Australia leads the Gas Frontier

US Company Chevron Corp have just announced drilling success in the Carnarvon Basin offshore of Western Australia; this has been closely followed by Woodside Petroleum Ltd. It seems that Australia is the gift that keeps on giving and investment into exploration and production is proving itself popular among Australia’s neighbors.

Limited oil reserves mean that Australia and its leading industry executives are looking to gas for the future. In the last few years alone gas has shown remarkable growth both in domestic and export markets. With over 190 TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas resources still untapped industry execs have stated their claim that “more investment is a guarantee not a probability.”

Dr Beverly Ronalds, the Group Executive; Energy at CISRO, has a budget of $140 million and has agreed to meet at the Next Generation Gas Australia event. Companies have been looking at the development of unconventional gas such as CSG (coal seam gas) which have been proposed as the best bet for reducing emissions. This has been backed by Westside Corporation who have just completed drilling three new appraisal wells in Queensland's Bowen Basin and will join the NG Gas Australia committee. CSG is also the best bet for Australia in their quest to become the largest LNG exporter in the Asia Pacific region.

According to the Australian Parliament, gas exports are projected to increase to around 60 percent of production by 2020. We are about to enter the next stage of a ‘gas boom’ that will enrich the economy and see Australia emerge as a key supplier of raw materials fuelling Asia’s development. The recent discoveries in both the Pluto and Wheatstone projects are just a couple of those planned around Australia to target the rising demand for cleaner burning fuel, both globally and more specifically in Asia,

With so much change on the horizon the industry needs to invest in the future. This has lead to the congregation of executives from Adelaide Energy, Central Petroleum, Amadeus Energy, Icon Energy and Santos who will be meeting to discuss their investment plans, new drilling and production technologies and how to make gas extraction from these sources commercially viable and environmentally friendly.

Across industry sectors we are seeing the growth opportunities across Australia and reaping the rewards but we must be aware of the challenges involved in such rapid growth. Organizations must overcome the potential delays in development in order not to slow the process of delivery to those continents becoming more and more reliant on Australia’s resources.

Big risks and rewards in Latin America.

Bolivia's recent about face on LNG projects intended to supply the U.S. has prompted thoughtful investors to reexamine the pitfalls that might lie just below all those turmoil that best describes South American political economics at the most recent NG O&G Summit in Panama.

So what does Bolivia's nationalization of its oil and gas industry mean for the future of South American LNG projects? It emphasizes more than ever the political risk factors that companies will increasingly face. No matter how detailed a contract, a new political regime could change the rules and the conditions under which you made your investment virtually overnight. So adhering to a well outlined policy was discussed in detail at the most recent NG O&G LA Summit (hosted by GDS International).

New investors in Latin America arriving from other countries like China and India have already started the snowball of growth but here are still countries that are strongly market-oriented such as Colombia and Mexico. By and large, no LNG deal should be exempt from a deep analysis, particularly on the sovereign and regulatory environment and its associated risks.

Representatives such as Gregory Hebertson GM Exploration Latin America Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Hector De Santa Ana Director of E&P ANCAP, Jose Vicente Zapata Lugo President Columbus Energy Sucursal Colombia, Steve Benedetti VP Latin America Petro Vista Energy and George Lusco New Ventures Manager Repsol YPF also discussed how to deal with this level of risk? In any deal, every aspect much be defined of risk right from the start with a deep understanding of the host jurisdiction and its track record. That includes currency conversion risk, sovereign risk, financing guarantees and supply and customer agreements. Companies need to develop sophisticated risk management expertise, have great investment and technology capabilities and possess an understanding of the global market and the balance of gas and LNG supplies.

“Any given LNG project requires a rigorous permitting process involving different levels of government action from federal to local agencies. Environmental and safety issues should be addressed in a framework of fairness for all parties involved.” Scott Turner project director was quoted.

Another area which was championed by the NG O&G LA committee was the belief in the large number of new energy investors that were formerly government-owned entities who are now looking for new market opportunities, as well as the current government-owned ones. That includes companies like Chile's ENAR Colombia's Ecopetrol and Brazil's Petrobras. With the exception of Petrobras and ENAP, these companies typically do not have extensive know-how on technical aspects of an LNG project. Government-owned companies are usually less experienced in dealing with and understanding the needs of private investors, especially the newly created ones. Thus, they will benefit from working with experienced industry partners in developing markets and projects.

It is agreed though that with large natural gas reserves, Peru has designed the conditions to develop the Camisea project. One of its main features is to export LNG to the U.S. and Mexico. Today, Peru LNG is the most advanced project in South America. Other growth region recognized by the NG O&G committee are Chile and more recently Brazil and Argentina may consider alternative LNG projects to reinforce their energy matrix.

The NG O&G LA Committee have agreed that to continue growth into the future they must look for stable supply opportunities and to clearly assess the political, regulatory and market realities.

"Walking the Plank" - Securing Asia's Infrastructure

Leading names in the Oil & Gas industry set to meet to discuss the security of APACS Infrastructure and Oil and Gas reserves.

