Ferguson defends coal seam gas industry | News | Business Spectator: The federal tourism minister has defended the coal seam gas (CSG) industry, saying putting gas wells on farms is no different to installing wind turbines.
Martin Ferguson, who's also minister for resources and energy, has told a tourism industry breakfast the east coast of Australia is most at risk of running out of gas in the future.
Photo Damian Kelly
ACTION OF THE DAY
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A MAJOR national bank has been forced to remove more than 100 misleading out of order signs from its ATMs after being targeted by anti-coal activists.
A score of ANZ Banking Group machines sprawled across six capital cities were plastered with "out of order" signs on Sunday after campaigners launched their latest bid to draw attention to the bank's funding of the coal industry.
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There's only one way to deal with lower prices for Australian commodities,according to Ferguson,just export much more of them!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we just sign the whole continent over to the Chinese and be done with it?
Screw future generations and all that crap,we want the money and we want it now!
Any objections from the "looney greens" will be dealt with by lethal force if it means our,(read profits of big multinationals),national security is at risk.
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Commodities-price-boom-is-over-Ferguson-W6A8U?OpenDocument
"The only way we will maintain our revenue stream as a country, at a state and federal level, is if we expand capacity."
Send for the robots and surveilance drones....
"As grades fall and input costs rise, the Australian resources sector will only continue to prosper if more efficient mining and processing techniques are implemented.
"For Australia to remain competitive in a global market in which low-wage competitors are emerging every year, we must ensure that we develop and employ technology."
The minister's reality check came as Australia's main trading partner, China, reported that its economic growth had slowed to a three-year low of 7.6 per cent for the June quarter, down from 8.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
Something of a hickup for the Ichthys pipeline from Browse to Darwin,some idiot wants to mine the seafloor for diamonds.Get out the way says Ferguson and his mates.Gas coming through!
http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/ichthys_gas_pipeline_embroiled_in_wfd2W1Eo5fdoreBRlhvowK
"MIG Resources, a company with links to defunct offshore diamond explorer Cambridge Gulf Exploration, has launched legal action over a government decision to refuse its application for exploration licences in an area to be crossed by the Ichthys gas pipeline."
There are a lot of "Ferguson" types in the good ol' US of A.They are called Republicans.
So the Yanks don't know if it's worth buying Burkes line on our new Marine Parks,who can blame them?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/opinion/good-news-from-down-under.html?_r=1&src=rechp
"It is difficult from this distance to judge whether the plan lives up to the ecstatic appraisal of Tony Burke, Australia’s minister for sustainability, environment, water, population and communities."
"Australia’s move comes at a time of growing awareness of the importance of marine reserves to ease the pressure on ecosystems and creatures that are acutely vulnerable to overfishing, pollution and a changing climate. Often the wisest way to manage a wild resource is simply to let it alone,..."
"Such restraint can be difficult, especially when the Republican Party finds compromise toxic and is willing to sacrifice pro-environmental legislation to fossil-fuel extraction. "
Sounds so familliar.....Why does Labour want to copy ex Vice Pres Dick Cheney?
After all Abbott and co are flat out there already.
It's getting very crowded down at the Tory-Republican end of politics these days.
Except for the "loony greens" of course.
And it's such a dirty business,all this bait and switch,dear God don't we know it here in Broome.Shell knows it too up in the Arctic.
ReplyDeletehttp://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/shell-seeks-to-weaken-air-rules-for-arctic-drilling/?src=rechp
““This is a classic bait-and-switch,” Greenpeace’s executive director, Phil Radford, said. “Shell promises the E.P.A. — and by extension, the American people — anything that will allow it to get permits to drill the Arctic, and then at the last minute, Shell says it won’t abide by its agreement and wants the E.P.A. to issue watered-down permits with no process whatsoever.
“This is just one more in a litany of broken promises from Shell when it comes to drilling in the Arctic,” he said.
At first glance this may seem like good news,except WA Labour have the same disease as Fed Labour.Just ask the poor people in and around Roebourne and the Burrup.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/14230512/labor-reins-in-barnett/
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/14230513
"There are several takeaways from the latest Westpoll, held this week nearly six months to the day that Mark McGowan changed the political game in WA by replacing Eric Ripper as Labor leader.
The biggest is: Colin Barnett's honeymoon with voters is over.
Heralded as the most popular premier in the nation for most of his first term, Mr Barnett enjoyed gaudy numbers while Mr Ripper led a moribund ALP opposition.
But his preferred premier number slipped below 50 per cent for the first time in January and has slipped further six months on.
