bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Environmental liability and asset retirement obligations
Authors: Clark Michael , Claypool John
Published: August 2017

Oil companies, partnerships and entities developed for the exploration and/or production of hydrocarbons typically invest for a reasonably certain period of time, with the assets projected to have little or no value at the end of their life cycle.
Historically, production facilities were decommissioned as cost effectively as possible, with limited consideration of the cost of this practice being factored into the initial costs or operating budgets, and the salvage value of the scrap metal was applied to cover the cost of the demolition.
Today, most oil and gas producers are required to account for the estimated future cost of dismantling and removing facilities and equipment, as well as restoring land to its previous condition. The estimated costs for future dismantling, removal, and restoration are different to other costs associated with the acquisition and use of productive assets.
The impact of potential environmental expenses associated with these practices typically occurs after an asset has ceased production. Planning for environmental costs for asset retirement obligations (AROs) is ideally conducted during the asset's operating life. This is so that compliance costs and other operating expenses are recorded consistently in conformance with accounting policies and regulations. Tentatively identified AROs include: asbestos, batteries, PCB transformers, underground or above ground storage tanks, well abandonment, waste impoundments, mercury, and other components of an active producing facility.
Operators need to identify specific performance requirements that may impose obligations on their organisation. Federal, state and local requirements need be considered, as they apply to specific operating conditions.
Hydrocarbon charge in the onshore Canning Basin: insights from quantitative fluorescence and fluid inclusion investigations
Authors: Liu Keyu , Ghori Ameed , Kempton Richard , Eadington Peter , Fenton Stephen , Mills David
Published: August 2017

The vast and mostly onshore Canning Basin—with an area of approximately 595,000 m2—is the least explored onshore sedimentary basin in Australia. As part of the petroleum system assessment carried out by WA DMP, more than 160 samples were investigated from eight wells in the onshore Canning Basin—they are:

Acacia-1
Dodonea-1
Dodonea-2
Lake Hevern-1
Looma-1
White Hill-1
Wilson Cliffs-1
Yulleroo-1.
Fluid inclusion and quantitative fluorescence techniques developed by CSIRO were used, including:

The grains containing oil inclusions (GOITM) technique;
The quantitative grain fluorescence (QGF) technique;
QGF on extracts (QGF-E); and,
the total scanning fluorescence (TSF) technique.
The results reveal a widespread occurrence of hydrocarbon shows in the reservoir intervals investigated—7–8 wells showed evidence of oil migration and/or accumulations often occurring at multiple depth intervals. In White Hill-1, elevated QGF and QGF-E responses were recorded in the sandy units in a depth interval of more than 500 m in the Fairfield Group. A residual or palaeo oil column of >20 m gross height at 1,655 m was apparent from the QGF and QGF-E depth profiles—and GOI and TSF data. Oil inclusions from the Fairfield Group in White Hill-1 show spectral signature typical of thermally mature and light-medium API gravity. The TSF results also indicate the presence of some condensate species, as well as relatively heavy and possibly bio-degraded oils.
The new fluid inclusion and fluorescence data provide direct evidence of an active petroleum system in the Canning Basin at multiple reservoir intervals, which may be of local significant quantity.
Esso Highlands Limited—committed to world's best practice assessment processes for the PNG LNG Project
Authors: McNulty Patti , Mathieson Mark
Published: August 2017

The PNG LNG Project is a major resource project in Papua New Guinea that should double the GDP of PNG and provide significant benefits to numerous remote, regional and metropolitan communities. Through a commitment to providing optimal training and employment opportunities for PNG nationals, Esso Highlands Limited is recruiting candidates from all over PNG to take up training and employment opportunities.
One opportunity for PNG candidates is the Operations and Maintenance Technician Traineeship Program. This involves 18 months of preparatory training in Port Moresby and 12 months at advanced technical training facilities overseas followed by up to 24 months on the job training at the actual facility; either the Hides gas conditioning plant in the Southern Highlands or at the LNG plant outside Port Moresby in PNG.
This program is structured to establish a highly-trained workforce of more than 150 technicians for key operational roles in the PNG LNG Project. A nationwide recruitment drive attracted more than 8,000 applicants. Although the scale of this response—in a country with poor socio-economic conditions and limited paid employment opportunities—was anticipated, the linguistic and cultural diversity of the candidates provided a major challenge for Esso Highlands. The challenge involved how to appropriately and fairly assess and select the required number of trainees from this massive pool of candidates.
To address some of the assessment and selection needs, Esso Highlands Limited commissioned ValueEdge Consulting in light of their experience and expertise in delivering similar culturally appropriate assessment programs throughout Australia and southeast Asia. This presentation will provide an overview of the staged assessment model used to select the 76 most suitable candidates from the original 8,000 applicants for the first traineeship program, which commenced in Port Moresby in July 2010.
The success of this recruitment program in a culturally, linguistically and educationally diverse country is highlighted by the fact that another significant-sized group of the candidates were retained by Esso Highlands Limited in internship positions—this is in addition to the 76 candidates selected for trainee positions. Due to the high-calibre talent pool attracted by this opportunity and assessed through this program, the extended pool of retained candidates enabled Esso Highlands Limited to meet their needs for the traineeships and also to identify suitable candidates to fulfill a range of their other training and employment opportunities.
This presentation will outline details of the selection methods and tools used for the assessment of: training potential, technical aptitude, interpersonal skills, technical knowledge, team work, and individual competencies. The presentation also outlines a model for other green-field sites in countries where traditional recruitment methodologies are ineffective or culturally and linguistically biased against the local population.
Montara: broader implications
Authors: Cutler Jane
Published: August 2017

