2006
December 2006
  • AGL acquires 27.5% interest in Queensland Gas Company via share placement for up to $292 million worth of shares.
  • ExxonMobil group begins front end engineering & design (FEED) studies for Kipper gas field development project in offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria.
  • Arc Energy acquires Blina oil field and surrounding acreage in onshore Canning Basin of Western Australia from Golden Dynasty Resources for $2.8 million & 2% production royalty to Dynasty.
  • Coogee Resources withdraws its $380 million IPO, but continues with plans to develop the Montara oil project in the Timor Sea.
  • Woodside Petroleum board approves $1.4 billion commitment to Pluto LNG project in Western Australia.
  • Federal Government forms a joint government-business task group to investigate global emissions trading systems.
  • North West Shelf Group signs Heads of Agreements with five Japanese utilities (Tokyo Gas, Toho Gas, Tokyo Electric Power & Osaka Gas) for supply of LNG from NW Shelf Project for eight years beginning in April 2009 when existing contracts expire. The amounts are 530,000 tonnes/year, 760,000 tonnes/year, 300,000 tonnes a year & 500,000 tonnes/year respectively.
  • Santos puts its US assets on the market to focus on Australia, Asia and Middle East exploration projects.
  • WA Government clears way for environmental approval of the Gorgon LNG Project on Barrow Island by upholding the Chevron group’s appeal of the WA EPA’s earlier recommendations against the project.
  • Santos group’s Henry gas field on offshore Otway Basin of Victoria goes into FEED stage.
  • Apache Energy officially withdraws from Longtom Gas Project offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria leaving Nexus Energy with 100% interest.
  • Coogee Resources group is granted a retention lease over the Cash/Maple gas field in the Timor Sea.
  • Coal seam methane company, Metgasco, signs $11 million farm-in agreement and gas sale deal worth over $1 billion with CS Energy for reserves from Metgasco’s Casino field in northern New South Wales.
  • Harriet Joint Venture (operated by Apache Energy) issues notices of force majeure to Burrup Fertilisers saying there is not enough gas reserves to meet the 20-year contract gas supply to Burrup’s ammonia plant in Western Australia.
  • While Sands Petroleum appoints administrator after running into financial liquidity problems.
 
November 2006
  • Arrow Energy/Beach Petroleum JV establishes processing agreement with Australian Pipeline Trust which will own and operate the $31 million Tipton West central coal seam methane processing facility in southeast Queensland.
  • Prime Minister Howard announces $60 million in funding for 42 projects to help cut greenhouse gas emissions to be developed in collaboration with five other countries in an Asia-Pacific partnership.
  • Apache Energy led Harret JV finds oil in West Cycad-1 well in the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia.
  • Australian-sponsored amendment to allow geosequestration of greenhouse gas emissions captured from onshore facilities is passed during a London meeting of Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter.
  • Beach Petroleum/Stuart Petroleum JV finds oil in Might & Power-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Queensland Gas Company signs new agreement to supply up to a further 4 petajoules of coal seam methane per year to the Braemar Power Station in southeast Queensland from February 2007.
  • Chevron announces a major new gas discovery at Clio-1 wildcat west of Gorgon field in the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia.
  • North West Shelf JV renews its contract with Japanese company Kansai Electric for supply of 400,000 tonnes a year of LNG from April 2009 at the conclusion of the existing contract.
  • Coogee Resources launches $380 million IPO to help fund the proposed Montara oil fields development in the Timor Sea.
  • Coal seam methane company Metgasco appoints Australian Pipeline Trust as its preferred infrastructure partner for the 30MW Richmond Valler power station to be supplied from the Casino coal seam methane project in northeast New South Wales.
  • Australian Pipeline Industry Association is granted $695,000 for collaborative research project with Adelaide University and other institutions to enhance the reliability and longevity of Australia’s pipelines. The grant will be matched dollar for dollar by the private sector.
  • Lakes Oil teams up with US company PetroHunter to jointly develop Lakes’ onshore tight oil and gas prospects in onshore Gippsland and Otway Basins.
  • Sunshine Gas gets positive results in its Lacerta coal seam methane pilot drilling project in southeast Queensland and proceeds to the dewatering and production testing phase.
  • Beach Petroleum brings its Callawonga-1 oil discovery on stream in Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Federal Government pledges $60 million towards Chevron-operated $850 million Gorgon field carbon geosequestration project on Barrow Island.
