VICTAS Meetings

VICTAS Meetings

May SPE MEETING 
May 2015 meetin
g -  

Geologic Factors Associated With Successful Shale Gas Plays


May 21 2015 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $10 students.

Speaker: David Close 

Abstract:

Title: “Geologic Factors Associated With Successful Shale Gas Plays"

Although source rocks are known across Australia and the EIA (2013) estimate a technically recoverable “shale gas” resource of > 400 Tcf,

there have been no definitive tests that prove that any of these potential plays will flow gas at commercial rates. There have, however, been

a number of technical successes reported from both shale gas and basin centred gas plays.

 This paper reviews plays from both frontier and mature basins across Australia, with case studies on basins where Origin is actively exploring

or appraising unconventional gas plays – the Perth, Cooper and Beetaloo Basins. The technical challenges vary from play to play, but many

of the above ground challenges are not play specific. To advance the industry Origin and other companies will have to demonstrate a quality

of resource sufficient to be economic in a high cost environment like Australia, while at the same time maintaining a social “License to Operate”.

 In its expansion into the Northern Territory, through its interest in the Beetaloo Basin, Origin has the benefit of over twenty years

of experience dealing with complex stakeholders and environmental challenges through its CSG development projects in QLD.

This experience is invaluable in informing best practices for the engagement of local communities, landholders, Traditional Owners

and regulatory and government bodies. For the technically minded asset development teams charged with exploring unconventional

plays in frontier basins, where stakeholders are unfamiliar with oil and gas development projects, a new suite of skills are required

that necessitate deep organisational support 

 

Biography:

David Close  

David is the exploration manager (onshore Australia) for Origin Energy in Brisbane, Australia. He holds a PhD from the

University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and he has a BSc from the University of Tasmania. David

has worked in Mexico, the US and Canada for Schlumberger and Apache Canada before joining Origin Energy in 2012.

David has worked in a range of conventional and unconventional exploration roles, and has developed expertise in

quantitative seismic interpretation and inversion, and unconventional resource exploration and evaluation. Member: 

Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Society of Economic

Geologists, Canadian Society of Exploration Geologists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

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November SPE MEETING 
November 2014 meetin
g -  The PNG LNG Project

November 19 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Dan Lillig

Abstract:

Title: “The PNG LNG Project"

The PNG LNG Project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities, onshore
and offshore pipelines, and liquefaction facilities. The Project will produce 6.9 MTA of LNG per annum, shipping to
customers in Asia. The Project was completed ahead of schedule in challenging conditions. To achieve this required
 disciplined project execution, outstanding collaboration, sounding engineering, and creative problem-solving. Hear
Technical Manager Dan Lillig share his insights into this successful project

 

Biography:

Dan Lillig  

Dan Lillig is the PNG LNG Project Technical Manager and is responsible for internal and external interface management.

Dan has worked for ExxonMobil for 15 years. He has held a variety of technical and leadership roles in areas including research,
 engineering and project management. Prior to joining PNG LNG in 2012, he was seconded to TransCanada for the Alaska
Pipeline Project supporting regulatory engagement and pre-FEED engineering.

Dan has Bachelor and doctorate degrees in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, respectively

 

 

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October SPE MEETING 
October 2014 meetin
g -  Why the Climate Change Debate Fails

October 15 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Ted Metcalfe

Abstract:

Title: “Why the Climate Change Debate Fails"

This presentation is a departure from the usual SPE topic material, and is focused instead on global issues.  The presentation
is titled “Why the Climate Change Debate Fails”, however it is not a climate change denial diatribe. The idea for the
presentation evolved after reading a lot of books about climate change, and then other books addressing the wider
social issues which tend to be ignored by most people or have been overshadowed by focus on climate change.  It illustrates
the interfaces between several aspects of human activity on a global scale as aided in part by oil production, and emphasises
how the climate change debate is failing to address some more serious problems facing the world today.  Some possible
explanations as to why those problems are not being addressed are prese
nted. The material presented is person opinion
and does not reflect any SPE policy positions. 

 

Biography:

Ted Metcalfe 

Ted Metcalfe graduated in Mechanical Engineering and has worked in the oil and gas industry for over
35 years, initially in Canada and since 1982 in various locations all across Australia.  The majority of his
experience has been with surface facilities and major transmission pipelines, and he claims no expertise
 in petroleum engineering.  He currently provides independent consulting services to clients to assist
with major project development, contracting strategies and engineering management.   

