Strong growth in 2005 Australian petroleum production

AUSTRALIAN petroleum production increased by 6.4% in 2005 to reach 446 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Production growth plus higher prices increased the total dollar value of 2005 Australian petroleum production to a record A$21.9 billion – up 30% from 2004.

The growth in volume of production resulted from growth in LNG (up 25%) and coal seam methane (up 89%).

Australian oil production fell by around two million barrels to 125 million barrels. Production of conventional gas and condensates was stable.

Western Australian production grew by nearly 10% to 281 million barrels of oil equivalent. The state’s share of national production increased from 61% to 63%.

Bush push for US LNG terminals

President George W Bush said this week he was prepared to use new laws to override state authorities on where LNG receiving terminals were located.

Woodside and BHP Billiton have been lobbying for three years to sell LNG to the US West Coast.

But concerns over the safety of LNG have stalled approval for a large terminal off the California coast that would transfer the gas from ships for sale in the US.

Each year, the US consumes the equivalent of all North-West Shelf gas reserves. Energy consumption growth is expected to be about 1.5% per annum.

WA marine complex completes first oil and gas jacket for export

THIS month the first-ever export of an oil and gas jacket from Australia left the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson bound for the Pohokura project, offshore New Zealand.

The $10 million Pohokura jacket was designed and built entirely in Western Australia by the Ausclad Group of Companies using the Common User Facility at the Australian Marine Complex

Since opening in July 2003, the Common User Facility has generated more than $55 million in local business and 800 new jobs from some 100 projects.

Clough posts another loss

Clough returned $A16.7 million loss in the first half the current financial year due to a $A26 million loss from two Indian contracts.

This follows problems in 2004 with the Origin Energy-operated BassGas project, which has also inflicted serious losses on Clough.

Clough has now reduced its risk exposure by limiting fixed-price contracts in which it bore the risk.

Clough expects a better performance in the second half of the financial year and expects to return a profit for the full financial year across group operations.

BHP caught up in Iraq scandal

EVIDENCE presented to the Cole Inquiry indicates that BHP was clearly warned by the federal government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that its plans to sell wheat to Iraq would be illegal.

DFAT told BHP that its $US5 million wheat shipment in 1996 would be acceptable only as a gift, the Cole Inquiry heard earlier this month.

DFAT warned that if the shipment was treated as a commercial sale with deferred payment, the deal would breach sanctions under the United Nations' oil-for-food program.

But BHP went on to pursue a course that it had been advised was illegal. In September 2000, BHP executive Philip Aiken assigned the debt recovery to Tigris Petroleum, a junior that shared a Baghdad office with BHP and was led by two former BHP executives.

The money, which by then included another $US3 million in interest, was recovered with the help of Australian wheat marketer AWB by inflating the prices of wheat shipments to Iraq paid for by the UN.

First Darwin LNG shipment hits snag

THE tanker preparing to take the first liquefied natural gas shipment from Darwin has been stuck in port for several days because of problems with the loading process.

Darwin LNG operator Conoco Phillips said such delays were common in the commissioning stage of projects and the shipment was actually ahead of its original schedule.

The contract is not due to start until March and during the commissioning stage the company is planning to sell several cargoes on the international LNG spot market.

About 3 million tonnes of LNG, drawn from the Bayu Undan gas fields in the Timor Sea's Joint Petroleum Development Area, have been contracted each year to Tokyo Electric and Tokyo Gas for 17 years.

LNG gas carriers are due to arrive in Darwin every seven to 10 days, with each load initially expected to take 10-12 hours.