  • Australian Pipeline Trust enters a 15-year agreement with Xstrata to build and maintain a $30 million 30MW gas-fired power station at Mt Isa in northwest Queensland fed by gas from the Carpentaria gas pipeline from the Northern Territory.
  • ConocoPhillips/Santos JV confirms gas in Barossa-1 appraisal of the formerly named Lyndoch field in the eastern Timor Sea.
 
October 2006
  • Sunshine Gas signs $11 million agreement with fertiliser company WestSide Corporation for WestSide to farm into 50% of four of Sunshine’s coal seam methane permits in Queensland giving WestSide the right to purchase the first 250 billion cubic feet of gas produced from these areas for its production of ammonia and urea.
  • PNG opens offshore Papuan Basin blocks for exploration work program bids.
  • Santos makes $606 million hostile takeover for Queensland Gas Company.
  • WA Government confirms it will ask gas producers in the State to reserve 15% of their gas reserves for domestic use.
  • Arrow Energy signs deal with aluminium producer Alcan South Pacific to carry out a gas-to-liquids feasibility study in Queensland with a view to using Arrow’s coal seam methane activities in the region.
  • Karoon gas farms out up to 60% of its two Browse Basin permits (WA-314-P and WA-315-P) to ConocoPhillips for US$9.6 million plus 80% of work program funding.
  • Australian Government’s Skills for the Future package includes additional university places for engineering students.
  • North West Shelf joint venture signs Heads of Agreement with Chubu Electric of Japan for ongoing supply of LNG in a new 7-year deal that will supply 500,000 tonnes a year from March 2009.
  • Coal seam methane reserves at Arrow Energy’s Moranbah gas project in Queensland are increased by 47 petajoules to 438.6 petajoules.
  • Beach petroleum applies for a retention lease over Killanoola oil discovery in onshore Otway Basin of South Australia.
  • InterOil and Merrill Lynch announce plans to build an LNG plant near Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea using feedstock from InterOil’s Elk gas discovery in the highlands.
  • APPEA appoints Colin Beckett, Chevron Australia’s Greater Gorgon Area’s general manager, as its new chairman. Peter Hood, chief executive of Coogee Resources is appointed APPEA vice-chairman.
  • Nexus Energy receives full payment of $53 million from Shell Development Australia for sale of natural gas resources in Nexus’ Crux gas/condensate field in the Browse Basin.
  • Australian Government unveils a $500 million fund to be invested in new technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and renewable energy.
  • Mosaic Oil finds gas in its Churchie West-1 well in the Surat Basin of Queensland.
  • Sunshine Gas signs Memorandum of Understanding with Sojitz of Japan for potential development of the Overston gas field in the Bowen basin of Queensland.
  • Shell Australia farms into Nexus’ Echuca Shoals gas field block WA-277-P in the Browse Basin with an initial payment of $26.3 million for 13.6% and an additional $30 million towards costs of an Echuca Shoals-2 appraisal for an additional 20.4% interest.
  • Stuart Petroleum group finds oil in its Might & Power-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Australian Government offers $75 million to support a new gas-fired power station and carbon dioxide geosequestration project at Injune in southeast Queensland.
 
September 2006
  • Ministerial Council on Minerals and petroleum Resources establishes a working group to investigate setting up a national gas plan to balance Australian exports with domestic needs.
  • French company Total SA buys 24% stake in Inpex’s Ichthys field LNG project in Browse Basin permit WA-285-P offshore Western Australia.
  • Green light given to Stage 1 (of a proposed three stages) expansion of the Dampier-Bunbury gas trunkline. Stage 1 will add 100 terajoules a day to line capacity, cost $700 million and begin early 2007.
  • Beach Petroleum acquires Delhi Petroleum for $574 million to give Beach a 21% interest in more than 200 oil and gas fields in the Cooper/Eromanga Basins of South Australia and Queensland and triple Beach’s reserves from 36 million barrels of oil equivalent to 95 million boe.
  • Environment Protection Authority of Western Australia recommends that Woodside receives a green light to build the Pluto gas processing plant on Burrup Peninsula.
  • An independent study of AED Oil’s Puffin field in the Timor Sea boosts in-situ oil reserves from 13 million to 90 million barrels. New figure is based on recent drilling and seismic survey data.
  • Nexus Energy decides to complete its Longtom-3 appraisal well in the offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria as a future gas producer after strong gas and condensate flows on production test.
