Australia

A 3-year study of air quality, soils, groundwater, and waterways found few to no effects as a result of hydraulic fracturing operations in Surat Basin coal seam formations.

This contract is for the development of the Lambert Deep and Phase 3 offshore Northwest Australia.

The savings result in part from the depreciation of global currencies against the US dollar, as most operating expenses in oil and gas production are realized in local currencies. Brazil leads in savings.

The company announced both contract awards simultaneously. The new contract awards could be worth up to $800 million.

The Australian company upped its forecast of initial oil production out of the field from 50,000 B/D to somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 B/D. It expects to spend between $1.9 billion and $2.2 billion on the field's development.

The pipeline is the first step in developing the infrastructure needed to transport gas between Pluto LNG and the Karratha Gas Plant in Western Australia. Woodside is targeting 2022 startup.

The FPSO, MODEC's largest size of "gas FPSO" to date, will be the first application of the contractor’s M350 Hull, a next-generation newbuilt hull for FPSOs.

The deal for ConocoPhillips’s northern Australian portfolio will help the Australian company boost its position in the country’s gas market, as it gains majority ownership in a set of key assets including Darwin LNG and the Barossa project.

Santos Energy said its second and final flow test from the Dorado field suggests potential flow rates of around 30,000 B/D from each Caley reservoir production well.

As the operator seeks to raise $15 billion from asset sales through 2021, it sees a viable opportunity in its Gippsland Basin upstream portfolio, which could fetch up to $3 billion in a sale. Wood Mackenzie anticipates strong interest, but the age of the field may prove problematic.