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September SPE MEETING (Distinguished Lecturer)

September 2014 meeting - 
Tight Coalbed Methane: A Giant Worldwide Resource – How
do we produce it?
 

Friday September 5 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: M Zuber

Abstract:

Title: “Tight Coalbed Methane: A Giant Worldwide Resource – How do we produce it?"

The development of coalbed methane (CBM) has been limited to moderate- to high-permeability reservoirs (>1 md).  

However, a significant resource of natural gas exists within low-permeability coals (<1 md).  Worldwide CBM
resources are estimated to range from 3,500-7,000 Tcf, and EIA estimates >800 Tcf are technically recoverable. 
 As of 2010, however, only 60-70 Tcf of CBM reserves were proved.  Vast CBM resources are untapped.

Because of the coal depositional process, and the nature of gas storage and transport mechanisms, a large
percentage of CBM exists in low permeability ("tight") coals.  Coals are typically laterally-extensive deposits,
often covering entire basins.  In addition, coals are usually deposited in a cyclic process, producing large gross
intervals containing many coal seams.  Thermal maturity typically increases with depth within a basin, and since
gas adsorptive capacity increases with thermal maturity, large gas accumulations are found in the deeper parts
of basins.  However, coals are naturally-fractured reservoirs, and permeability of coals is stress-sensitive. 
Therefore, permeability tends to decrease with depth and strongly affected by structural folding and tectonic forces.
Commercial development to-date has been primarily restricted to shallow, high-permeability coals for this reason.

Horizontal drilling and enhanced CBM techniques have been successful in recovering gas from tight coals, but with
limited commercial success to-date.  Better understanding of coal geology and Geomechanics will lead to identification
 of sweet spots that can be successfully developed.  Advancements in horizontal drilling technology and potentially,
ECBM technology, will reduce development costs and facilitate commercial development.  R&D is required to advance
 these technologies

 

 


Biography:

 

Michael Zuber - Schlumberger 

Mike is a Technical Advisor for Schlumberger Asia Area.  He is a mentor for the emerging unconventional gas,
shale and coalbed methane business in Asia. 
From 2003 to 2007, Mike was VP-Reservoir Engineering for CDX
Gas, LLC.  Prior to joining CDX, Mike was a consultant for 20+ years, working primarily on critical evaluations
for unconventional gas reservoirs.  

He has authored numerous publications relating to evaluation of coalbed methane reservoirs.  He taught the
SPE short course “Coalbed Methane Engineering Methods” for many years.

Mike holds a BSPE from Marietta College, MSPE from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from the
University of Pittsburgh.

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Unraveling the mystery of Geomechanics and its applications
August SPE MEETING
August 2014 meeting - A Petroleum Engineer’s perspective on oil and gas financing 

Wednesday August 13 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Michael Brownlie 

Abstract:

Title: “A Petroleum Engineer’s perspective on oil and gas financing"

 

 

Those working in the subsurface and project execution disciplines of the oil and gas industry are well
accustomed to identifying, quantifying and managing risks and uncertainties. For oil and gas companies
 managing these together with inherent financial, scheduling risks for projects in the context of scarce
 and sometimes expensive capital can be a challenge. While recognising oil and gas companies and
 financial institutions will have a different appetite for exposure to risk, working together with companies
 can motivate capital providers to help them solve problems as they arise.

 


Biography:

 

Michael Brownlie - Division Director in Metals and Energy Capital group at Macquarie Bank in Sydney

Michael Brownlie is the Division Director in Metals and Energy Capital group at Macquarie Bank in Sydney,
 responsible for all aspects of technical due diligence for oil and gas, debt and equity financing transactions
run from Sydney. Previously Michael was a Senior Reservoir Engineer at Shell working in New Zealand as
an asset engineer and across Europe both as asset engineer and subsequently reserves coordinator for all
European operations. Michael graduated from Imperial College London with a MEng in Petroleum Engineering.

 

 


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May SPE MEETING
May 2014 meeting - A small explorer's journey - the IPB Petroleum story so far 

Wednesday May 7 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Brendan Brown 

Abstract:

Title: “A small explorer's journey - the IPB Petroleum story so far"

 

 The presentation will include a historical recount IPB Petroleum's journey from its inception as a small private
company through to its current status as a small ASX listed company, readying to drill its first offshore
exploration well in the Browse Basin. It aims to cover key technical, commercial, and strategic issues relating
to the Company's assets and development and recount some of the important lessons learned along the way.