  • First gas is sold from Arrow Energy’s 100%-owned Daandine coal seam methane project in the Surat Basin of Queensland. Initial sales are to CS Energy with a long-term plan to supply the Daandine power station.
  • Victoria Petroleum group finds oil in Growler-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Burrup Fertilisers’ $800 million, 760,000 tonne per annum ammonia plant on the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia using gas feedstock from North West Shelf is officially opened by WA Premier Alan Carpenter.
  • Queensland Government approves development of 1000MW gas-fired power station at Origin Energy’s Spring Gully coal seam methane project 80km north of Roma in Queensland.
  • Woodside contracts Foster Wheeler/Worley Parsons JV to run a technical feasibility study on offshore LNG facilities for its proposed Browse Basin gas fields development off Western Australia
  • Woodside makes new gas discovery in its Xena-1 wildcat 6km from its Pluto field in the offshore Carnarvon Basin.
  • LNG Ltd signs a deal with Galveston LNG of Canada to supply 1.8 million tonnes a year of LNG to Galveston’s proposed reception terminal to be built in British Columbia, Canada.
  • NW Shelf JV award $264 million contract to Chicago Bridge & Iron for construction of the fifth LNG production train on the Burrup Peninsula. With a capacity of 4.2 million tonnes a year this will boost the total capacity of the Burrup facilities to 15.9 million tonnes of LNG per year.
  • Beach Petroleum group tests gas at its Middleton-1 and Udacha-1 wildcats in the Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • Wesfarmers announces plans to build a $138 million LNG plant at Kwinana to supply fuel for the heavy trucking industry. Gas feedstock will come from the Apache/Santos John Brookes field offshore Western Australia via the Dampier-Bunbury trunkline.
  • Arrow Energy strikes deal with Anglo Coal to use gas now being vented during degassing of the Moranbah North underground coal mine. Arrow will sell the gas into its existing contracts.
 
August 2006
  • Santos finds oil at Minni Richi-1 in Eromanga Basin of southwest Queensland.
  • Nexus Energy’s Long Tom-3 sidetrack confirms gas in four separate reservoir intervals in offshore Gippsland Basin f Victoria.
  • Apache Enrgy finds oil and gas in Theo-1 wildcat in offshore Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia which may be an extension of Woodside’s Vincent field in the adjoining permit.
  • Metgasc’s Middle Creek-1 coal bed methane well extends the Walloon Coal Measures seam 15km southwest of its South Casino field adding 150 sq km to the area available for potential development.
  • Nexus finalises $40 million agreement to sell 100% of its rights to the gas in its Crux field in the Browse Basin of Western Australia to Shell Development Australia.
  • Apache/Santos partnership tests gas/condensate at its Gnu-1 exploration/appraisal of the Reindeer/Caribou field in the offshore Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia.
  • Federal Government outlines an eight-year S1.6 billion multi-pronged program to help reduce Australia’s reliance on oil imports, including a further $76 million towards offshore frontier exploration via Geoscience Australia’s pre-competitive seismic programs.
  • AGL and Petronas scale back FEED studies into the PNG-Australia gas pipeline’s Australian leg which may delay the start of construction.
  • Woodside awards a total of $192 million worth of FEED contracts for its proposed Pluto NG project to WorleyParsons/Foster Wheele for onshore plant and to WorleyParsons/Kellogg-Brown & Root for the offshore facilities.
  • Independent valuer Gaffney Cline & Assoc. upgrades oil reserves in Anzon/Beach Petroleum’s Basker-Manta fields in the offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria by 33% to 40 million barrels recoverable.
  • Santos confirms a northeast extension of the Derrilyn oil field in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Epic Energy begins a $400,000, six-month FEED study on construction of a 180km Ballera-Moomba gas pipeline interconnect that could link Queensland coal bed methane with southeast Australian gas markets. The line is planned to come on stream in 2008.
  • APPEA launches a new web-based Safety & Environment Alert System to enhance the rapid spread of practical safety-related information to the hydrocarbons industry and other sectors.
  • Coal bed methane companies Eastern Star Gas and Hillgrove Resources combine interests in the Gunnedah Basin Gas Project to create a major entity in the New South Wales gas business.
  • Oil Search signs MoU with BG International of the UK to investigate a proposed LNG development in PNG.
  • Chevron announces plans to establish an energy technology centre in Perth to prvide research, development and technical services for the company’s world-wide operations.