After almost two years, the implications of the Montara incident and the more recent Macondo disaster are still evolving. Failure of safety critical barriers led to the Montara blowout and spill. Why did these barriers fail and what are the associated lessons for operators, regulators and governments? There are parallels with the Macondo Incident in the Gulf of Mexico and while many of the insights are particular to drilling, there are others that are applicable to other activities in the oil and gas industry. While the deepest impacts of the Macondo disaster are felt by the families and friends of those who were killed and injured, the broader implications affect the oil and gas industry itself, other industries that expect to co-exist with the petroleum industry, governments and communities, and all those—employees and investors—whose economic future is linked with the industry. Questions we should all be asking include:

Is a particular operator competent enough to prevent problems? Can they afford to pay should things go wrong?
Are today’s facilities being designed and built to maximise inherent safety ? Do they automatically fail safe when things go wrong ?
Have we set up our regulators for success?
Using size distribution analysis to forecast natural gas resources in Asia Pacific
Authors: Aguilera Roberto , Ripple Ronald
Published: August 2017

Increasing energy consumption in the Asia Pacific region will largely be met by fossil fuel resources. Natural gas production in the region presently ranks behind that of oil and coal; however, the abundance of natural gas could lead to a significant gas market share increase in the energy mix.
The purpose of this extended abstract is to estimate the total endowment of conventional natural gas in Asia Pacific. This is carried out with a variable shape distribution (VSD) model, which forecasts volumes in provinces that have not been previously evaluated. The endowment is then distributed across countries to show where volumes are most likely to be found. A breakdown between offshore versus onshore resources is also estimated.
The results of the analysis show that there is a significant natural gas endowment in the region. The estimated distribution across countries and onshore/offshore areas provides insight into the relative economics of natural gas production in the region, as well as a basis for potential investment decisions. With appropriate energy policies and improvements in technology, it may be possible to tap the vast natural gas potential in the Asia Pacific. Considering natural gas may be the most abundant, inexpensive, and clean fossil fuel, the outcome would be increased energy security and a low carbon economy.
Evaluation of ionic effect of green surfactants on interfacial tension reduction under reservoir conditions for enhanced oil recovery
Authors: Haq Bashirul , Liu Jishan , Liu Keyu
Published: August 2017

Ions play a vital role in surfactant chemistry of EOR. The ionic effects of green surfactants are not yet well characterised, but they are biodegradable and environmental friendly, and have great potential for EOR. This study characterises some green anionic and non-ionic surfactants through the determination of the interfacial tension (IFT) of each group and the combined effect of the green surfactants with alcohols on IFT and micro emulsions; and the oil recovery factor through laboratory experiments.
Alky Polyglucosides (APG) was selected from the non-ionic group, which can produce ultra low IFT. APG surfactants are produced from coconut/palm oil, corn, potato or wheat residues. Bio-surfactants produced by a microbe called Bacillus mojavensis was taken from the anionic group.
This study has found that the APG surfactants are completely and quickly biodegradable and environmentally friendly. APG surfactants show low long-term aquatic toxicity for bacteria, favourable for fish and acceptable effects are on Daphnia and Algae. Our laboratory tests have confirmed that APG PG 8166 can reduce IFT from 12–3.16 dyne/cm at 40 ppm under laboratory ambient condition and from 12–4.32 dyne/cm at a reservoir condition of 50oC and 1000psi. In contrast, the bio-surfactant at 40 ppm decreased IFT from 12–4.14 dyne/cm at the same reservoir condition.
Temperature appears to have little effect on the IFT of APG surfactants. There is no significant reduction in the IFT values when APG at 10 ppm combined with the pentanol at concentrations of 15–120 ppm.
The effect of surface profile on the sand erosion of aluminium
Authors: Wong Chong , Graham Lachlan , Swallow Anthony , Solnordal Chris , Wu Jie
Published: August 2017