That's officially a trend."
The promise of the Burrup years ago was all the "cheap" gas would power fertilizer and chemical plants.But one problem after the other,mainly the choice of site,saw most of them cancelled.
ReplyDeleteThe shale gas boom in the US is providing "cheap" gas and is now driving an expansion of these industries not seen since the "cheap" oil days over 30 years ago.
Reading through this I thought if Barnett had his way with his gas factories at JPP would we be seeing headlines like these in years to come?
"...estimates that the expansions already announced total $15 billion in investment and will create about 20,000 jobs. Most will be in construction, but about a quarter will be permanent, he said. Dow anticipates 4,500 construction jobs in the coming years, with 300 permanent jobs resulting from the expansion..."
"...the Broome shire ceo and KLC said,"They’re excited — ‘Oh my gosh I’m going to have a job,’"
"Modern plants use mostly natural gas, rather than oil, to make the chemicals. Whereas power plants run on methane, a component of natural gas, chemical plants use other, hotter-burning components — ethane, propane and butane."
"But the expansions come at a time when the Kimberley is facing critical questions about the availability of water and power. The crippling drought, which has abated but not ended, forced a Chinese owned Plastics facility along the coast at Point Torment to temporarily adjust to receiving as much as 20 percent less water from a nearby lake as its level receded. Chemical plants need vast amounts of water for cooling and cleaning."
"Dow’s new facilities will also be less water-intensive than those using earlier technologies, but the company also bought land last year to build another reservoir."
"Environmentalists, for their part, are worried about air pollution. Martin Pritchard, executive director of Air Alliance Broome, said the major concern was ozone levels, which were high in the Kimberley last year.
In the Dampier Peninsular area, Mr.Pritchard said in an e-mail, “the next several years could be the worst for ozone in terms of adding new sources of ozone precursors since regulations began in the 1970s.”
"There have been several investigations into claims that the chemical plant developments are responsible for higher cancer rates in some downstream (mainly Aboriginal communities) – and who knows what damage the recent oil spills have done to the water supply and the health of people who live in those regions – but environmental assessments in those areas are being cut back."
"Now that the State government is trying to encourage growth in wind farms to help the province move toward green industry and a green energy economy and the (Conservative) opposition is being vocal about cancer links to wind farms and is fighting the idea, the State government has decided that this is a serious issue that must be further examined.
The Health Minister announced the new research initiative on June 10.
There have been legitimate questions about the potential effects of wind turbines on those people who live nearby, though researchers have found “no direct link.”
And this is really happening today.
ReplyDeleteChemical plants in Texas are going gangbusters,in fact all along the gulf coast new plants are springing up.
In Canada cancer rates among First Nation people are increasing,rather than investigate the tar and oil sands upstream,because of their wealthy backers being involved,the Canadian government is having a health enquiry into wind farms,invented by the far left looney crowd!
So here comes the EPA REPORT,can't wait to see the appeals,but the gov says it's an extremely complex assesment,yet there is only 2 weeks to submit appeals,took them years to compile it,another swindle.
ReplyDeleteStill there is some MORE VERY BAD NEWS FOR WOODSCUM this morning,and it will have them shaking and sweating!
The Asian LNG price has collapsed.
With little hope of any recovery.
Down 25% in the last month,sellers now looking to Europe but Angola is offloading cargoes there.
"A nosedive in natural gas spot prices in Asia over the last month marks the end of bullish Japanese buying following the Fukushima disaster and the likely start of higher supply and lower prices for gas shipped to Europe.
The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia has fallen 25% since June as collapsing demand in the region silences, some say permanently, the world’s biggest spot market for the fuel.
That has created an oversupply of about 10 LNG cargos per month with sellers now looking for new buyers outside Asia.
Drilling advances have led to a huge glut of shale gas in the US leaving Europe as the best alternative to Asia for shipped LNG."
The entire article is well worth a read :
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=518983&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28
"Spot LNG prices in Asia have been in freefall since June, hitting $13.80 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) this week and slamming shut once lucrative arbitrage opportunities.
The onset of deliveries to Japan under multi-year deals have also stoked fears that markets in Asia may not recover this year, several traders said.
“I think Japan, and quite possibly Asia, is pretty much done and I don’t see why things should improve,” said an LNG trader at a European utility with a global portfolio.
“LNG prices peaked this time last year because the Japanese were buying for the winter — but this is not happening now,” he said.
“Even in China and India, we’re just not seeing the aggressive buying you would except when prices drop nearly 25% in a month,” he said."