 
July 2006
  • ENI Australia gives green light to development of its 100%-owned Blacktip gas/condensate field in the Bonaparte Gulf to supply domgas to Power & Water Corporation in the NT.
  • Beach Petroleum finds oil in Boomer-1 wildcat in Eromanga Basin of SA.
  • Origin Energy-operated BassGas Project in Bass Basin offshore Tasmania begins commercial gas and liquids sales from Yolla field development. Final development costs blow out from original $450 million to $750 million.
  • Oil Search signs MoU with Oswal Projects of India for supply of 50 petajoules of gas from its PNG fields to Oswald’s proposed ammonia/urea plant in Port Moresby beginning in 2010.
  • Stuart Petroleum group finds a new oil pools in Revenue-1 and Rimfire-1 wildcats in the Eromanga Basin of SA.
  • Nexus Energy signs HoA with unnamed international petroleum company for it to take a 34% interest in Nexus’ Crux field liquids project in Browse Basin of WA by paying $53 million for appraisal, feasibility and development costs. The international company has an option to move to 50% interest by paying a further $43 million after completion of Crux-2 appraisal.
  • CSIRO and Metex Resources jointly form new company to develop a process for gasification of underground coal deposits for power generation with trials in the Surat Basin in Qld.
  • Chevron makes new gas discovery at Chandon-1 wildcat in offshore Carnarvon Basin of WA near the Jansz field.
  • White Sands Petroleum confirms strong gas flows in its Primero-1 well in the Reid’s Dome prospect in the Bowen Basin of Qld.
  • Origin Energy’s proposed $1 billion Mortlake gas-fired power station in Victoria receives environmental approval.
  • Santos bids $474 million for all the equity in fellow Cooper Basin company, Delhi Petroleum. Beach Petroleum also expresses interest and may also bid.
  • Woodside Petroleum awards $200 million substructure and pipelay installation contract for Angel gas field development on the North West Shelf to McDermott Industries.
  • Woodside group’s Enfield oil field in offshore Carnarvon Basin of WA comes on stream via the FPSO Nganhurra.
  • Beach Petroleum group finds oil in Callowonga-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of SA.
 
June 2006
  • Alinta Infrastructure Holdings signs MoU with TRUenergy to provide up to $140 million worth of gas transportation services to TRUenergy’s proposed gas-fired Tallawarra power station in New South Wales.
  • Tap Oil finds oil in Amulet-1 wildcat in offshore Caranarvon Basin of Western Australia.
  • AGL and Alinta sign a merger implementation agreement to merge the two companies’ energy infrastructure businesses.
  • Beach acquires 19.9% shareholding in Great Artesian Oil & Gas in a $14.5 million off-market transaction.
  • Great Artesian Oil & Gas finds gas in its Cadenza-1 wildcat in the Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • Western Australian Environment Protection Authority opposes Gorgon/Jansz project development on Barrow Island on environmental grounds.
  • Arrow Energy proposes $140 million merger proposal with fellow coal bed methane company CH4 Gas.
  • Anzon Australia falls short in takeover bid for Nexus Energy, but ends up with about 19% and is the largest shareholder in Nexus.
  • Nexus Energy sells all the gas in its Crux field in the Browse Basin offshore Western Australia to Shell for $53 million, but retains 100% ownership of the field’s condensate reserves.
  • Origin Energy makes a new pool oil discovery in its Emu Apple-1 wildcat in the Surat Basin of Queensland.
  • Babcock & Brown and Australian Pipeline Trust launch $371.7 million scrip takeover bid for Victorian gas pipeline and infrastructure company GasNet Australia.
  • Stuart Petroleum finds oil at Rimfire-1 wildcat in the Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • AGL buys BHP Billiton’s 50% stake in the Moranbah coal bed methane project in the Bowen basin of Queensland for $93 million.
  • Great Artesian Oil & Gas finds two new gas/condensate fields with its Rossco-1 and Paprika-1 wildcats in the Cooper Basin of South Australia.
 
May 2006
  • Roc Oil group’s Cliff head oil field in offshore Perth Basin of Western Australia comes on stream.
  • NW Shelf Joint Venture signs new 10-year contract to supply 760,000 tonnes/year of LNG to Toho Gas beginning in 2009. This is a renewal of one of the North West Shelf group’s original contracts due to expire in 2009.