Management and prediction of sand erosion on oil and gas equipment are important for the safety, reliability and maintenance of the production facility. Prediction of sand erosion is not a trivial task as it requires an understanding of the fluid flow-field, movement of abrasive particles in this flow-field and their subsequent impact on the target material surface. It is reasonable to assume that once sand erosion occurs on a surface, the rate of erosion would be constant.
This is not always the case since the surface topography may change over time. An experiment investigating the sand erosion of a hole centred in a rectangular aluminium plate was designed to explore this phenomenon. The sample was subject to erosion by two 50 kg batches of sand; surface profiles of the hole were measured after each batch.
The results suggest that a pre-eroded surface has an increased change of erosion depth compared with a new surface. As erosion progresses, the geometry of the sample alters and, depending on location, the change of erosion depth, relative to the previously eroded profile, on the sample surface varied from -30-50%; slight material build-up occurred on the inner face of the hole due to extrusion processes during erosion.
Advantages of lean gas for an upstream gas-gathering system
Authors: Hazle Dave
Published: August 2017

Offshore lean gas developments are often perceived as being inferior to a wet gas development. In this case study, the advantages of lean gas are shown to be an enabler, making a project viable in an area where many small lean gas accumulations combine to produce a viable development. Through beneficial flow assurance, cheaper and simpler facilities, larger drainage radii and technology applications such as DEH, viability of a development can be demonstrated in an area where smaller discoveries are currently perceived as being stranded.
Dealing with oil and gas unions
Authors: Drake-Brockman Allan , White Daniel
Published: August 2017

Since the commencement of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) on 1 July 2009, there has been a significant increase in union activity in Australia’s oil and gas industry. Recent case examples concerning the Pluto Project and various other disputes flag the importance of project managing industrial relations to ensure project delivery dates are met. Due to the contract interdependencies on large scale oil and gas projects, industrial action taken by a union in relation to a single sub-contractor can have ripple effects—causing budget blow-outs.
Emerging union influence is such a concern that some of Australia’s leading companies operating in the oil and gas industry now identify industrial activity as a key project risk. Furthermore, many Australian leading financial institutions now assess a company’s potential exposure to industrial action as part of their key lending criteria. New innovative industrial relations strategies are now part of the weaponry Australian unions use when representing their members—this includes global union strategies. Moreover, there is already evidence that the FW Act can promote the occurrence of demarcation disputes between unions. This type of industrial activity leads to poor outcomes for employers and can prove to be very costly—especially in a multi-million dollar a day industry. Providing insight into the recent union activities in the industry are the following cases:

Heath v Gravity Crane Services Pty Ltd
Boskalis Australia Pty Ltd v Maritime Union of Australia
CFMEU v Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd
Offshore Marine Services Pty Ltd v Maritime Union of Australia

There are a number of strategies oil and gas companies and sub-contractors can use to mitigate the effects of union influence in the workplace.
Gas saturation measurement in low-porosity sands
Authors: Marsh Roger , Ansari Rafay , Chace David , Boyle Keith
Published: August 2017

Traditionally, pulsed neutron data has been used to calculate water saturation and/or monitor gas/water contacts in zones of high formation water salinity. In low or unknown salinities carbon/oxygen measurements have been used for oil saturation measurements in porosities greater than 15%. In tight gas sands, porosities are typically less than 10% and are too low for either method to work. In gas sands with low or unknown water salinities and porosities below 15%, neither Sigma or C/O measurements will work. New pulsed neutron instrumentation and methodology are available for through-casing gas saturation measurements.
The new technology is independent of water salinity and enables gas saturation calculations to be made in porosities as low as 5%. The technique includes modelling that enables the tool response to be determined in advance. Modelling takes into account several factors, including: lithology, completion geometry, reservoir pressure, gas density, and gas composition (for example: methane or CO2).
The measurements are sensitive to gas pressure in the reservoir, and this paper will discuss ways that the data can be used to infer the relative and, in some cases, absolute pressures of different zones. The data set presented straddles the gas/water contact in the borehole. The effects of re-invasion by the borehole fluids will be discussed with respect to the corresponding openhole and cased hole water saturations, from both inelastic and capture measurements.
Impact of gradual process change on onshore facilities
Authors: Russ Paul R. , Foote Andrew R
Published: August 2017

This paper will demonstrate that a broad disciplined approach to monitoring and inspection programs is required in order to manage the impact of gradual changes in process conditions on operating facilities. Where no process or integrity issues existed previously, gradual changes in the process can have a significant effect on the integrity of pressure equipment. The impact of gradual change in offshore production rates on onshore pressure equipment integrity and in particular, the effects of sand and microbiological induced corrosion is described. The management of sand was found to be important in controlling integrity. Co-ordination and communication between different functional groups was essential to adopting new measures to control the integrity threat. The measures that were undertaken to ensure the ongoing integrity of the facilities are described.
Gradual process changes can be recognised early, provided that appropriate monitoring and inspection programs are performed. These are outlined so that operators of other facilities can learn and take appropriate action.
Why North American markets have shifted to spoolable pipe versus traditional pipeline materials and its implications for Australian operators
Authors: Owens Nick , Feechan Mike , McMillan Don
Published: August 2017

