Tag: LNG

Woodside Energy shares third quarter report for period ended 30 September 2023

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Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the quarter-on-quarter increase in output to 47.8 million boe was underpinned by strong operating results at Pluto LNG:

“The 99.9% reliability achieved at Pluto during the third quarter followed the completion of a maintenance turnaround in June.”

“Production from North West Shelf was impacted by planned turnaround and maintenance activities in the quarter, but the facility’s reliability was still exceptional at 98.9%.”

“Woodside’s project teams made strong progress over the course of the quarter.”

“In September, first production at the Shenzi North tieback in the US Gulf of Mexico was achieved ahead of the original 2024 schedule. Production at Mad Dog Phase 2 offshore Louisiana, which started up in April, continued to ramp up during the quarter.”

“Activity at Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 increased as planned and the project is now 46% complete. Installation of the nearshore component of the Scarborough trunkline commenced and fabrication of the
floating production unit topsides and hull continued.”

“Site construction works for Pluto Train 2 are progressing and we have awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Pluto Train 1 modifications that will allow it to process Scarborough gas.”

“The Federal Court’s 28 September decision that the Commonwealth Environment Plan for the Scarborough offshore seismic survey is invalid has not impacted our target for first LNG cargo in 2026. The decision does
however highlight the urgent need for reform of Australia’s offshore approvals process.”

“Uncertainty over approvals has the potential to add cost and delays to any offshore activities to be undertaken in Australia. In the case of gas projects, such uncertainty threatens the delivery of much-needed new supplies to the Western Australian domestic market, as well as undermining the confidence of our regional trading partners.”

“The importance of Scarborough to regional energy security was demonstrated in August when LNG Japan agreed to purchase a 10% non-participating interest in the joint venture.”

“As part of a broader strategic relationship, Woodside and LNG Japan, owned by Sumitomo Corporation and Sojitz Corporation also entered into a non-binding heads of agreement for the sale and purchase of approximately 0.9 million tpy of LNG for 10 years commencing in 2026. In addition, we entered
into non-binding agreements with Sumitomo and Sojitz to collaborate on new energy opportunities globally.”

“At Sangomar in Senegal, another two of the 23 planned wells were drilled, taking the total now completed to 14. Pre-commissioning work at the floating production storage and offloading vessel continued in Singapore.
Overall, the Sangomar project is 90% complete and we remain on track for targeted first oil in mid-2024.”

“A significant milestone for our deepwater Trion project was passed during the quarter, with the approval of the field development plan by the Mexican regulator. Project execution activities at Trion are progressing.”

“In new energy, progress was made on contracts for the plant construction scope and other critical packages at our proposed H2OK facility in Oklahoma. Technical work to support readiness for a final investment decision at H2OK is expected to be completed in 2023, although a decision itself has been delayed, pending clarification of government tax incentives and the finalisation of offtake agreements.”

“During the quarter we signed two non-binding memoranda of understanding with a total of four Japanese companies to jointly study potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chains between Australia and Japan. We believe that with collaboration between industry partners and governments CCS could provide a pathway to help our Japanese customers decarbonise,” she said.

Production

  • Production increased compared to the previous quarter to 47.8 million boe primarily due to:

– higher production from Pluto LNG and Ngujima-Yin following completion of planned turnaround and maintenance activities.

– high LNG reliability at Australian operated assets, with Pluto LNG and the North West Shelf (NWS) Project achieving 99.9% and 98.9% reliability respectively for the quarter.

– higher production on Mad Dog due to the continued ramp up at the Argos platform. This was partly offset by lower NWS production due to planned turnaround and maintenance activities on the North Rankin Complex, Goodwyn Platform and Karratha Gas Plant, with production recommencing in September 2023.

  • Production from Bass Strait was lower than the corresponding quarter in 2022 due to lower gas demand following a warmer winter.

Gulf of Mexico

  • First production was successfully achieved at Shenzi North in September 2023 ahead of the 2024 target.
  • A maintenance turnaround of the Shenzi facility was completed on schedule.
  • Production continues to ramp up at the Argos platform with seven wells now online.

Australia oil

  • The Ngujima-Yin FPSO recommenced production in July following successful completion of the fiveyearly maintenance turnaround in a Singapore drydock.
    Greater Angostura.
  • In July 2023, a valve bolt failure on the Angostura gas export platform resulted in an unplanned gas release and emergency shutdown to stop the flow of gas.
    This incident is classified as a Tier 1 process safety event. Production recommenced in August 2023 following completion of safety checks and
    remediation activities.

Decommissioning

  • The Enfield plug and abandonment (P&A) campaign continued with four wells permanently plugged. The plugging of 17 of 18 Enfield wells and removal of 16 of 18 xmas trees has been completed.
  • The Bass Strait P&A operations on Flounder, Bream A, and Kingfish A platforms continued with six wells plugged in the quarter.
  • Subsequent to the quarter, Woodside commenced removing the Nganhurra riser turret mooring which will be transported for cleaning and deconstruction in preparation for recycling or reuse.
  • Project and development activities

Scarborough

  • Installation of the trunkline nearshore component commenced and fabrication of the FPU topsides and hull continued.
  • The Pluto Train 2 project continued to ramp up, with both module fabrication and site construction works progressing.
  • In August 2023, Woodside entered into an agreement with LNG Japan to sell a 10% interest in the Scarborough Joint Venture.
  • In September 2023, Woodside awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for Pluto Train 1 modifications. Engineering and procurement of long-lead items are progressing.
  • The Federal Court has set aside NOPSEMA’s acceptance of the Marine Seismic Survey Environment Plan on the basis that NOPSEMA’s decision to accept the environment plan with conditions relating to consultation was invalid.
  • Engagement continues with NOPSEMA on the outstanding Commonwealth Environment Plans.
  • The Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 project was 46% complete at the end of the period and first LNG cargo is targeted for 2026.