 


Biography:

Brendan Brown - Managing Director: IPB Petroleum Limited BSc, BE (Hons), MBA (Melb), F.Fin

Brendan Brown has over 20 years' experience in the oil and gas and finance industries. He commenced his career
as an engineer with BHP Petroleum, where he was involved in various projects and operations including the Jabiru,
Challis, Skua and Griffin oil field developments. He has also been a successful analyst and corporate adviser with
ANZ Investment Bank. Prior to establishing IPB Petroleum in 2009, Mr Brown was General Manager Finance and
Business Development at Nexus Energy where he was responsible for the group's financing activities and the
negotiation and maintenance of its key commercial agreements and relationships

 

 


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Joint PESA/SPE/APEG MEETING
April 2014 meeting - Characterizing Shale Plays

Thursday April 10 2014 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little 
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. 
Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, 
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Brad Berg

Abstract:

The Importance of Recognizing What You Don’t Know. Understanding the uncertainty in individual well
performance is particularly critical during the exploration drilling program where there are relatively
few wells on which to base decisions. Key questions during the early phases include "How many wells
do I need to drill before I have confidence in the results?" and “Does the well performance I’ve seen to
 date provide the encouragement needed to keep drilling?". Understanding the uncertainty in well
performance, and planning for it will lead to more efficient exploration activity and better informed
decision-making  

 


Biography:

Brad Berg is the reservoir engineering manager for US onshore exploration at Anadarko Petroleum.
He has been instrumental in developing the methodologies and tools that his company uses to evaluate
unconventional resource plays.

 


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Joint PESA/SPE MEETING
April 2012 meeting - Submarine Fans - A Cook’s Tour

Wednesday April 18 2012 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little
Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.
Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE,
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Rob Kirk

Abstract:

Submarine fans have been, and still remain, important sealed reservoirs for hydrocarbons around the world and large
discoveries are still being made in them-such as sub-salt Brazil.

In this talk we will look at several different fan examples around the world in outcrop, on well logs and seismic and fit
them in to a model framework, and modify these models when things do not fit so well. Basins visited will include,
Los Angeles, Barrow-Exmouth-Dampier, Karoo, Otway, Gulf of Mexico, West and East  Africa, North Sea, Sabah, Taranaki,
onshore Canning, West Texas, and lakes in China and elsewhere.

 


Biography:

Rob Kirk is a consultant in sequence stratigraphy from Tasmania (using Kingdom), after having worked for Woodside,
BHP and Occidental inter alia in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Bakersfield, Bogota and London.

He also gives 1 week  well and seismic sequence courses for Nautilus as well as PESA and ASEG, jointly won the
AAPG Best Paper Award in 1991 as well as being the PESA 2006 Distinguished Lecturer.  

He has developed the Oil and Gas module and helps give it for the Teachers Earth Science Education Program and
gives talks in local schools on geology.

 

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March 2012 meeting - The Henry and Netherby Subsea Tie-back Development – Offshore Otway

Wednesday March 21 2012 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke
Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE,
EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students.

Speaker: Steve Henzell (WorleyParsons)

Abstract:

The Henry and Netherby gas fields are located in Victorian waters in South East Australia.  They have been developed
by extending the Casino production system which comprises two subsea wells in the Casino field producing by
offshore and onshore pipelines to an onshore gas plant.  The entire Henry and Netherby development is subsea,
connecting to the Casino pipeline in 70 meters of water.

During the Casino design, provisions were made for future extension of the production system.  This talk discusses
the provisions made and their effectiveness during the expansion project.  The talk also discusses some of the
challenges encountered by the project team and how they were overcome.

Specific project challenges included dewatering the pipeline extension without direct access to a production facility,
pressurization of the pipeline extension and safe removal of nitrogen from the pipeline extension.

This talk was presented at APOGCE 2010 in Brisbane.


Biography:

Steve Henzell was the engineering manager for WorleyParsons on the Casino development and the subsequent Henry
extension project for the Casino field development. He is currently the project manager for the brownfield portion of
the Gas Conditioning Plant project at Longford.  He has been directly involved in most of the development projects in
Australia’s east coast over the last 10 years including Casino, Henry and Longtom subsea developments, Kipper
subsea gas development, Marlin B platform and Iona underground gas storage.

