Commentators have now predicted a significant new oil province in the Exmouth Basin based around the Ravensworth, Stybarrow and Stickle discoveries, yet operator BHP Billiton has still not released the results to the market.

BHP external affairs personnel were unable to be contacted for comment. Australian listing rules say drilling information must be distributed to partners an hour before being released to the market so all parties can 'read from the same page' and correct any items of dispute. BHP external affairs still have not returned EnergyReview.Net’s calls.

This latest find backs up the initial discovery well which yielded a 37m net oil column and a 8m net gas column.

Not one to be left behind, Santos has joined the rush of Australian companies exploiting the relatively untapped resource wealth in North Africa, investing $70 million in a eight-well exploration venture over three years in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt, with major US petroleum group, Devon Energy Corporation. The first wildcat well, Khefren-1X, in Central Gulf of Suez, Egypt was due to spud on Friday.

Drillsearch Energy has added to its WA acreage by purchasing OMV Australia's (OMV) interests in the Turtle and Barnett oil fields located offshore in the Southern Bonaparte Gulf, NT/WA.

The Scalybutt-1 step out well may have extended the potential of the Woollybutt oil field after significant hydrocarbons were detected 1.6km west of the Woollybutt-2A, ST1 production well. Scalybutt-1 has been drilled on the western flank of the producing Woollybutt Oil Field with an 18m core being cut and recovered from the reservoir to provide information on the characteristics of the oil column.

As part of the PL18 Joint Venture the newly listed Enterprise Energy has announced a forward drilling program which includes drilling of a well in the Yellowbank Creek Oilfield located in the Surat Basin in Queensland.

Enterprise also joined Great Artesian Oil and Gas in spudding the Smegsy-1 well this week, targetting potential gas reserves of up to 40 billion cubic feet (bcf). Great Artesian has also had some success during the first Drill Stem Test (DST0 at Nutmeg-1 with gas flowing to surface from the Patchawarra Formation although flow rates are yet to be determined.

Amadeus Energy has completed the first phase testing of the Trio Scheinemann South-1 well, revealing commercial oil and gas flows, and has begun testing the Trio Gerdes-1 well.

Oil companies have ranked highly in the Fortune Global 500 biggest firms list for 2003 with four hydrocarbon giants ranking in the top 10, headed for the first time by Britain's BP.

BP edged out Exxon Mobil to grab second place overall, with British-Dutch group Royal Dutch/Shell in the number four spot and Frances Total coming in at number 10. However, Exxon Mobil proved to be the most profitable company on the list with a net profit of US$21.5 billion dollars.

With its northern NSW gas projects developing rapidly Eastern Star Gas (ESG) has successfully raised a further $8.238 million for working capital and ongoing gas exploration and appraisal programs.

This week ESG also passed a significant milestone as the Wilga Park Power Station was connected to the grid and acquired an 85% interest in Clarence Moreton Basin Petroleum Exploration Licences (PELs) 13 and 426 from Molopo Australia.

Final reserves figures for Queensland Gas Company's (QGC) Berwyndale South coal bed methane (CBM) field have been tallied with 378 billion cubic feet (bcf), equivalent to 389 Petajoules (PJ) of proved, probable and possible (3P) gas reserves being certified.

This takes QGC's total certified 3P reserves in the Surat Basin tenements to 559PJ.

New wells drilled recently at the gas project have also boosted the field's productivity with gas now flowing at over 1.2 million cubic feet per day.

Amity Oil will renew its attack on the Whicher Range from tomorrow with a multi-zone diesel fracture stimulation program at the Whicher Range-5 well after it was originally suspended as a potential gas producer in January.

During the week Lakes Oil re-entered the Wombat-2 well in Victoria's onshore Gippsland Basin with open perforations between 1,375 – 1,395m being squeezed off using cement and pressure testing to check the integrity of the work successfully completed.

Fresh from its victory over the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the regulated tariff for the Moomba-to-Sydney gas pipeline, reports have surfaced suggesting Australian Pipeline Trust (APA) is set to acquire the Goldfields and Parmelia pipelines in WA. Current owner CMS energy is in negotiations with APA, Origin Energy and Alinta over the sale of the 1375km Goldfields line and the 445km Parmelia line.

The troubled Tarantula-1 well in Western Australia's Perth Basin has restarted operations after a blowout left the future of the well up in the air, along with a large quantity of gas. The lower part of the well has now been successfully plugged and abandoned while a kick off plug and suspension plug have been set for a future sidetrack well (Tarantula 1 ST1).

Meanwhile the Noarlunga-1 exploration well has added to Beach Petroleum's recent poor run by failing to encounter any significant hydrocarbons before being plugged and abandoned.

Woodside Energy has awarded all engineering management operations for its Enfield floating oil production platform (FPSO) on Western Australia's North West Cape to an AMEC-Fluor consortium, but implementing a reimbursable contract instead of a lump sum bid.

In New Zealand Pohokura operator Shell Todd Oil Services has released updated development plans that include a single offshore platform and deviated onshore wells for the near-shore north Taranaki gas-condensate field.

Explorers seem to be zeroing in on New Zealand - applying for permits over vacant acreage to the north, south, east and west of the country. Crown Minerals' latest petroleum update outlines over a dozen areas under application from the Great South Basin and onshore Southland, to onshore Taranaki and offshore north of the Pohokura gas-condensate field.

The NZ government is about to call for tenders for its second round of projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, putting a possible sixty million dollars worth of emissions credits up for grabs. Previous credit offerings have been worth more than NZ$10 each on market.

Closer to home and in a bid to revive investment interest in alternative fuel programs the pre-election mode Geoff Gallop has dedicated $20 million to clean energy research with the Western Australian Energy Alliance (WA ERA).

Adding to its already hectic year, Pacific Hydro has embarked on a $24 million expansion of its Bakun AC Hydro project in the Philippines with tunnelling works underway for the Bakun Supplemental Hydro Project.