"It has been a fast fall for traders who saw bumper profits as Asian spot prices in May hit highs not seen since mid-2008."
The SKILL SHORTAGE for the oil and gas projects is now ballooning worldwide:
"Guest says employers are left with little choice other than to lure back retirees because of the scarcity of younger workers to replace those in their 60s and 70s.
It is a global phenomenon known as ''the big crew change'', and although it been a concern in the oil and gas industry for more than 10 years, the effects of this generation gap are expected to be fully felt in the next five years as Anderson's generation retires.
Guest says hiring and training contracted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the price of oil fell to US$10 a barrel and made many projects unviable."
http://www.smh.com.au/business/old-timers-keep-wheels-of-oil-and-gas-sector-greased-20120715-224cr.html
SIGN OF THE TIMES:
ReplyDelete"THE world's largest mining company has decided to pull out of Guinea weeks after The Sunday Times revealed a backroom deal that gave a shadowy middleman rights to billions of dollars worth of mining assets."
"BHP is retreating globally from projects as commodity prices fall and China's economy slows. Other assets it has put on the block include a diamond mine in Canada and aluminium assets in Brazil. The exit from Guinea is a discouraging sign for Mr Conde. BHP has hired investment bank Nomura to find a buyer."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/bhp-billiton-to-put-its-mount-nimba-iron-ore-project-in-guinea-up-for-sale/story-e6frg9dx-1226426638501
IT'S THE PPI,YOU IDIOTS,NOT THE CPI !!!
"ONE predictable cause of deflation in the Chinese economy is over-investment in industrial capacity. There was more evidence of this last week, with reports that coal mines in Shandong province had announced cuts in production, while both steel makers and coal manufacturers have also been cutting prices."
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-deflationary-growth-threatens-profit-2012-07-15?mod=theaustraliantopstoriesnews&reflink=theaustralian
SHELL'S VENTURE INTO THE ARTIC SEEMS JINXED.
ReplyDeleteThe old rust bucket they sent up there to drill 3 holes,the Noble Discoverer,has broken her moorings in 50 kph winds and hit the shore.
"Environmentalists and some Alaska Native groups have been adamantly opposed Shell's Arctic drilling plans, citing risks of oil spills and other accidents in the harsh Arctic environment.
Lois Epstein, Arctic program director for The Wilderness Society, said the Discoverer mishap in relatively sheltered Dutch Harbor bodes ill for operations in the Arctic Ocean.
The Discoverer was 1,000 miles (1,609 km) south of its Chukchi Sea destination.
"The conditions in the Arctic are far more harsh, far more extreme," Epstein said. "When you're out in the Arctic, the consequences are enormous when things go wrong."
A local website, the Dutch Harbor Telegraph, reported that the ship bumped the beach near a big hotel. The local public radio station, KUCB, said the ship appears to have run aground. Both news organizations ...."
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL2E8IF3OL20120715?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
As scientists delve deeper into the effects of the MACONDO DISASTER in the Gulf of Mexico it is now obvious the effects will be felt for generations to come.
THE MICROSCOPIC LIFE THAT LIVES BETWEEN THE GRAINS OF SAND HAS BEEN DESTROYED.
"The communities of organisms affected are not only responsible for providing nutrients to sediment and the foundation of the sand, but also are a vital part of the of the food chain in their environment.
Ken Halanych, professor of biological sciences, co-wrote the study and has been studying the effects from the oil spill since it began in 2010.
“We’ve been looking at the smaller organisms that live between sand grains,” Halanych said. “The larger organisms can leave contaminated areas, but the smaller organisms can’t get up and swim away so we’ve been trying to see how the oil has impacted them.”
According to the Molette Biology Lab’s study, the diversity of organisms in the affected microscopic communities is vast. Bacteria, nematodes, copepods, protists and fungi were all found in the samples taken.
The Department of Geology and Geography are also involved in research concerning the oil spill. Dr. Ming-Kuo Lee, professor of hydrogeology and a team of graduate students found that oil contamination is not limited to surface water.
Instead, elevated organic carbon contents settle into the sediment long after the oil contaminated surface water had evaporated."
http://www.theplainsman.com/view/full_story/19328313/article-Studies-show-previously-unseen-effects-of-2010-oil-spill?instance=campus_lead_story
IT STANDS TO REASON THE EFFECTS OF THE MONTARA DISASTER OFF NORTH AUSTRALIA WILL ALSO BE FELT FOR MANY GENERATIONS.
NO DOUBT WE WILL HERE PLENTY ON THAT IN YEARS TO COME.