During the past 12 years, spoolable pipe has become a widespread preference for in-field gathering and injection applications compared to welded steel and stick fibreglass pipelines. It is now broadly used in oil and gas fields throughout North America, with more than 300 end users, including every major operator.
To date, more than 25,000 km of spoolable pipe has been installed in North America for more than 450 operators. Fast installation, lower costs, safer installation, immunity to corrosion and low maintenance in service are the drivers for this rapid success. The technology is well on its way to displacing steel or stick glass-fibre reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipe as the technology of choice for lines up to nominal 6-inch in diameter. Compared to a single 8- or 10-inch line, companies are finding having multiple spoolable pipes in the same ditch to be more economical.
Field results have demonstrated spoolable pipe’s immunity to corrosion and have also shown how using spoolable pipes can save 25% or more in costs when compared to overall installed costs for welded steel or stick fibreglass pipelines by significantly reducing onsite construction expense, installation time and onsite manpower requirements, including skilled welding personnel.
Analysis of overpressure and its generating mechanisms in the northern Carnarvon Basin from drilling data
Authors: Sagala Iko , Tingay Mark
Published: August 2017

The Northern Carnarvon Basin is one of Australia’s most prolific hydrocarbon basins. Overpressure has been encountered in numerous wells drilled in the Northern Carnarvon Basin. Knowledge of overpressure distribution is important for drilling and exploration strategies, and understanding the origin of overpressure is essential for applying reliable pore pressure prediction techniques.
Unconventional pore pressure indicators—primarily drilling kicks and the presence of connection gas—were used to improve an updated distribution of overpressure and to investigate the origin of overpressure in the Northern Carnarvon Basin. This unconventional dataset was compiled from 45 wells. Overpressures are observed in 40 wells and tend to occur near, or on, the Rankin Platform, Alpha Arch, and Barrow Trend. The presence of overpressure in this area coincides with the region of maximum Cenozoic deposition. Overpressured strata in the Northern Carnarvon Basin occurs through a wide stratigraphic range, from Late Triassic to Paleocene sequences. Generally, post Paleocene sequences in the Northern Carnarvon Basin are considered to be normally pressured.
Porosity-vertical effective stress analysis in shale lithologies was used to investigate the origin of overpressure in the Northern Carnarvon Basin. Porosity-vertical effective stress plots from 28 wells in the Northern Carnarvon Basin identified 20 wells where the overpressure appears to be generated by disequilibrium compaction, and eight wells where the overpressure appears to be generated by a component of fluid expansion. Disequilibrium compaction mechanisms were the predominant cause of overpressure in wells around the Rankin Platform and areas located further away from the coast. Conversely, fluid expansion mechanisms were the predominant cause of overpressure in wells around the Alpha Arch and Bambra Trend, and an area located closer to the coast. These results broadly confirm those obtained from earlier studies and highlight the usefulness of kick and connection gas data in overpressure analysis.
Geometric attributes of reservoir elements in a modern, low accomodation, tide-dominated delta
Authors: Nanson Rachel , Ainsworth Bruce , Vakarelov Boyan , Fernie Andrew , Massey Thomas
Published: August 2017

The influence of wave, tide and fluvial processes on shorelines varies considerably in and between coastal systems; this can result in the development of architecturally complex, mixed-process systems. Of these, tide-dominated systems produce some of the most heterogeneous deposits. The arrangement of reservoir elements generated by wave and fluvial processes in such tide-dominated systems can be, to some degree, systematic and predictable. This research details a modern, tide-dominated, fluvial-influenced, wave-affected coastal system. It presents geometric attributes for reservoir elements that can be used to improve the construction of 3D reservoir models of these depositional environments.
The Mitchell River is the largest fluvial system, discharging into the low accommodation setting of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Its Holocene delta extends to more than 500 km2. Eleven types of depositional elements (n = 3,100) were mapped across the delta plain: 286 km2 of tidal, 133 km2 of fluvial and 101 km2 of wave elements make up the delta surface. Fluvially and wave-formed reservoir elements form systematic arrangements across the system. More than 75% of wave elements are aligned inside 45° of the shoreline and these are generally crescentic (asymmetric) or linear in shape. Fluvial elements are aligned either perpendicular to the shoreline, or alongshore, because they are trapped behind wave-formed, shore parallel features. Separate wave and fluvial reservoir element datasets demonstrate convincing, though distinctly different, length-to-width relationships; wave-formed elements are much longer than fluvial-formed elements, relative to their widths. Despite pronounced heterogeneity in the distribution of these depositional elements across the delta surface, these relationships suggest their distribution is, to some degree, predictable. Analysis of the connectivity of adjacent sandbody elements suggests the largest connected sandbody is significant and extends to more than 90 km2.
Seafloor geomorphology and submarine landslide hazards along the continental slope in the Carnarvon Basin, Exmouth Plateau, North West Shelf, Australia
Authors: Hengesh James , Dirstein James K. , Stanley Alistair J.
Published: August 2017