  • Independent report upgrades Nexus Energy’s Longtom gas field reserves in offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria by 38% to 438 billion cubic feet based on reprocessed 3-D seismic data.
  • Origin Energy finds gas in its 100%-owned Ogilvie-1 and 2 wells in the Bowen/Surat Basins of south east Queensland.
  • AED Oil is awarded a production licence for the Puffin Oil field in the Timor Sea.
  • Coal seam methane producers, Arrow Energy and CH4 Gas merge to create largest independent coal seam methane company in Australia.
  • Lakes Oil signs an MoU with China Petrochemical Company (Sinopec) for development of Lakes’ tight gas project onshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria.
  • Federal Government announces new marine protected areas offshore south east Australia.
  • Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) gives final approval for joint sale and marketing of gas in Australia by participants in the PNG-Qld Gas project.
  • Santos lifts its interest in the unitised Kipper gas/condensate field in the offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria to 35% with the purchase of Woodside Energy’s stake.
  • Santos moves to 100% ownership of the Roma Shelf gas fields in the Bowen/Surat Basins of south east Queensland with $10 million purchase of 15% owned by Sunshine Gas.
  • Australian Pipeline Trust signs Heads of Agreement with Power & Water Corporation of the Northern Territory to build a $130 million, 275 km gas pipeline from the ENI-owned Blacktip gas field in the Bonaparte Gulf to intersect with the Amadeus-Darwin pipeline.
  • Anzon Australia/Beach Petroleum’s six-month extended production test of the Basker-Manta oil field in the offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria concludes, having produced a total of 868,000 barrels of oil and successfully de-risked the forthcoming field development project.
  • AED Oil’s Puffin-7 development well in the Timor Sea flows 9700 barrels of oil a day on test in preparation for bringing the field on stream later in 2006.
  • Beach Petroleum group finds new pool oil discovery at Sellicks-2 well in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Queensland Gas Company’s Berwyndale South coal seam methane field comes on stream in the Surat Basin of south east Queensland.
  • Federal Government allows exemption from regulation under the gas access regime for new pipelines during their first 15 years of operation as well as an exemption from price regulations for proposed new international pipelines delivering foreign gas to Australia. This latter point is a boost to the PNG-Qld gas pipeline project.
  • Nexus Energy upgrades the reserves for its 100%-owned Crux field in the Browse Basin offshore Western Australia by 48% to 71 million barrels of condensate and 12 trillion cubic feet of gas.
  • Cool Energy (backed by Woodside Energy & Shell Australia) begins trials of two innovative gas treatment systems at Arc Energy’s Xyris field in the onshore Perth Basin. These involve gas sweetening and gas dehydration programs.
 
April 2006
  • Stuart Petroleum group’s Harpoono-2 well makes a new pool oil discovery in a second Jurassic-age reservoir in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • AED Oil’s Puffin-9 wildcat finds oil in a separate segment of the Puffin structure in the Ashmore Cartier sector of the Timor Sea.
  • Japanese company Inpex Holdings begins environmental impact study as precursor to an $8 billion development of the Ichthys gas/condensate field in the Browse Basin off Western Australia which is scheduled to come on stream in 2012.
  • Sunshine Gas enters agreement with power generator Stanwell for Stanwell to carry out evaluation of carbon dioxide geosequestration potential in Sunshine’s permits in the northern Bowen Basin of Queensland.
  • Queensland Alumina renews gas transportation contract with Alinta Holdings to secure 13 petajoules per year for 10 years starting on 1 July 2006 to continue to supply the company’s Gladstone aluminium refinery.
  • Coal seam methane producer CH4 signs Memorandum of Understanding with Dyno Nobel for potential supply of 6 petajoules of gas a year to a proposed ammonium nitrate plant near Moranbah in Queensland.
  • The Arrow Energy/Beach Petroleum joint venture signs a Heads of Agreement with Australian Pipeline Trust whereby APT will fund, own and operate the Tipton West $50 million coal seam methane project’s central gas processing facilities and associated pipelines in Queensland. First gas is due on stream early in 2007 to deliver 17 petajoules a year.
  • Victoria Petroleum group finds oil in its Lightning-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • Coogee Resources finds oil in its 100%-owned Swallow-1 wildcat in the Ashmore Cartier sector of the Timor Sea.
  • TruEnergy agrees to take an extra 5 petajoules of gas from the Santos group’s Casino gas field in the offshore Otway Basin in addition to the existing 12 year, 420 petajoule contract.
