2003
December 2003
  • Mosaic vastly improves gas flow from Tinker field in Surat Basin and finds oil.
  • Federal Parliament creates National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority.
  • A new statutary body called Australian Energy Regulator will replace 17 State-based regulators from July 2004.
  • PNG gas project reached a conditional agreement with WMC for sale of 12-20PJ gas for 20 years to Olympic Dam mine when the gas project is operational.
  • Arrow signs Heads of Agreement to supply 4PJ coal seam gas for 15 years to Wambo Power Ventures for a proposed new 50MW power station near Dalby in Queensland.
  • Shale oil producer Southern Pacific Petroleum goes into receivership.
  • Santos finds oil at Mulberry prospect in Queensland Copper-Eromanga basin.
  • TXU Electricity signs agreement with Esso/BHP Billiton to purchase 825PJ Bass Strait gas between 2004 and 2017.
  • LNG International signs purchase agreement with Empire Oil and Gas Group for 6 million cubic feet of gas a day from Point Torment field onshore Canning Basin of Western Australia provided a minimum of 35 billion cubic feet of reserves can be proven.
  • Stuart Energy’s Worrior oil field in South Australian Cooper basin comes on stream.
 
November 2003
  • Casino-3 appraisal confirms viability of Casino gas field offshore Otway Basin of Victoria.
  • Origin Energy signs contract for supply of 11-13PJ of Coal Seam Gas to Queensland Alumina Ltd from November 2006.
 
October 2003
  • Federal Government to provide $35.4 million for development of common-use infrastructure on Burrup peninsula, Western Australia.
  • Launch of Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technology (CO2CRC).
  • Cliff Head oil field in offshore Perth Basin declared commercial.
  • Santos gives go-ahead for $480 million Mutineer-Exeter oil development in Carnarvon Basin off Western Australia.
  • GasNet to build $114 million gas pipeline to link existing Pilbara line to Telfer gold mine in Western Australia.
  • Christies oil field comes on stream in South Australian Cooper Basin.
  • China National Offshore Oil Company and Gorgon JV sign agreement for CNOOC to purchase an equity stake in the
  • Gorgon gas field development and large volumes of gas from the project.
 
September 2003
  • Gas retailer TXU signs contract with Santos group for delivery of up to 493PJ gas from Casino field offshore Otway Basin from 2006-2017.
  • NW Shelf JV signs agreement with Kansai Electric for additional supplies of LNG to Japan.
  • Sunshine Gas finds gas/condensate in Overton prospect in Bowen Basin of Qld.
  • Stuart Petroleum group makes significant oil discovery in Worrior-1 in Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • Methanex abandons all plans for a methanol plant on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
 
August 2003
  • Woolworths and Caltex Australia form a joint venture company to lease Safeway retail petrol outlets and over 120 Caltex sites around Australia.
  • WA Government gives approval for Gorgon gas project using Barrow Island for production facilities.
 
July 2003
  • Beach Petroleum’s Christies-1 oil discovery declared commercial.
  • NW Shelf participants ship the 1500th LNG cargo to Japan.
  • Cooper Basin gas producers sign new agreement with Pasminco Century mine in northwest Queensland for 15PJ of gas over 2.5 years till end 2006.
  • Apache group finds gas in Ginger-1 near Varanus Island, Western Australia.
 
2003
  • OMV’s Patricia/Baleen gas fields come on stream in offshore Gippsland Basin, Victoria.
  • New Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Greenhouse gas technologies receives Federal funding.
  • Arc Energy Group finds Eremia oil field in onshore Perth Basin, Western Australia.
  • Apache Energy’s Double Island oil field offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia comes on stream.
  • Exxon/Mobil announces indefinite closure of Port Stanvac oil refinery in Adelaide.
  • AGIP Group’s Wollybutt oil field comes on stream in offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.
  • Woodside find Stybarrow oil field in Exmouth Sub-basin offshore Western Australia.
  • North West Shelf Gas Project signs supply deal for 500,000 tonnes LNG/year for seven years to Korea Gas Corp.
  • Methanex decides not to go ahead with development of a 2 million tonne/year methanol plant on Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia. Then keeps options open by retaining plans for a plant of about 1 million tones/year.
  • Mosaic Oil’s Churchie gas field comes on stream in Surat Basin.
  • Tap Oil finds oil at Cyrano-1 in offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.
  • Esso Australia puts its Cooper Basin holdings (via ownership of Delhi Petroleum) on the market.
  • Coles Myer supermarket chain signs deal with Shell Australia to operate Shell’s retail petrol outlets.
  • Oil Company of Australia’s Mungi coalbed methane project in Queensland begins commercial production.
  • Australian Government ratifies the new Timor Sea Treaty between it and East Timor.
  • Geodynamics spuds Australia’s first hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal well (Habanero-1) in the Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • Exxon/Mobil confirms a massive gas reserve in its Jansz field in deep water off Western Australia.
  • Methanol Australia receives Federal Environmental approval for its Tassie Shoals methanol development in the eastern Timor Sea.
  • Woodside signs agreement to supply 40 petajoules of gas from Blacktip field in Bonaparte Gulf of Western Australia over 20 years to Alcan alumina refinery at Gove in Northern Territory beginning in 2007.
  • Woodside finds gas in Guilford-1 in offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.
  • Green light for Bayu-Undan project gas/LNG phase in Timor Gap.