Previously thought to rest in the fictional novels of Sir Barri or Robert Stevenson, Pirates have made a resurgence over the past decade in the oil and gas rich coasts of Asia. Owing to such real threats leaders in the Oil and Gas industry will be meeting at the NG O&G APAC summit (hosted by GDS International) to discuss the safety and security to maintain a thriving infrastructure while protecting precious cargo needed by global business.

Expansion in shipping routes from the Asia to Europe and the US have just been given the go ahead to try and combat a 39% drop in traffic through 2009. But the security of this depleting commodity stretches far beyond protecting from maritime attack.

“The industry is faced with ever more dangerous extraction methods as the ‘easy oil’ stocks are used. Faced with Labor strikes, political instability and production delays security strategies must be put in place as global business and power needs does not break” David Bannister - Program Director.

A consortium led by Antonio Cailao President & CEO of the Philippine National Oil Corporation will be meeting to discuss the implementation of secure complex Oil and Gas Infrastructure and investments into in the technical, physical and technological disciplines with representatives from over fifty leading organizations from the APAC region such as SANTOS, Petro Energy Resources Corporation and Pakistan Petroleum Limited.

Key discussion points raised will be protecting onshore/offshore infrastructure, New Developments in Offshore Energy Vessels, Meeting the Needs of Deepwater & Ultra Deepwater Drilling & Production, Utilizing Digital Oil Field Information for Asset Improvement and Clean Energy and Sustainability.

With so many solutions available on the market today, these companies are walking a risky plank, choosing which early threat detection security or real time tracking could be the difference between swimming with the sharks or finding BlackBeards treasure.

Fuel for thought: Total e&p and Aspect Energy CEOs head to Englewood, Colorado

Brian Rovelli, President and CEO of Total e&p Research and Technology USA, LLC, and Stephen Lipari, President and CEO AASLAP/EVP Aspect Energy have both confirmed attendance at the Next Generation Oil and Gas Summit in June.

The summit, which will begin on June 3rd at The Inverness Hotel in Colorado, has been organised for Oil and Gas visionaries to combat the economic crisis and unite in this unreliable climate.

The question has been asked by many. Was the oil and gas industry to blame for the economic downfall? Accused of limiting supply to increase demand and therefore making prices rise, has lead to small businesses failing, subsequently contributing to the crumble in the financial world.

But with its multi-billion pound infrastructure can the Oil and Gas sector lead the economic turnaround?

Mr. Rovelli and Mr. Lipari are two of the most influential men in the sector. Their audience and peers will consist of many other industry leaders, whose decisions and business models in the coming years will shape the way the United States faces the energy crisis, the Obama administration’s regulations and decisions, and the relationship with oil-rich countries abroad.

Amongst this group are BG Group Head of Well Engineering John de Lange, Bill Barett Corporation Onshore Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Executive Wilfred Roux, Bonanza Creek Energy EVP of Engineering and Planning Gary Grove, and Ellora Energy’s Vice President of Exploration Valerie Walker. These industry veterans and many others will spend three days discussing the major issues that will shape the most vital of topics. If targets are achieved, with a large investment and unity amongst the sector, new innovation could pave the way to an economic upturn.

Candidate for US Senate wows elite Oil & Gas delegates at the NG O&G Summit

Commissioner Elizabeth Jones, a recognised leader in the field of energy supply, and recently announced candidate for the US Senate, wowed an audience of top Oil & Gas executives at the Next Generation Oil & Gas Summit last week in Colorado.

The Commissioner¹s policies are well-known throughout the industry, and she impressively oversees the Texas¹s energy supply, which is key to America¹s economical stability.
Last week¹s meeting was focused around Jones¹s political hurdles with the Obama Administration and the issues she faces in developing America¹s energy security by advancing domestic energy resources as an alternative to Obama¹s wish to outsource supplies from other countries. Her focus appears to be on the need to support the industry and the state during the unstable economic climate, and in turn create more jobs for US citizens.

As a fourth generation family member in energy supply, her passion and drive were a mere catalyst at the summit for Oil & Gas visionaries including John de Lange, Head of Well Engineering at BG Group; John t¹Hart, VP of Exploration at Talisman Energy; Juan Uribe, Manager Global Operations Upstream at Repsol; and Jay Still, EVP Domestic Operations at Pioneer Natural Resources. This esteemed group discussed new ways to deliver energy across America with technology leaders from CSC, Dupont, Landmark, Deep Down and MDA Geospatial.

Influential thinkers like Commissioner Elizabeth Jones are now stepping up to the challenge, and willing to take on the responsibility of America¹s energy supply by discussing political and economical ideas with other thought leaders. Platforms like the Colorado summit need to become available to the industry¹s figureheads for discussions to occur more frequently.

It is not very often that leaders of this calibre in the Oil & Gas industry can gather in one place. It is even more rare that a state can be held up as an example for the rest of America as Jones has done with Texas.
The question is ¬ will the US utilise these innovative ideas effectively in order to create a self-sufficient domestic energy supply, or will one of the richest economies in the world ultimately have to depend on smaller, less developed regions in order to survive?