3D exploration seismic data were interpreted to investigate the locations and characteristics of submarine slope failures along the continental slope in the offshore Carnarvon Basin on Australia’s North West Shelf. Seisnetics™, a patented genetic algorithm was used to process the 3D seismic data to extract virtually all trough and peak surfaces in an unbiased and automated manner. The extracted surfaces were combined in the 3D visual database to develop a seafloor digital terrain model that extends from the continental slope to the Exmouth Plateau. The 3D data were used to map the subsurface extent and geometry of landslide failure planes, as well as to estimate the thickness and volumes of slide deposits. This paper describes the geomorphic characteristics of five of the survey areas.
Geomorphic mapping shows the presence of slope failures ranging from small (20 km across) mass transport complexes (MTC). The features are associated with debris flow chutes, turbidity flow channels, and debris fields. Analysis of failure planes show prominent grooves or striations related to the mobilisation of slide material down both the continental slope and Exmouth Plateau and into the Kangaroo Syncline.
Submarine slope failures can occur at the continental shelf break in about 200–300 m of water and run out to the Exmouth Plateau surface in about 1,100–1,400 m water depths. The largest individual slides in the survey areas have widths of 30 km and minimum run-out lengths of 75 km, though associated turbidity flow deposits likely extend much further. The subsurface expression of the large MTCs illustrates a history of sediment accumulation along the mid-slope followed by repeated slope failure and debris run-out.
Sediment accumulation and slope failure processes are actively occurring along the continental slope and submarine landslides thus are a major driver of hazard to subsea infrastructure development. Smaller more frequent slides may pose a greater hazard than large infrequent MTCs.
Simulating the impact of coal seam gas water production on aquifers
Authors: Strand Julian , Freij-Ayoub Reem , Ahmed Shakil
Published: August 2017

Derived from a larger scale project, which studied geomechanical issues associated with coal seam gas (CSG) production, this paper investigates a hypothetical case study based on the Latrobe Valley, Gippsland Basin, Victoria. The paper focuses on examining aquifer water management associated with CSG production-related water extraction. As such, the paper limits itself to determining the volume of water production from a hypothetical case study area in the Latrobe Valley. A simplistic property model and methane production strategy has been used. The impact of extraction of this water on the hydraulic head in aquifers underlying the produced seams is quantified.
The Latrobe Valley Depression contains 129,000 million tonnes of coal resources and is one of the world’s largest, and lowest cost, energy sources. Most of Victoria’s electricity is generated using coal from the Loy Yang, Morwell and Yallourn mines. In addition to these massive operations, significant additional coal resources are available and unallocated at this time. Opportunities exist for the continued usage of these resources for electricity production, gasification, liquefaction and other coal conversion processes, as well as solid fuel for industrial, domestic and other uses. The existence of data from the Victorian Department of Primary Industries 2003 coal resource model was the main reason for the selection of the case study, and their data was used to form a model of the stratigraphy of the Latrobe Valley. Aquifer models were simulated in MODFLOW, based on extraction figures modelled in the CSG simulator COMET3.
Our people are our business
Authors: Struthers Bronwyn
Published: August 2017

Every year in Australia, the number of people taking their own lives is more than those who die in vehicle accidents. Further, the most recent studies show industry workers are six times more likely to commit suicide than to die from a workplace accident. Simply put, mental health significantly impacts workplaces.
Estimations suggest mental health issues cost Australian industry $14.8 billion. Further, an employee who is not mentally healthy presents fitness for work issues similar to those of a worker influenced by drugs or alcohol.
Protecting the mental health and safety of our workforce is the right thing to do—for workers, their families and the wider community. A proactive approach to mental health has a positive impact on workplace culture, which further impacts safety outcomes and productivity. Moreover, training numerous psychologists is not required.
Proven strategies that are practical, simple and cost-effective are available. Preventative approaches include strategies borrowed from the military to strengthen the resilience of workers and their families. From a mitigation perspective, a first-aid model means it is about providing support and care, and all levels of the workforce can be equipped with the skills to help.
It is mostly about having the confidence to ask the question and to listen. De-mystifying mental health and making it okay to talk about significantly reduce the likelihood of depression, anxiety and self-harm. By following this first-aid model, a difference can be made.
Early engagement
Authors: Dunster Jeremy
Published: August 2017