1100 ABC NEWS:
ReplyDeletesurprise!
the epa has approved the JPP gas plants....
subject of course to some very strict conditions!
WOW !!!
Wednesday July the 18th the tenders are due in to build these monstrosities.
ReplyDeleteShould provide us with more interesting reading.
The actual cost of these projects are often are a lot more than the tenders specify.
http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/news/mediastmnts/Pages/JamesPricePointLNGprecinctrecommendedforapproval.aspx?pageID=312&url=news%2Fmediastmnts
ReplyDelete"It has also allowed the consideration of the cumulative environmental impacts of future projects, known as derived proposals."
"Seabed Habitats: Dr Vogel said dredging of 34 million cubic metres of the seabed had the potential to affect habitats that support algae, seagrass, corals and filter feeders in the area."
"proponents of future proposals will be required to use best practice in dredging and management to minimise impacts; "
MOVE OVER GLADSTONE
JPP : BIGGER BADDER AND DIRTIER
From Wazza Jones on STK Facebook:
ReplyDeleteVia Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The Steve Irwin will be leaving on a campaign to protect the Humpback whales off the Kimberley in Northwestern Australia this week.
MEDIA RELEASE ** PRESS CONFERENCE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 16, 2012
...
Date – Tuesday July 17, 2012
Time – 10:30 AM – AEST
Location – Steve Irwin dockside, Seaworks berth Williamstown, adjacent to Williamstown Police station
Who
Former Senator Bob Brown – Former Australian Greens Leader, Sea Shepherd Advisory Board Member
Senator Rachel Siewert – Australian Greens
Jeff Hansen – Australian Director, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
In wake of Gas Hub ‘go ahead’ - Bob Brown and Sea Shepherd Launch Kimberley whale campaign
On Tuesday 17th of July former Australian Greens leader and new Sea Shepherd advisory board member, Bob Brown will launch Sea Shepherd's new Kimberly whale campaign.
The press conference will be held at the Seaworks Williamstown berth, on the dock by the Steve Irwin at 10:30AM, adjacent to the Williamstown police station.
BOP bother at Browse again for Conoco and Karoon,this all started back in april:
ReplyDeleteContinued BOP bother for Boreas JV
(Monday, 16 July 2012)
KAROON Gas and ConocoPhillips continue to be plagued with blow out preventer issues at Boreas-1 in WA-312-P, with the joint venture reporting it was forced to pull the BOP and a marine riser from the seabed on Friday.
VLADIMIR PUTIN HE IS THE BIG BOSS :
ReplyDeleteWhen sorting through the rankings of the World’s 25 Biggest Oil Companies and looking at who controls and influences the likes of ExxonMobil, Statoil, Rosneft and Pdvsa—one thing becomes clear: no industry leader has more sway, has twisted more arms or made more deals than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/07/16/the-worlds-25-biggest-oil-companies/
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45glfe/not-just-the-usual-suspects-2/#gallerycontent
Why so many lng cargoes looking for a home.
ReplyDeleteThe USA and Canada WERE going to boom on imports of LNG,dozens of import terminals have been cancelled,due to fracced gas being so cheap.
Canadian LNG Projects
Project
Location
Status
Start Date
Initial Capacity
1. Canaport LNG
New Brunswick
Operational
June 2009
1.0 Bcf/d
2. Kitimat LNG (proposed export terminal)
British Columbia
Pending Construction (approval obtained)
2014 (expected start-up)
0.7 Bcf/d
3. Rabaska LNG
Québec
Suspended (approval obtained)
N/A
N/A
4. Cacouna LNG
Québec
Suspended (approval obtained)
N/A
N/A
5. Grassy Point
Newfoundland
Suspended
N/A
N/A
6. Keltic/Maple LNG
Nova Scotia
Suspended
N/A
N/A
7. Énergie Grand-Anse
Québec
Suspended
N/A
N/A
8. Westpac LNG
British Columbia
Cancelled
N/A
N/A
9. Teekay/Merrill Lynch Export
British Columbia
Cancelled
N/A
N/A
Only the export terminals are going ahead.
In addition to the approved terminals, there are another 25 projects, with 27.75 Bcf/d of proposed peak sendout, on file with regulators in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Another 21 projects, with 17.3 Bcf/d of expected peak sendout, are in the planning stages. And at least 11 LNG projects have been canceled so far.
The import terminals that were built are either mothballed or being converted to export in both the USA and Canada.
So LNG markets are all scrambling to find markets for gas meant for USA and Canada.