Presented on Tuesday 16 May: Session 2 This paper reviews and summarises the work that has been conducted and the technology used in exploring and developing the Northern Bowen and Galilee basins in Queensland. It examines the methods operators have used in drilling, completing and testing wells through the varying stages of exploration, appraisal and development in the different parts of the basins. It examines all the work conducted in the Betts Creek Beds and Aramac Coal Measures throughout the Galilee Basin; the Moranbah Coal Measures, Rangal Coal Measures and Fort Cooper Coal Measures in the Moranbah area of the Bowen Basin; the Rangal Coal Measures, Burngrove Formation and Fairhill Formation in the Blackwater area; the conventional and coal seam gas developments in the Rolleston area, including the Bandanna Formation plays near Injune; and the Baralaba Coal Measures in the Moura area. Wells have been completed both open and cased hole with techniques including vertical wells, both with and without hydraulic fracturing and cavitation, as well as a variety of horizontal well designs including surface to inseam wells with vertical intercept wells and multiple lateral sections, chevron wells and both heel and toe intercepts. Operators have also implemented multiple wells on one pad. Throughout the Northern Bowen Basin, horizontal well drilling has been a key technology in commercial development. Generally, activities within the Galilee Basin have not progressed as far as the Bowen Basin, but nevertheless, horizontal wells are also emerging as a key technology. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Presented on Tuesday 16 May: Session 8 It is an appalling reality that about 50 million people worldwide live under the constraints of modern slavery conditions, such as forced labour, worst form of child labour, debt bondage, servitude and deceptive recruitment and so on. In Australia, the federal government has launched the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), which sets mandatory criteria for an applicable entity to issue a modern slavery statement. However, there is a clear absence of actionable guidelines for companies to follow, in order to assess and address risks of modern slavery within their value chain. Ambiguous legislative requirements have resulted in poor monitoring that, ultimately, does not effectively help eradicate modern slavery from Australian supply chains. In order to address this gap and provide a practical tool for organisations to combat modern slavery, this article employs a case study to demonstrate how to conduct effective on-site audits to mitigate modern slavery risks through the supply chain. A set of critical factors and potential solutions to remove barriers are discussed. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Presented on Tuesday 16 May: Session 4 The world’s need for sustainable energy requires the upstream industry to utilise and deliver renewables and carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale. To do that we must focus on where the synergies with low-carbon technologies are greatest. We define these as the energy ‘super basins’ of the future – where large hydrocarbon resources are co-located with plentiful clean electricity and CCS potential. These basins provide a viable pathway for industry to become sustainable. Basins without these attributes are disadvantaged, and face being left behind. This paper will focus on where Australian basins sit on this scale – which are the most advantaged through to disadvantaged? Which have the most viable renewables and CCS/CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) potential? Advantage also depends on cost – renewable energy must be abundant and affordable. In Australia today, upstream resources are plentiful but advantaged resources are not. But that perspective is not fixed, and there is much industry can do to strengthen its outlook. The average upstream emissions intensity of Australian projects is significantly above the global average – due to remote locations, high energy intensity and contaminants. Using renewables and CCUS to cut emissions is a logical step. Government policy, new technologies and exploration can also make a difference. But what of smaller basins without scale? Can Australian operators create ‘boutique’ basins with niche advantages – such as copious wind or solar power – that enable them to extend their longevity? Making Australia’s upstream sector resilient and sustainable is a huge challenge and will require ambitious, innovative basin-level thinking. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Visual Presentation L4 The Karratha Gas Plant (KGP) is one of the most advanced, integrated gas production systems in the world, producing liquefied natural gas (LNG), domestic gas, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The KGP has an export capacity of 16.9 Mtpa, with five LNG processing trains, two domestic gas trains, six condensate stabilisation units and three LPG fractionation units. Following more than 35 years of production from North West Shelf (NWS) fields, the KGP has entered an operating phase where it is more frequently operating in turndown operation. The energy intensity of an LNG production train is often the lowest at maximum production capacity. Should the LNG train become feed gas constrained for extended periods of time, energy intensity increases due to baseload energy required to run the process equipment and physical constraints on equipment turndown. A structured approach has been applied at the KGP to realise improvements in energy intensity in turndown operation through building a strategy, identifying focus areas, energy accounting and benchmarking, data presentation, review and improve cycles, and leadership. The strategy and focus areas are linked to specific actions across different operating timeframes. Review and improve cycles, and leadership help to cultivate an energy efficiency-focused culture and continuous identification of opportunities and barriers to the strategy. Central to all pillars of the strategy is energy accounting, benchmarking and data visualisation which provide value, performance and materiality insights. The benefits can often be realised with limited financial and resource investment, can provide high value return on both emissions performance and reduced fuel consumption. To access the Visual Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
Presented on Wednesday 17 May: Session 23 The Taroom Trough in Queensland is the main synclinal depression and southern extent of the Bowen Basin. Both the Bowen Basin and the overlying Surat Basin have been the focus of Australia’s coal seam gas (CSG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry since 2014, but with CSG production now in decline and with a greater focus on domestic gas, it is timely to review the potential of new plays in this region. Although exploration and development in the Taroom Trough over the past decade have focussed on shallow Permian and Jurassic CSG resources, the early hydrocarbon potential of the trough was realised through conventional discoveries. Regardless of the reservoir, all conventional hydrocarbons in the trough have been typed to the same prolific Permian coals. These source rocks produce enormous volumes of oil and gas, yet only a small percentage of those volumes have been trapped in known conventional structures. This implies that a significant volume of oil and gas could remain trapped in tight reservoirs, including Fractured Thermally Mature Coals. Elixir Energy Limited plans to commence a drilling program in 2023 in ATP2044 (Grandis Gas Project) to unlock the gas potential of the Taroom Trough. The project will investigate the potential of Permian coals and sandstones at >3700 m depth using new understandings developed from recent studies into the critical role of elastic rock properties and stress anisotropy on coal fracture growth. This paper describes the opportunity that Elixir has identified and details the legacy technical work in the area and new research and ideas which have since evolved. To access the Oral Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here
