field and the achieving plateau gas production is mid-2006.
Big news off New Zealand is the award of an exploration permit for the country's first deepwater exploration license. AWE, Stewart Petroleum Co. Ltd., and WM Petroleum Ltd. partnered on the bid for the largest of five blocks, covering a 12,000-sq-km area where the Tui discovery was made in 2002.
Six offshore permits were awarded in the 2003 Taranaki bidding round that closed in October.
Pogo Producing Co. plans a 1,00-sq-km 3D survey over its new offshore Taranaki permits, with drilling plans contingent upon the results.
New Zealand has already begun preparations for a competitive petroleum exploration permit bidding round in 2004. The offer will cover a large portion of the offshore Northland basin over which a substantial data-package is being compiled. The package will incorporate a revised understanding of the basin's nearshore potential by using recently released data obtained from the deepwater Wakanui-1 well, drilled off the continental shelf in 1999 by Conoco and partners.