In mid-2010, amendments to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009 and the associated Levies Regulations provided, for the first time, a mechanism for operators of proposed facilities to enter formal dialogue with the regulator about the safety of a proposed facility early in its design.
The amended provisions provided flexibility to the timing of agreeing to a scope of validation and the means for the regulator to recover the costs of assessing a submission made at this early stage. Since mid-2010, a number of operators have chosen to submit early engagement safety cases for assessment and feedback to manage regulatory risk. Such submissions have also provided the regulator with the opportunity to challenge the operator’s consideration of inherent safety principles at a point in the design of a facility when changes could be reasonably expected to be made.
While the present arrangements have been welcomed by industry and the regulator alike, they do encompass a number of challenges. In particular, the application of existing provisions not appropriately focused on concept selection and design has required the use of suboptimal administrative arrangements. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) and the National Offshore Petroleum and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) have continued to work with the Department of Resources Energy and Tourism to ensure the regime includes more appropriately targeted provisions applicable to all proposed production facilities in the future. This extended abstract summarises the latest experiences and the view about where early engagement is headed in pursuit of a safer Australian offshore petroleum industry.
Short-form agreements: tips and traps
Authors: Williams Alison
Published: August 2017

It is a common practice in the oil and gas industry for arrangements to be made by letters of intent, heads of agreement, memoranda of understanding or other short form documents; however, these less formal types of documents can suffer from inherent weaknesses that may render them invalid or difficult to enforce. Are you at risk that your pro-forma short-form agreement could turn out to be unenforceable in whole or in part?
This extended abstract provides tips on how to minimise the risk that a short-form agreement will not stand up to scrutiny; it also identifies traps to avoid. Scenarios where an agreement may not constitute an agreement and the types of clauses that may be found to be invalid or otherwise difficult to enforce are also considered.
Taking the complexity out of managing the expense line—general and administrative (G&A) cost-management strategies for LNG and CSG projects
Authors: Smith Jonathan
Published: August 2017

Cost management is often viewed as a financial issue, but the leading organisations are driving cost-management cultures across their whole businesses. In the world of complex LNG and CSG capital projects, it is those companies that avoid cost escalation and will outperform their competitors.
In the early stages of a project, the G&A expense line often gets disregarded as the focus is getting through FEED to FID and beyond. Experience shows that without rigorous processes and systems, G&A costs can grow significantly, often without real transparency of the activity that is driving these costs and from where they are being driven.
The lack of transparency in the burdening of G&A costs can lead to an operator having to absorb tens of millions of dollars of un-budgeted expense or the non-op JV’s being burdened with higher costs. This extended abstract highlights some of the leading practices and examines some of the issues facing the LNG and CSG industry:

Why do G&A costs get out of control so quickly on major capital projects?
What can be done to ensure there are processes and systems in place to support a no-loss, no-gain cost-management philosophy?
What are the key enablers to building a cost culture?
What key performance indicators can operators use to help manage G&A costs during the major capital projects phase, to first gas and beyond?
Improvements in development strategy for the Stag Oil Field, North West Shelf, Australia—implications for production success and drilling risk minimisation
Authors: Anderson Paul , Bingaman Paul , Betts Sam , Graves Kyle , Fernandes Fred , O'Sullivan Fiona
Published: August 2017

Located on the North West Shelf of Western Australia, the Stag Oil field has proven to be a prolific reservoir, having produced more than 55 million barrels (MMbbls) of oil since 1998. This has not been without its challenges, however; with premature water breakthrough from injection wells occuring in several wells, potentially stranding large volumes of oil in the ground. Using the multicomponent processing and joint amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) inversion of an ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic survey acquired in late 2007, new light has been shed on the distribution of unswept oil.
This data has led to the succesful drilling of six wells and a marked increase in field production. Additionally, the seismic data has also been used to minimise drilling risks by using seismic coherency to steer the well around potential problems with a significant impact on well costs due to reduction of wellbore problems associated with horizontal drilling in the Muderong shale.
To date, four wells have been drilled using this technique, resulting in a significant decrease in non-productive time while drilling during the most recent drilling campaign, which has a significant impact upon the profitability of these late-stage development wells.
Understanding the opposition to onshore gas development
Authors: Price Andrew
Published: August 2017

