UPSTREAM REVIEW
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/oet.12446 |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
UPSTREAM REVIEW
Asia Pacic
Austral ia: e government of the Australian state of
Victoria introduced legislation to permanently ban
fracking in the state aer “one of the most amazing
community campaigns in Australian history,” Premier
Daniel Andrews said.
e Resources Legislation Amendment (Fracking
Ban) Bill 2016 aects all onshore unconventional gas
exploration and development, including hydraulic
fracturing and coal seam gas. It also extends the exist-
ing moratorium, introduced in 2009, on conventional
onshore gas exploration to June 30, 2020.
Farming communities ac ross Victoria have long called
forabanonunconventionalgasoverconcernsaboutthe
environmentaland health risks associated with fracking.
Victoria’s farming sector cur rently employs more than
190,000 Victorians and exports approximately $12 bn in
food and ber products each year.
e ban is in a part of a response to the 2015 Par-
liament Inquiry into Onshore Unconventional Gas in
Victoria, which received 1,600 submissions opposed to
onshore gas.
A number of fracking companies, who hold still
explorationlicensesinthearea,willbecompensated
expenses up to $200,000 if they voluntarily relinquish
their licenses, the government has said. However, this
has been met wit h erce opposition f rom companies
such as Lakes Oil who have launched legal action in the
Supreme Court of Victoria , seeking a judicial review.
“We are not going to walk away from t he acreage
that we have on the cusp of commerciality …we’re
not going to wal k away from that for a relative pittanc e
of money,” stated Richard Sleeman, Lakes Oil Chief
Executive Ocer. Mr Sleeman said the review would go
aheadasthegovernment’scompensationwouldnotgo
far in covering the $80 mn in expenses that Lakes Oil has
accruedoverthelast30yearsforexploringgasandoilin
the state.
Resources Minister Wade Noonan said: “is is one
of the biggest issues ae cting regional Victoria and these
communities deserve to know whether or not the Coali-
tion will support the Andrews Labor Government’s leg-
islative ban.”
e Bill amends the Petroleum Act 1998 and the
Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990
to implement the government’s decision.
New Zealand: TAG Oil Ltd announced preliminary
test results from the Supplejack-1 well located in TAG’s
PEP 57065 permit in the TaranakiBasin of New Zealand.
Testing of the Supplejack-1 well began on November
2, 2016 at ow rates of approximately 7 MMscfd, but was
later restricted due to equipment constraints. Wellhead
pressures during the test were sustained at over 1,000 psi.
Testingwill continue to determine resource in place esti-
mates, optimal production rates, and the most suitable
commercialization strategy, the company said.
e Supplejack-1 well was rst drilled in 2005, but it
failed to produce oil commercially and was suspended.
However, the company has since reviewed its portfolio
of existing wells and identied the p otential to recom-
plete the well in an upper zone interpreted to contain
by-passed gas pay.
“I am very pleased with the results of the Supplejack-1
well, which once again demonstrates the potential to be
unlocked from TAG’sNew Zealand assets,” Toby Pierce,
TAG Oil C EO , su rm i se d.
Europe
UK: EnQuest announced that rst oil has been produced
from the Scolty/ Crathes development in the UK s ector of
the North Sea.
Scolty and Crathes are two lig ht oil accumulations,
situated approximately 161 km (100 mi) northea st of
Aberdeen. e elds are estimated to contain up to
15 mn bbl of gross oil technical reserves.
Amjad Bseisu, EnQuest CEO, said the UK-based oil
exploration and product ion company is “pleased to con-
rm the delivery of rst oil from Scolty/Crathes ahead of
schedule and under budget, approximately a year aer
the Field Development Plan (‘FDP’) was approved and
the project was sanctioned. is was the only oshore
pure oil FDP approvalin the UK North Sea in 2015. Unit
operating costs are expected to be under $15/bbl in the
initial peak volume years and production is anticipated
to continue until 2025.”
Scolty was discovered in 2007 by Lundin and Crathes
in 2011 by EnQuest. e development plan consists of
two single horizontal wells tied back over via subsea
pipeline 25 km (16 mi) in a “daisy chain” fashion to the
Kittiwake platform, in the Greater Kittiwake Area. Oi l
from Scolty and Crathes will be exported via the Forties
Pipeline System.
EnQuest holds a 50% interest, with MOL Growest (II)
Ltd holding 50%. In addition, EnQuest also holds a 50%
interest in the Greater Kittiwake Area.
Middle East
Israel: Israel is oering 24 blocks for bid in its o-
shore waters of the Levant Basin, located in the Eastern
Mediterrane an Sea.
e energy ministry said a survey commissioned from
French consulting company Beicip Franlab indicated a
potential from new sites of about 6.6 bn bbl of oil and
2,137 bcm of gas.
© 2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd
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