Net Gas News

Europe’s energy landscape will be completely changed once the Dutch shut down the largest gas field on the continent years ahead of schedule, according to Rystad Energy.The Netherland recently announced that production at Groningen – Europe’s largest gas field – will be halted in 2022, eight years earlier than initially planned. However, despite the ambitious target of decommissioning the field by 2022, Rystad Energy expects that there could be some residual production from Groningen up to 2030 as it is technically challenging to completely shut down production in such a short timeframe.The drastic drop in output from Groningen will redefine the European energy landscape.

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has awarded a contract worth Dh5 billion (USD1.36bln) to a UAE-based company for dredging, land reclamation and marine construction for artificial islands being developed as part of its offshore ultra sour Ghasha concession.The contract awarded to the UAE’s National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) is valued at AED 5 billion (US 1.36 billion) and will achieve substantial In-Country Value of over 70 percent. The Ghasha Concession consists of the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma, Nasr and Mubarraz offshore sour gas fields.Under the terms of the contract, NMDC will construct 10 new artificial islands and two causeways…

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has awarded a 40 per cent stake in the Ruwais Diyab gas concession to French energy major Total.Adnoc group, for which the award is an important milestone to reach the target of 1 Bcfd of unconventional gas production before 2030, said in a press release that it will retain a 60% stake in the concession.Under the terms of the agreement, Total will explore, appraise and develop the concession area’s unconventional gas resources.The agreement includes a six to seven-year exploration and appraisal phase which will then be followed by a 40-year production term. It was signed in ADNOC’s Thamama Subsurface Collaboration Center, by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC Group Chief Executive Officer, and Patrick Pouyanné, CEO and Chairman of Total.

A surge in speculative interest in the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom has pushed open interest in natural gas futures to an all-time high, traders said on Thursday. Open interest, which measures the number of contracts outstanding, in the Henry Hub front-month hit 386,826 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, topping the previous high of 366,383 set in May 2016, according to Reuters data going back to 1990. "There has been a narrative around the market that the LNG exports are going to be the difference maker this winter…

Australia's conservative government unveiled a radical plan on Thursday to restrict exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at times when domestic shortages push up local prices, aiming to ease soaring energy costs for local manufacturers. The plan would allow Australia's resources minister to impose controls on LNG exports on advice from the market operator and regulator, as the government seeks to cap domestic gas prices, which have become a political hot potato. "It's not a threat. This will be export controls.

Egypt launched the world's biggest tender for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as officials from top energy companies and trading houses converged on Cairo undeterred by new rules that could force them to wait for as long as six months to get paid. After months of speculation and delay, state-run Egypt Natural Gas Holding (EGAS) released tender documents on Sunday bidding to secure 96 LNG shipments in 2017 and 2018, participants in the tender told Reuters. An additional 12 optional cargoes were included in the tender, which EGAS may decide not to award, they said. At a price-tag of several billion dollars, it is the biggest mid-term LNG buy tender ever issued, trade sources said.

The United States will transition from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter of the fuel by 2017 as the nation's shale gas production continues to grow, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday in its Annual Energy Outlook. In its 2014 outlook, the EIA forecast the U.S. would become a net exporter of gas before 2020. The EIA said increases in domestic gas production are expected to reduce demand for gas imports from Canada and support growth in exports to Mexico, Asia and Europe. Net gas exports would continue to grow after 2017, with annual net exports reaching 3.0 trillion cubic feet to 13.1 tcf in 2040, the agency said.

Woodside advises that the Pyxis-1 exploration well in production licence WA-34-L has intersected approximately 18.5 metres of net gas within the Jurassic sandstone target. The well reached a total depth of 3347 metres. Wireline logging has confirmed the discovery through the recovery of gas samples to surface and establishment of a gas pressure gradient. Pyxis-1 is located in Production Licence WA-34-L, within Western Australia’s Dampier Sub-Basin and is located approximately 15 km north of Woodside’s producing Pluto Gas Field infrastructure. Woodside Burrup Pty. Ltd. is the operator and 90% equity owner of WA-34-L. Kansai Electric Power Australia Pty. Ltd. and Tokyo Gas Pluto Pty. Ltd. each hold 5% equity.