In contrast to the US where private landowners have retained rights to the gas underlying their lands, in Australia, State legislation has vested all petroleum (including gas) in the Crown. As such, it is the states, rather than landowners, that have the right to issue licences to gas developers and receive royalties. Landowners' lack of control over the development of gas under their lands has caused most discontent within farming communities, particularly towards the coal seam gas industry.
Similar opposition will presumably be faced by the onshore shale gas industry once it begins to burgeon. The resistance to onshore gas development is typically justified by concerns relating to the adverse effects that development has on agriculture and groundwater. In this respect, development methods such as fracking have been criticised by an arguably ill-informed public.
This opposition cannot be ignored, particularly as it has become such a highly politicised issue, with calls for landowners to have a right to veto access by gas developers. The significance of this is further heightened by numerous senate inquiries into the adverse affects claimed to be caused by onshore gas development.
Accordingly, it is critical for anyone proposing to undertake onshore gas development to understand the underlying motivation driving this powerful opposition. Is it really a product of the inability of regulatory regimes to balance the interests between private landowners and gas developers? If so, perhaps if other states followed the novel measures recently introduced by Queensland, these concerns would be largely addressed.
The presence of natural methane in Great Artesian Basin aquifers of the Surat Basin
Authors: Harris Kathryn , Pointon Vair , Morris Ryan
Published: August 2017

The Surat Basin portion of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in Queensland has long been known to contain natural gas from both conventional and CSG sources. Commercial gas extraction from conventional sources target the Evergreen and Precipice Formations, which are among the lowermost of the Surat Basin stratigraphic units; however, evidence exists of methane occurrences in waterbores, which in most cases, access aquifers much shallower than recognised conventional gas or CSG targets.
Large-scale development of CSG in the Surat and southern Bowen basins has highlighted the presence of gas in aquifers overlying and underlying the coal measures. Potential issues associated with gas in waterbores include health and safety risks, and the difficulty of establishing baseline groundwater bore conditions against which potential CSG impacts can be compared.
Australia Pacific LNG has been investigating the presence of gas in the aquifers across the basin. The program has involved the routine measurement of wellhead gas concentrations and analysis of dissolved gas in waterbores. Stable isotope analysis of the dissolved methane (δ13C-methane and δD-methane) has been undertaken to ‘fingerprint’ aquifer gasses to ascertain their provenance. More recently, δ13C-CO2 has been added to the suite of isotopes. Initial results confirm the presence of natural methane across the study area and in all of the GAB aquifers sampled. Isotopic analysis indicates a distinct difference in isotopic signatures between the methane from the coal measures and that of the overlying aquifers from which most groundwater is extracted.
Stratigraphy of the Birdrong: an integrated approach
Authors: Trainor Jessica , Goodall Jeffery , Amos Kathryn
Published: August 2017

A detailed study of the Early Cretaceous Birdrong Sequence (S. areolata - P. burgeri) has been undertaken in the East Spar and Woollybutt fields, which lie in the northern end of the Barrow Delta complex in the Barrow Sub-basin, Northern Carnarvon Basin. This project integrates palynological, sedimentological and seismic stratigraphic interpretations to progress our understanding of the way in which the Barrow Delta evolved. The results will help develop remaining hydrocarbon prospectivity in the northern Barrow area.
Palynological analysis within the Helby, Morgan and Partridge (2004) zonation scheme for the North West Shelf has enabled the identification of several significant biostratigraphic events, which have allowed further subdivision of the existing broad palynological zones. These palynological events represent influxes of specific dinoflagellate cyst taxa that may be tied to key stratal surfaces. These surfaces include transgressive ravinement surfaces, sequence boundaries and flooding surfaces.
The palynological and sedimentological data, when combined, indicate a strong facies relationship between specific taxa and interpreted depositional environment. Such taxa include Gagiella, freshwater and brackish algae, and fully marine dinoflagellate cysts including Kaiwaradinium scrutillinum, Systematophora areolata, Phoberocysta neocomica and Cribroperidinium muderongense.
The integration of sedimentology and palynology provides a powerful tool in interpreting depositional systems in shallow marine palaeoenvironments. Initial results indicate this may be used as a predictive tool for reservoir correlation and facies modelling. Key stratal surfaces identified through palynological and sedimentological study will be tested against 3D seismic to understand fully the stratigraphy of the study interval.
Social impact management plans—opportunities and challenges
Authors: Ritchie Lisa , Holm Daniel , Miceski Elena
Published: August 2017

