Tuesday, December 11, 2012

SBS On Demand | TV and Online Video - James Price Point project in jeopardy

SBS On Demand | TV and Online Video - James Price Point project in jeopardy:
Published - 11 December 2012 Expires in 6 Days

West Australian government has admitted that it has failed for a second time to compulsorily acquire land for Woodside's planned gas hub at James Price Point in the Kimberley.

4 comments:

  1. THE THEORY IS IT'S NOT THE SEA RISING - IT'S THE LAND SINKING.
    COULD THIS HAPPEN TO BROOME WITH ALL THE WATER COMING FROM OUR AQUIFER?

    Sea levels in Perth appear to be rising faster than elsewhere because the city's heavy reliance on groundwater is causing it to sink, scientists believe.

    Just days after a Federal Government report claimed Perth's sea levels had risen at three times the global average, prominent research and scientific institutions pointed the finger at the city's thirstiness.

    Commonwealth survey body Geoscience Australia used GPS monitoring to conclude Perth's land heights had fallen up to 6mm a year on the back of increased extraction from the Yarragadee aquifer.

    Pumping from the aquifer, which is below bedrock deep under the city, has increased greatly since the 1990s as its importance to Perth's drinking supplies has grown.

    John Dawson, of Geoscience Australia, said the rate of sinking had jumped in line with groundwater extraction, suggesting there was a clear link between the two. He said though unlikely to be noticed at ground level, it was significant and needed to be kept in mind when assessing recent global sea level rises of 3mm a year.

    "With confined aquifers, the water is effectively under pressure so when you extract from that, you're reducing the pressure, which means the weight of the crust above it is allowed to sink down," he said. "We're also interested in that because tide gauge records in Perth are contaminated by that effect.

    "Sea level rises in Perth may appear to be large but a component of that sea level change is actually ground subsidence."

    Curtin University Professor Will Featherstone confirmed Dr Lawson's account while warning about the dangers of subsidence in Perth.

    Professor Featherstone said the effects of sea level rises, such as coastal erosion, would be worse in Perth because of the trend and authorities needed to take it seriously.

    Rob Hammond, a hydro-geologist and former executive with the Department of Water, said "there is no question" Perth is sinking and likened the issue to slowly letting air out of a balloon.

    He said the changes would continue while the city took more water from its deep aquifer than was recharged naturally.
    Department of Water spokesman Paul Brown said subsidence associated with confined aquifers in Perth had been minimal.

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  2. JUST NOW ABC KIMBERLEY RADIO 0600 -

    BHP HAS SOLD ITS STAKE IN BROWSE TO PETRO CHINA FOR $1.6 BILLION.
    BHP HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO EXIT BROWSE DUE TO THE HIGH COSTS.

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    Replies
    1. BHP offloads Browse stake for $1.5bn to PetroChina
      by: David Winning From: Dow Jones Newswires December 12, 2012 8:57AM

      BHP Billiton has agreed a $US1.63 billion ($1.5 billion) cash deal to sell its stake in the proposed Browse liquefied natural gas project in Australia to PetroChina, China's largest listed oil producer by market value.

      The deal involves PetroChina buying BHP's 8.33 per cent stake in the East Browse joint venture and its 20 per cent interest in the West Browse joint venture offshore Western Australia state.

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  3. On August 19, 2009, PetroChina signed an A$50 billion deal with ExxonMobil to purchase liquefied natural gas from the Gorgon field in Western Australia,[10][11] considered the largest contract ever signed between China and Australia, which ensures China a steady supply of LNG fuel for 20 years, and also forms as China's largest supply of relatively "clean energy".[

    ...

    The Directors of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (the Company ASX: LNG) are pleased to advise that, as
    announced on 1 November 2012 by Molopo Energy Limited (Molopo), PetroChina Australia has completed
    the acquisition of Molopo’s Queensland coal seam gas assets (a copy of Molopo’s ASX release is attached).
    As previously announced, PetroChina Australia and the Company have executed a non-binding Letter of
    Intent in relation to securing gas supply for the Company’s 100% owned 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa)
    LNG project, at Fisherman’s Landing, Port of Gladstone, Queensland (LNG Project). The Letter of Intent,
    amongst other things, states the intent of PetroChina Australia and the Company to work together to secure
    sufficient gas for the Company’s first LNG train, of a guaranteed LNG production capacity of 1.5 mtpa.

    .........

    African Petroleum Corp. has agreed to a non-binding deal that could bring in PetroChina as an investor in some of its promising West African oil and gas exploration activities, lifting the Australian company’s share price.

    The company said Tuesday in a statement that PetroChina, one of the world’s largest oil companies, has been given an exclusive period through to the end of August to agree to invest in as much as 20% of Block LB-09 in Liberia and up to 20% in one or more exploration blocks in Ivory Coast, Gambia, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

    African Petroleum said the potential value of the deal has yet to be agreed, and remains subject to government, regulatory and other approvals. A person familiar with the matter had previously said a deal could be worth in excess of US$1 billion.

    ...........

    PetroChina Eyes Australia, Other Overseas Acquisitions Amid 1H Profit 6% Drop

    China's largest oil producer, which reported on Thursday total net income for the six months ended in June decelerate to 62.03 billion yuan ($9.76 billion) from 66.01 billion yuan a year ago, said it is specifically eyeing potential takeover targets in Central Asia, East Africa, Australia and Canada.

    The company, according to Vice Chairman and President Zhou Jiping, has earmarked 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) this year to pursue overseas investments in oil and gas assets. Acquisition strategies, he said, will be coursed through cooperation with overseas partners and by purchasing directly oil and gas assets.

    ........

    BHP Billiton has sold its stakes in two Browse gas project joint ventures for $US1.63 billion ($A1.56 billion) in cash.

    BHP will sell its its 8.33 per cent interest in the East Browse joint venture and 20 per cent interest in the West Browse joint venture, both located off the West Australian coast, to PetroChina International Investment, it said this morning.

    BHP's petroleum chief executive Michael Yeager said the Browse project interests were a non-strategic asset for the mining giant.

    The sale remains subject to regulatory approval, but is expected to be completed in the first half of calendar 2013.

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