Drillsearch Energy Limited announced a new wet gas discovery on the Western Cooper Wet Gas Fairway of the Cooper Basin. The Varanus South-1 well in PEL 513 (Drillsearch 40% and Santos 60% and Operator) is the first well to be drilled by Santos and Drillsearch under the joint venture between the companies announced in July 2013. Varanus South-1 was drilled to a total depth of 3,154 metres as a near-field exploration well. Drillsearch’s preliminary interpretation of wireline logs has confirmed an aggregate best estimate of 18 metres of net gas pay over a gross interval of 365 metres in the Patchawarra Formation and an additional 9 metres of net hydrocarbon pay over a gross interval of 37 metres in the Tirrawarra Formation, which was considered a secondary target.

Floating LNG market poised for increased investment and activity, report finds. Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecast total expenditure of $64.4bn from 2014-2020 in its new FLNG market report. Two-thirds of this spend is attributed to liquefaction infrastructure, while the remaining is from import and regasification facilities. The previous seven-year period saw minimal investment in floating liquefaction infrastructure, however, with the introduction of floating LNG vessels, global FLNG Capex is expected to experience significant increase over the next seven years.

Operator Statoil has together with PL272 partners made a gas discovery in the Askja West prospect and an oil discovery in the Askja East prospect in the North Sea. The exploration wells  30/11-9 S and 30/11-9 A, drilled by the drilling rig Ocean Vanguard, are located between the Oseberg and Frigg fields and about 13 km southeast of the Statoil-operated Krafla/Krafla West discoveries. Main wellbore 30/11-9 S tested the Askja West prospect and proved a net gas column of 90 metres in Late and Middle Jurassic rocks.

Natural gas deposits discovered in two locations by Chevron Australia's deepwater drilling exploration program in the Carnarvon Basin. The Pinhoe-1 exploration discovery well encountered approximately 197 feet (60 meters) of net gas pay in the Barrow and Mungaroo Sands. Pinhoe-1 is located in the WA-383-P permit area, located approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Exmouth off the Western Australia coast. The well was drilled in 3,048 feet (929 meters) of water to a total depth of 13,396 feet (4,083 meters). The Arnhem-1 exploration discovery well confirmed approximately 149 feet (45.5 meters) of net gas pay in the upper Mungaroo Sands. Arnhem-1 is in the WA-364-P permit area, located approximately 180 miles (290 kilometres) north of Exmouth off the Western Australia coast.

Chevron Corp. announced further drilling success in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia, Australia's premier hydrocarbon basin. The Acme-1 exploration discovery well is located in the WA-205-P permit area offshore Western Australia approximately 93 miles (150 km) from Onslow. Drilled in 2,880 feet (878 m) of water to a depth of 15,469 feet (4,715 m), the well encountered approximately 896 feet (273 m) of net gas pay. George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron, said, "In terms of net gas pay, Acme-1 is one of our most significant natural gas discoveries in Australia. Jim Blackwell, president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production, said, "We are realizing the opportunities we have as a leading lease holder in the Carnarvon Basin.

Unocal Corporation's Spirit Energy 76 unit said its exploration drilling successes and aggressive development program on the Gulf of Mexico shelf area in the first half of 1999 should more than offset the natural production declines for the year. "We have a long record of low drilling and operating costs on the shelf, which enables us to enjoy returns that cannot be matched by the typical shelf operator," said Roger C. Beach, Unocal chairman and CEO. Beach noted Spirit Energy's GOM shelf prospects are predominantly natural gas and deliver production quickly, making them extremely attractive in the current capital-constrained environment.

Mobil's wholly owned subsidiary, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd., has found significant new gas resources in the Carnarvon Basin, off the northwest coast of Western Australia. This follows two recent major discoveries in exploration permit WA-267-P, in which Mobil has a 25 percent interest. The Orthrus-1 well, the second well of a six-well exploration program in the permit, spudded on October 1 in 3,937 ft. (1,200 m) of water. It reached a depth of 11,712 ft. (3,570 m) and has intersected a total of 173 ft. (53 m) net gas pay. The Orthrus-1 well is located about 16 miles southwest of the Geryon-1 well, the first exploration well in WA-267-P. Geryon-1 was drilled to a total depth of 11,624 ft. (3,543 m).