Trion

  • The Mexican regulator, Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos, approved the Trion FDP in August 2023.
  • Awarded contracts for the drill rig; FPU and floating storage and offloading (FSO) installation; subsea trees and control system; subsea flexible piping and riser terminations.
  • Placed equipment orders for umbilical tubing and subsea manifolds.
  • Commenced FSO front-end engineering design activities and progressed shipyard engineering.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/19102023/woodside-energy-shares-third-quarter-report-for-period-ended-30-september-2023/



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Divorce from Putin’s fossil fuels can’t result in toxic EU-US marriage

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By Anusha Narayanan and Tal Harris, Greenpeace

We cannot let the continued energy crisis be used to further strip away any hope we have for stopping the worst impacts of climate change, Anusha Narayanan and Tal Harris write.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year resulted in a massive increase in US gas exports to Europe. 

US gas exports to Europe were up by 140% in 2022 compared with 2021, and a record 17 long-term contracts were signed between European companies and US LNG terminals. 

Dozens of new LNG terminals were built, are under construction, or are proposed on both sides of the Atlantic.

The health, social and environmental consequences of this massive buildout are beyond dire. And they’re entirely avoidable.

The new EU LNG terminals would have a total carbon footprint of 950 million tonnes of CO2-eq per year. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of over 200 million cars. 

And some contracts being signed by European and US companies lock us into two decades or more of such pollution, far beyond the necessary deadline for phasing-out fossil gas.

These contracts also require more export and import terminals. Once built, they could be used by polluters to advocate for further delaying the phase-out date in order to prevent them from turning into stranded assets.

This buildout flies in the face of science: our planet cannot (and need not) afford any fossil fuel expansion if we’re going to avoid the worst climate impacts.

Unnecessary decisions only further perpetuate the crises

It is also shockingly unnecessary: new terminals can take up to five years to build and thus do nothing to meet current energy needs. 

A new report by Greenpeace International finds that the existing capacity in Europe’s LNG terminals is already larger than needed. 

Even in 2022 — the most intense LNG year to date, when Russian fossil fuels supply to Europe was sharply reduced — terminal utilisation rates across Europe remained low, and they had more capacity than they would normally require.

It’s no accident that we have bad policies. Policies have been shaped by ENTSOG, the gas industry’s leading group in the EU. 

European governments have appointed ENTSOG to find “the solution” to the energy crisis — a crisis created by dependence on the fossil fuel industry in the first place. 

It’s no wonder a gas lobby is recommending more of the same, thereby perpetuating both the energy and climate crises.

Instead of seeking energy independence, Europe chose more of the same

Europeans now must pay for new infrastructure for an industry they only recently bailed out.

And they’ll pay even more in the future when promises of repurposing those terminals to green hydrogen turn out to be technically complicated, financially costly, and based on unproven calculations. 

Instead of trying to sustain a gas-reliant energy system, this crisis could be a moment to invest in real solutions to both keep our planet habitable and meet our energy needs.

Gas is widely used in Europe for power generation, industry, and over 30% of household heating. 

That makes it highly dependent on imports, and instead of using the crisis with Russia to break away from gas altogether, the EU only switched to the US as an alternative supplier of an even dirtier gas: LNG.

On the US side, most LNG production and export facilities are located near low-income communities, already suffering from well-documented health impacts of the oil and gas industry, including in the horrifyingly nicknamed “cancer alley.” 

Now the climate crisis ravages across the whole of America. 

And LNG is making it far worse: while Russian piped gas was already a climate killer, LNG’s emissions — from liquefaction, transport, and regassing, to power generation, as well as methane leaks — make its climate impact far worse.

Russia’s war should not be used as an excuse

Gas producers and operators used Russia’s war against Ukraine to spin US and European policy priorities away from climate goals, telling a tale about energy security. 

Yet a divorce from Russia’s fossil fuels must not end in a new miserable marriage of US-EU gas barons. European consumers need not sponsor their own shock treatment.

The top five oil and gas companies made record profits in 2022 while citizens were facing skyrocketing energy bills. 

If invested in renewables, the dividends and share buybacks paid to the shareholders in 2022 could be the downpayment for generating 79% of US electricity or 111% of EU electricity in 2021. 

No miracles are needed. Yet instead of investing their historic profits into aligning their business model with the Paris Agreement on climate, they returned large amounts to shareholders.

Our focus should be on transformative climate action

We cannot let the continued energy crisis be used to further strip away any hope we have for stopping the worst impacts of climate change. 

We must instead shift political power from the fossil fuel industry, hold them accountable and implement immediate measures to support climate targets and benefit citizens. 

A massive insulation plan for buildings would mean lower energy demand. An accelerated shift to renewable energy would mean cheaper supply.

Citizens have voted for transformative climate action. Protecting our homes from a climate catastrophe means a global north LNG phase-out by 2030, pipelined gas phase-out by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040.

Blocking fossil fuel companies from politics, enacting due diligence laws, imposing transparency and ending access to decision-making and climate talks for lobbies like ENTSOG would be a shock treatment for the oil and gas industry itself. 

Making polluters pay and holding them accountable — following a colonial and neocolonial legacy that leaves billions exposed to unprecedented climate risks — would finally do justice.

Anusha Narayanan leads the global campaign to stop fossil fuel expansion at Greenpeace US, and Tal Harris is the campaign’s global communications lead.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at [email protected] to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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