  • Beach Petroleum group finds oil in its Silver Sands-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
 
March 2006
  • Santos group makes now oil pool discovery with derrilyn-3 weel in South Australian Cooper/Eromanga Basin.
  • First Indian companies to enter Australian exploration permits (Videcon Industries & Gujarat State Petroleum) farm into Oilex permit EPP27 in offshore Otway basin of South Australia.
  • Great Artesian Oil & Gas group’s Smegsy-1 gas discovery comes on stream in Cooper Basin of South Australia.
  • AED Oil signs FPSO agreement with Norwegian shipping company Frontline to produce oil from Puffin field in Timor Sea as development plan is approved by Federal Government.
  • Beach Petroleum group tests a strong gas/condensate flow in its Middleton-1 wildcat in the South Australian Cooper Basin.
  • Sydney Gas upgrades 2P Camden coal seam methane reserves in Sydney Basin of NSW by 30% to 82.8 petajoules.
  • Federal Government writes new legislation to make all gas and other energy sources imported into Australia via pipelines subject to GST. This will affect PNG –Qld gas project.
  • North West Shelf JV will supply 1.2-1.4 million tonnes of LNG per year to Chugoku Electric Power of Japan under a new 12-year contract beginning 2009 following expiry of original 1985 sales contract.
  • Australian and East Timor Governments finalise petroleum mining code and model PSC for the Joint petroleum Development Area in Timor Gap.
  • Federal Government and APPEA launch strategic plan to boost Australian indigenous oil production, increase domestic gas usage and increase LNG exports.
  • Oilex group’s Donga-3 oil discovery comes on stream in Surat Basin of Queensland.
  • Lakes Oil finds oil and confirms gas in tight sands in Loy Yang-2 well Tight Gas Project in onshore Gippsland basin of Victoria.
  • Woodside Energy signs a Heads of Agreement with Kansai Electric Power of Japan for supply of 1.75-2 million tonnes of LNG per year over 15 years from proposed Pluto Project on North West Shelf.
  • Santos and Magellan Petroleum sign Heads of Agreement with Northern Territory Government’s Power and Water Corporation to supply an additional 5.2 petajoules of gas from Mereenie/Palm Valley fields till December 2008.
  • Coogee Resources group finds oil in its Swift North-1 wildcat in the Ashore Cartier sector of the Timor Sea.
  • Woodside gives go-ahead for the $1 billion, 73 million barrel Vincent oil field development in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia. First oil is scheduled for 2008.
  • Oil Search group’s South East Mananda oil field in the PNG Highlands comes on stream via the Kutubu treatment facilities.
 
February 2006
  • ConocoPhillips group’s Wickham Point LNG plant near Darwin comes on stream with first commercial shipment sold on the spot market. Gas feedstock is from the group’s Bayu-Undan gas/condensate field in the Timor Sea Joint Development Zone.
  • Santos group’s Casino gas field in the offshore Otway Basin of Victoria comes on stream with long term sales to TRUEnergy via the Iona onshore processing facility.
  • Energy Infrastructure Trust (EIT) announces it will fund and own the proposed 200MW Chinchilla power station on Queensland Gas Company’s Berwyndale coal seam methane field in the Bowen Basin of Queensland.
  • Auclad Group launches $10 million platform jacket for the New Zealand Pohokura oil and gas field from its Henderson construction yard in Western Australia. It is the first-ever export of an oil & gas platform jacket from Australia.
  • Stuart Petroleum announces a fast-track development for its 100%-owned Padulla oil field in the Cooper Basin of South Australia targeting a production of 1000 b/d.
  • AGL signs agreement with NRG Flinders of South Australia for sale of more than 100 petajoules of gas from the PNG Pipeline Project by extending the existing contract between the two parties from 2010 to 2018 conditional on the PNG Project going ahead.
  • Arc Energy tests gas in its Snottygobble-1 wildcat in the onshore Perth Basin of Western Australia.
  • Darwin Clean Fuels company announces proposal to construct a $450 million condensate processing facility in Port Darwin, Northern Territory to manufacture high quality transport fuels. Construction to begin in 2007 pending project approvals.
  • Anzon Australia/Beach Petroleum joint venture successfully appraises Manta gas/oil field in offshore Gippsland Basin of Victoria and finds a greater thickness of oil reservoir than the discovery well drilled by Shell in 1984.
