Oil & Gas

Buru Energy said today it has maintained production at its Ungani oil project in the Kimberley but has joined other resources companies, including Australian Vanadium, in cutting salaries, directors fees and other spending to preserve cash during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Woodside Petroleum will delay investment decisions on the Scarborough and Browse LNG developments after a big fall in oil prices amid the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, but three projects under way will continue.

Decisions on two LNG projects worth a combined $22 billion are likely to be delayed from this year to 2021, according to analysts Wood Mackenzie, while many producers have cut back to only essential staff.

Oil and gas explorer Otto Energy is looking to raise up to $17.5 million, despite current market conditions, to fund the development of its well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Woodside Petroleum has cut the number of people working at its Karratha gas plant, with the decision flowing through to hundreds of contractors at companies such as Monadelphous and UGL.

Domestic gas reservation schemes have earned a rebuke from the Productivity Commission, while it has called for an end to drilling bans and warned on the massive cost of approval delays.

Santos is confident a suite of financial measures introduced today will help it withstand the impacts of COVID-19, while MMA Offshore has withdrawn its guidance as the virus crisis hits the energy sector.

Lynas Corporation and Galaxy Resources have suspended operations in response to tighter overseas government controls, while explorer Whitebark Energy has also felt the impacts of COVID-19.

BHP will hire 1,500 temporary workers across the country on six month contracts, with at least 400 to be at Western Australian iron ore operations, Business News understands, while Woodside has pledged to cut payment times for contractors.

Santos has already offloaded a portion of the Darwin LNG operation for $US390 million ($620 million) to South Korean SK E&S, in line with plans flagged during an acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ northern Australian assets in October.

The federal government today announced significant investments in the energy sector, with the awarding of $69.5 million to two new cooperative research centres, and the launch of the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre.

A falling oil price is a double-edged sword for WA.

Premier Mark McGowan has called for federal support to get a new research centre for hydrogen and LNG exports off the ground, while there’s work under way to attract investment in new industries using domestic gas.

As if there wasn't enough global uncertainty already, a likely price war has broken out over the price of oil.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, inductees of the WA Women’s Hall of Fame and the winners of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA Women in Resources Awards were announced over the weekend.

Western Australia's liquefied natural gas sector has been largely unaffected to date by the COVID-19 crisis, but a new report shows travel restrictions and declining oil prices could slow development of major projects, including Woodside Petroleum and BHP's $16 billion Scarborough joint venture.

The amount of money raised by ASX-listed explorers increased by 19 per cent to $1.61 billion in the December quarter, primarily for larger companies with lower-risk projects, according to a new report from accounting firm BDO.

A local access management firm has entered a partnership with Swedish scaffolding manufacturer HAKI to provide a platform for expansion into the oil and gas industry.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Perth Basin could be in for a transformational year.

SPECIAL REPORT: Decisions are expected on three major oil and gas projects worth $24 billion combined in 2020, with more to follow.

Fortescue Metals Group chair Andrew Forrest has purchased an additional $242 million worth of shares in the company, shortly after Perth-based executives of other leading companies, including Peter Coleman, Ian Testrow and Bill Beament, also made big trades.

Woodside Petroleum and BHP have reshuffled their interests in two petroleum titles key to the Scarborough LNG project, as the companies prepare for a final investment decision this year.

A move by Norwegian government-backed Equinor to withdraw from oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight has been labelled disappointing by industry groups, and welcomed by environmentalists.

A 34 per cent lift in first-half profit at MMA Offshore shows an improving environment for offshore service providers, with the company having won work with Woodside and Esso.

Santos has posted a 7 per cent rise in annual net profit as a jump in production helped offset weaker gas and oil prices across the year.

BHP shareholders will receive a heftier, fully franked 65 US cents per share interim dividend after the global miner lifted its first-half statutory profit 29 per cent to $US4.87 billion ($A7.25 billion).

Woodside Petroleum has won a long-running contractual dispute with Melbourne-based explorer FAR over its purchase of a stake in the Sangomar oil project, off the coast of Senegal.

Woodside Petroleum has deferred a final investment decision on the giant Browse gas project as it deals with the complexity of the planned development and unresolved commercial differences with its partners.

CIMIC Group’s specialist business UGL has secured $450 million in oil and gas contracts, including with Chevron for work at its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities in Western Australia.

Andrew Wood has retired as chief executive of engineering giant Worley and been replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Chris Ashton, in a move that has surprised the markets.

Oil Search shares have dropped more than 10 per cent in value after negotiations on developing a new gas field in Papua New Guinea fell apart over the weekend.

88 Energy has received commitments to raise $5 million through a share placement to fund the evaluation of the company’s assets in Alaska, including the Charlie-1 appraisal well.