Steve has over 30 years experience in oil and gas design and operation, with experience in aspects of facilities
engineering from reservoir engineering and down-hole completion design through to offshore and onshore facilities
engineering.  His initial experience was gained with Esso in the prime days of the Gippsland Basin and he has since
worked in South East Asia, Asia, Australia, Middle East, South America and Europe.  He has worked for
WorleyParsons since 1989, when the company was just beginning its growth into the international engineering
services company it is today.

He is the current chairman of the Victoria/Tasmania chapter of the SPE.


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February 2012 meeting - Linking Risk and Uncertainties to Field Development Planning in Challenging
Environments

Wednesday February 22 2012 the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke
Streets) at 12:00 noon - 12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. Business / smart dress

 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities)

-$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15
students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in August 2010.

Speaker: Stephen Kuo (SPE Distinguished Lecturer)

Abstract:
The complex geological architecture in deepwater turbidite reservoirs, coupled with multi-billion dollar development schemes
(i.e., dry or wet tree wells, subsea pipeline system and floating facilities), makes field development planning a very challenging
task. The reservoir engineer is often faced with tough questions: “How many wells are required?” and “What is the reserve
volume and its range?” To answer these questions requires a complete assessment of risk and uncertainties of the reservoir
to be developed. Even with the most rigorous technical approach, the uncertainties will remain. It is equally important to
communicate the risk and uncertainties to key stake holders so that an informed business decision can be made. This lecture
will discuss a systematic approach to frame the risk, link the risk to uncertainties, assess the uncertainties and develop an
activity plan. The activity plan should be tied to reservoir surveillance program so that risk is mitigated and the uncertainties
are reduced as the project moves into execution and production phases. Key takeaway from this presentation is to keep risk
and uncertainties analysis simple by looking at the big picture and only focus on the uncertainty parameters that have a material
impact on the business. A few examples of a field development plan will be discussed in the lecture

Biography:
Stephen S. Kuo, a veteran of BP with more than 30 years of global experience, is responsible for field development planning and
risk and uncertainty assessment for BP’s deepwater fields in Gulf of Mexico. Throughout Kuo’s career with BP, he has made
significant contributions toward business success worldwide.  This includes integrated gas business in Vietnam, LNG
development in Angola and miscible flooding in Prudhoe Bay of Alaska, among others.  Kuo contributed to field development
activities in Alaska, Colombia, Venezuela, North Sea, Russia and China.  A seasoned subsurface professional, he specializes in
oil and gas development from appraisal to production, reservoir management, prospect evaluation, new venture, and gas supply
planning for LNG plant.  He also specializes in SEC reserves reporting and the certification process. An SPE member for more
than 20 years, Kuo has served on Organizing Committee in numerous SPE meetings and was the Program Chair for Vietnam
Section from 2006 to 2009 where he significantly increased member participations during his tenure.  He received SPE Asia
Pacific Regional Service Award in 2009. Kuo holds BS, MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from University of
Wisconsin, Wisconsin, USA.

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December 2011 meeting - Logistics operations and airborne potential field surveying in the Lambert
Rift region, East Antarctica

Wednesday December 7 2011 at the Victoria Hotel (215 Little Collins St) at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes
~2pm. Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$20 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $10 students/retired members

Speaker: Dr Mark Mclean

Abstract:

The Lambert Rift region of East Antarctica consists of scattered coastal outcrops and inland nunataks exposed sporadically
through the Antarctic ice sheet, from Prydz Bay to the southern-most end of the Prince Charles Mountains. The Lambert Rift
is interpreted to represent a failed arm of a triple point, which formed during the Cretaceous rifting process between India
and Antarctica, however this region also preserves evidence of Grenville, and Early Palaeozoic tectonic events. Although rock
outcrops in the north yield some geological information, large areas are covered with ice rendering it inaccessible to geological
sampling. Especially south of the Prince Charles Mountains, where the inland ice cover has hindered our understanding of
the crustal architecture and extent of the rift.

During the 2002-2003 Austral summer, the PCMEGA (Prince Charles Mountains Expedition of Germany and Australia)
expedition of twenty scientists from five Australian, one Russian and six German research institutions collaborated to undertake
a comprehensive onshore geoscience project under the auspices of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR). This work involved a major airborne geophysical survey
where ice penetrating radar, magnetic and gravity data were collected over a region which extended over the southern
Prince Charles Mountains and approximately 350 km further south (as far as 78° S). In addition, several geological field
parties were deployed throughout the southern Prince Charles Mountains to map and sample these widely scattered
nunataks. The objective of this program was to further our understanding of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the crustal
architecture of this region.