  • AGL achieves financial close on its deal with Oil Search to acquire 10% interest in PNG Gas Project as well as interests in gas & oil reserves, production and processing infrastructure in PNG.
  • Proposed Stage 5 expansion of the Dampier-Bunbury gas trunkline in Western Australia is increased to meet expected extra demand of 375 terajoules/day. Cost of Stage 5 now estimated at $1.5 billion and includes 1150km of new pipeline which will lead to a duplication of 90% of the pipeline length.
  • CO2CRC gains two onshore Otway Basin permits containing the Buttress carbon dioxide field and depleted Naylor natural gas field to be used in pilot carbon dioxide geosequestration study project beginning at the end of 2006.
  • Arrow Energy enters MoU with GAIL of India for joint cooperation in coal seam methane projects in Australia and India.
  • BP opens $6.4 million 15,000 b/d crude oil unloading facility at Kwinana refinery in Western Australia to handle oil from the offshore Perth Basin Cliff Head oil field from the end of March 2006.
  • Australian Pipeline Trust signs five-year agreement with Verve Energy (formerly Western Power) for use of the Mondarra gas field in the onshore Perth Basin and associated Parmelia gas pipeline to Perth. APT will drill a new well on the field specifically for storage and later retrieval of gas to meet peak gas demand in the growing Western Australian market.
  • Chevron group spuds its carbon dioxide re-injection well on Barrow Island as part of the data gathering for geosequestration of carbon dioxide from the proposed Gorgon/Jansz field development.
 
January 2006
  • ENI Australia’s Scalybutt oil extension to the Woollybutt field comes on stream via the Woollybutt production facilities offshore Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia.
  • Great Artesian Basin Oil and Gas’s Rossco-1 wildcat is a new field gas discovery in the Cooper basin of South Australia.
  • Santos finds oil in Muthero-3 well in Eromanga basin of Queensland.
  • Cooper Energy finds oil in Fairbridge-1 wildcat in Cooper/Eromanga Basins of South Australia.
  • Molopo Australia records strong gas flows in its CBM program in the Gloucester Basin of New South Wales.
  • Eastern Star Gas signs MoU with Country Energy and Wambo Power to find markets for any new gas discoveries in ESG’s Darling Basin permits in western New South Wales.
  • Independent report certifies Arrow Energy’s Daandine coal bed methane project in Queensland’s Surat Basin has probable (2P) reserves of 24.2 billion cubic feet and probable & possible (3P) reserves of 361.6 billion cubic feet of gas.
  • Anzon Energy/Beach Petroleum’s Basker-Manta oil project in Bass Strait delivers first cargo (300,000 barrels) of crude to Sumitomo of Japan.
  • Australian Government earmarks $100 million for development of projects to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions, 25% of the funds to go to renewable energy projects.
  • Santos finds oil in its Curramba-1 wildcat in the Eromanga Basin of Queensland.
  • AGL finalises agreement with Oil Search for a 10% equity (US$400 million) stake in the upstream PNG gas production project which includes interests in oil and gas reserves as well as production & processing infrastructure.
  • Australia and Timor-Leste Governments sign Timor Sea agreement over 50:50 division of royalties from future Greater Sunrise gas fields production.
  • Shell negotiates to sell a total of 14 million tonnes of LNG from the Gorgon gas project offshore Western Australia to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation of India over 20 years.
  • Nexus Energy completes a $12 million settlement and licence transfer with Mogal Marine for purchase of the Crux gas/condensate field in the Timor Sea.
  • Plentex (formerly Plenty River Corporation) quits proposed project to build a $1 billion ammonia plant on the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia.
  • Kimberley Oil & Gas changes name to European Gas to reflect its new focus on coal bed methane in western Europe.
  • Arrow Energy brings on stream its Kogan North coal bed methane field in Surat Basin of Queensland selling gas to CS Energy delivered via the Roam-Brisbane gas pipeline at 2 terajoules a day.
  • Eagle bay Resources finds oil in Emily-1 wildcat in Eromanga Basin of South Australia.
  • AGL and Petronas announce plans to build a $1 billion, 1200km gas pipeline between Townsville and Ballara in Queensland to link with the proposed PNG-Queensland line and bring PNG gas to south eastern Australian markets.
    Eighteen natural gas users in US execute Letters of Interest in possible purchase of Australian LNG from BHP Billiton if it becomes available through BHPB’s planned Cabrillo Port LNG terminal off California.