Since 2010, the Queensland Government has required resource sector proponents to develop and submit a social impact management plan (SIMP) in addition to the social impact assessment component of environmental impact statements.
This more closely regulated social impact management approach was introduced in response to the need to manage resource development-related growth across the state. The process of developing a SIMP presents a range of opportunities and challenges to both proponents and stakeholders.
This extended abstract discusses these opportunities and challenges within the context of the development and early implementation of the SIMP for the Australia Pacific LNG Project. Often, the elements of a SIMP that present opportunity for improved community engagement and social program delivery also present the most pressing challenges. Stakeholder and community engagement is one such element.
The onus is on proponents to establish partnerships with relevant stakeholders, often in an environment of community opposition and to a level that requires significant resources by proponents. There is also an onus on proponents to ensure key stakeholders play an active role in monitoring and reporting on implementing SIMP.
This presents a substantial opportunity for ongoing stakeholder involvement, but proponents face a challenge in ensuring the competency and ongoing commitment of stakeholders. Requiring proponents to develop and implement a SIMP is a positive move toward improving social impact management approaches; however, as the first SIMPs in Queensland are rolled-out, proactive approaches will be required to capitalise on the opportunities and manage the challenges.
Quantifying the impact of oil-based mud contamination on representative condensate reservoir fluid characterisation
Authors: Wilson Tom
Published: August 2017

As hydrocarbon resources become more marginal, reducing data uncertainty associated with exploration and appraisal drilling becomes more important. For gas condensate fields where a great deal of the value is stored within the recovered liquids, variations in the condensate gas ratio (CGRs), or gas expansion factors (Bg) for example can have a considerable impact on the development strategy. Understanding the fluid in place is often key to the decision as to whether a development should go ahead or not.
A considerable proportion of wells are drilled with oil-based mud. When fluid sampling is executed, the in-place reservoir fluid is often contaminated to various levels with this mud. The intention of this extended abstract is to gain an understanding of how much contamination can be accurately corrected. Several case studies are undertaken incorporating fluids from the same fields obtained in different fashions. Contaminated samples sourced from small volume probes on open-hole formations, for example an MDT or RCI tool, are compared with assumed clean samples obtained downhole during drill stem tests (DST).
A suitable equation of state (EOS) is then selected and tuned to match experimentally derived results from both data sets. The small probe sample is then numerically decontaminated for mud, producing a clean EOS for comparison. By quantifying the differences in simulated depletion experiments, a judgement can then be made as to how much contamination can accurately be compensated.
Well integrity and the correlation between borehole breakouts, drilling-induced tensile fractures and cement-bond log response
Authors: Marsh Roger , Khaksar Abbas , Gaede Oliver , White Adrian , Wilson Chris , Alexander Scott
Published: August 2017

Traditionally, image logs are acquired for sedimentary and structural analysis and more recently geo-mechanical analysis. Caliper logs are usually acquired for cement volume information and borehole condition information with pad tools. In general, cement bond logs have been the only logs used for the assessment of cement bond quality and thereby well integrity at the end of the well construction phase.
Cement bond logs occasionally produce puzzling results—the cement job parameters indicate a successful cement job, yet the cement bond log indicates otherwise. In some circumstances, the presence of a micro-annulus can cause the appearance of a bad bond. In others, the causes of such cement bond log responses are less obvious.
Wellbore breakouts and drilling induced tensile fractures can cause drilling problems such as increased losses, washouts and cave-ins; however, their association with cement bond quality is not always appreciated. This dataset consists of LWD StarTrak and Lithotrak caliper data and EWL Wellbore Geometry Instrument (WGI) data and Segmented Bond Tool (SBT) data
The data shows extensive zones of borehole breakouts as well as tensile fractures, some of which exist in areas without breakouts. The SBT pad data shows large areas of poor bond between relatively thin-cemented sections. The VDL data shows formation arrivals that became more pronounced with depth. When the data are compared, the zones that showed tensile fractures coincided with zones showing poor bond. The zones showing no tensile fractures or breakouts were also the zones showing good cement bond.
Advances in marine electromagnetic (EM) efficiency with a towed acquisition system
Authors: Engelmark Folke , Mattsson Johan , Linfoot John
Published: August 2017

A towed marine EM system has been developing since 2004 where both source and receivers are towed behind the same vessel in an arrangement similar to 2D streamer seismic. This is an ideal technology for reducing risk in hydrocarbon targets in general and low saturation gas in particular, as well as the monitoring of CO2 sequestration. The dipole source is 400 or 800 m long and towed at 10 m below the sea surface. The receiver cable is towed at 100 m depth and has receiver offsets between 500 and 8,000 m. A transient source signal is used, allowing deterministic deconvolution of the source signature, which can be of any shape; for example, square wave, PRBS, or optimised repeated sequence (ORS). There are multiple benefits of the towed EM system: Similar in operation to a marine streamer seismic. Improved survey efficiency with source and receivers towed by the same vessel. Real-time monitoring of source and receivers, and quality control of incoming data. Onboard pre-processing. Dense sub-surface sampling. Receivers towed above the seafloor—the influence of strong local anomalies at the seabed is thus minimised. Facilitates simultaneous acquisition of EM and 2D seismic. Successful field tests were conducted in mid-2010 over the Peon gas field and the Troll oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. A total of 615 line km were acquired during 138 hours, and the data has been successfully processed and inverted to delineate all targets.