Page 11 - AsianOil Week 08 2021

AsianOil OCEANIA AsianOil

Empire’s shale resource receives upgrade

PERFORMANCE AUSTRALIAN independent Empire Energy has target shales. The NT government has approved
announced an upward revision to its resource esti- Empire’s plans to hydraulically stimulate and
mate for its shale gas exploration permit (EP) 187 in flow test the well, with the company noting that
the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo sub-basin. tendering for the work was well advanced and
The company said on February 22 that inde- that it expected to begin operations in the second
pendent reserves auditor Netherland, Sewell & quarter of the year.
Associates Inc. (NSAI) had prepared an updated The company intends to fund the programme
independent resource report for Empire’s 100% entirely from existing cash reserves, given that its
owned and operated EP187 permit based on current cash balance is AUD12.3mn ($9.8mn)
the technical results of the company’s Carpen- Commenting on the resource upgrade,
taria-1 drilling programme. As a result, Empire Empire managing director Alex Underwood
said its best estimate prospective gas resource for said the NSAI report had validated the com-
EP187 had climbed by 47% to 3.5 trillion cubic pany’s decision to drill Carpentaria-1 amid last
feet (99.12bn cubic metres). year’s “challenging economic conditions”.
The company said it had booked a maiden He said: “Since that time, market conditions
best estimate prospective condensate resource for the energy sector have improved materi-
of 27mn barrels as well as a maiden best estimate ally, and the important role of gas in the energy
contingent gas resource of 41bn cubic feet (1.16 transition has been a focus of the Australian
bcm) in Carpentaria-1’s immediate vicinity. government, which is actively supporting the
Empire said reservoir properties and shale development of the Beetaloo sub-basin.”
pay thickness exceeded pre-drill expectations The Australian government announced in
for Carpentaria-1, driving “material increases” December 2020 that it would provide more than
in assessed gas and now condensate resources. AUD50mn ($38.7mn) in grants for exploration
Shales in the target Velkerri Formation were drilling in the Beetaloo. It then announced in
both thicker and contain more liquid hydrocar- January that it intended to provide an additional
bons than expected, while an additional inter- AUD217mn ($167.9mn) in funding for road
val was identified immediately adjacent to the upgrades that should ease access to the basin.™

APA to convert gas pipeline to hydrogen

PIPELINES & AUSTRALIAN energy infrastructure opera- APA CEO and managing director Rob
TRANSPORT tor APA Group has unveiled plans to convert a Wheals said: “With billions of dollars invested
43-km section of a natural gas pipeline in West- in gas infrastructure across the country, it makes
ern Australia into the country’s first fully hydro- sense to look at ways to use our existing energy
gen-ready transmission pipeline. infrastructure to support Australia’s transition to
APA said on February 23 that the pilot pro- a low-carbon future.”
ject, the first under the company’s alternative He added: “Studies have shown that con-
energy solutions programme, would allow the tinuing to use gas infrastructure can reduce
Parmelia Gas Pipeline to join the limited ranks emissions at half the cost to customers than elec-
of existing gas transmission pipelines that are trifying the services provided by gas.”
also 100% hydrogen-ready. Australia’s peak gas industry bodies, includ-
The AUD3mn ($2.4mn) project will fund ing the likes of Australian Petroleum Production
laboratory research and testing into material & Exploration Association (APPEA) and Aus-
embrittlement, the development of safe operat- tralian Pipelines and Gas Association, released a
ing guidelines and full-scale testing on-site. report towards the end of September 2020 high-
Hydrogen embrittlement, wherein metal gas lighting the “pivotal role gas and gas infrastruc-
pipes and appliances crack – requiring pipeline ture” could play in a low-carbon energy future.
and residential gas system upgrades – is a fre- “Gas Vision 2050: Delivering a Clean Energy
quently cited hurdle to the adoption of 100% Future” concluded that using hydrogen to reach
hydrogen networks. net-zero emissions would cost half as much as
APA said it had partnered with Future Fuels electrification. The group’s roadmap envisions
Cooperative Research Centre and Wollongong the country transitioning to 100% hydrogen
University on the engineering research side of networks by 2050.
the project. A new laboratory is being established APA said it would work with the WA govern-
at Wollongong University to test materials “rep- ment and the state’s Economic Regulation Author-
resentative of the pipeline” under pressurised ity during the testing phase to demonstrate the
hydrogen gas conditions. safety of hydrogen transmission pipelines.™

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