Although some limited results and modelling are included, this presentation primarily focuses on the airborne survey
and the logistics operations required to undertake an extensive scientific investigation in such a remote location. This
includes deployment of equipment, fuel and personnel; operations at an Australian Antarctic base (Davis) and a field
base camp (Mt Cresswell); survey design, instrumentation and field camps.

Biography:

Mark McLean has been a contractor for GeoScience Victoria since 2005, and worked full time since 2008. Mark
completed an Arts/Science degree at Monash University and graduated with a Master of Science in 2003. He then
moved to The University of Melbourne where he completed a PhD in 2008. This work involved modelling, interpretation
and acquisition of an airborne geophysical survey over the Lambert Rift / Prince Charles Mountains region in East
Antarctica. This work provided him with a solid grounding in 3D modelling, potential field inversion and interpretation.
Mark has published scientific papers on geophysical modelling and interpretation in the Gawler Craton, East Antarctica
and the Melbourne Zone, Victoria.


November 2011 meeting - Drillsearch: Plans for conventional assets and unconventional potential
in the Cooper Eromanga Basin

Wednesday November 9 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke
Streets)
at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities)

-$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15
students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in August 2010.

Speaker: David Evans (Chief Technical Officer - Drillsearch)

Abstract

The lunchtime presentation will provide an update and overview of Drillsearch activities and future plans in the
Cooper-Eromanga Basin.

The Company's fundamental strategy is to create shareholder value by: harvesting oil production assets;
commercialising wet gas discoveries; targeting high-return oil prospects; focusing on unconventional potential
in existing acreage; and rationalising the portfolio to focus on the highest value opportunities.

Drillsearch has established a holding of oil and gas exploration permits covering a large area in the
Cooper-Eromanga Basin. The Company holds 16 permits with a net permit interest of 23,000km2. Drillsearch
holds at least a 50% interest in 13 of these 16 permits and operates13 permits.

We believe the Cooper-Eromanga Basin acreage provides not only a large quantity of oil and gas prospects,
but also represents significant quality of targets.

 The Copper-Eromanga Basin presents a highly-attractive exploration and development environment, with
exploration drilling density well below other proven oil provinces and high exploration success rate achieved.
From the development perspective, low well costs in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin provide excellent profit
margins and ready access to established infrastructure allows consideration of multiple paths to market
recovered resources

Biography:

BSc Hons Geology, University of London 1985
Post Graduate Diploma in Petroleum Exploration Geology, Oxford Brookes University 1986
Master of Applied Science, University of Canberra, 1994
 
David has 25 years of upstream oil & gas exploration, development and production experience including over 15 years
of experience in Australia. Prior to joining Drillsearch in March 2010 David held senior oil & gas geoscience positions
with several leading international independent oil and gas companies and technical service companies including Vegas
Oil & Gas, Burren Energy Ltd, Petro-Canada International, Cairn Energy/Command Petroleum, Roxar Limited and Baker
Hughes Inteq. David also spent several years in the petroleum exploration arm of Geoscience Australia, Canberra


October 2011 meeting - Releasing Shale-Gas Potential with Fractured Horizontal Wells

Moonday October 17 2011 at at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke
Streets) at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm. Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities)

-$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15
students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in August 2010.

Speaker: Erdal Ozkan (Colorado School of Mines)

Abstract

In the last decade, our understanding of shale reservoirs has progressed significantly. It is now agreed that a major factor
for the productivity of shale reservoirs is the existence of a pervasive reservoir fracture network around the well.  Accordingly,
a common practice is to use hydraulically fractured horizontal wells to improve the connection with the reservoir fractures.
Flow in these unconventional systems is considered linear in the fractured volume around the well and is usually interpreted
with conventional reservoir engineering wisdom.  The flaw in this interpretation is an accurate accounting of the matrix
contribution due to the unconventional nature of flow in nano-darcy shale matrix.

 This lecture presents a discussion of the characteristics of shale reservoirs and their impact on the performance of fractured
horizontal wells.  Various flow mechanisms in shale matrix and fluid transfer from matrix to fracture network are explained. 
Key parameters of productivity are identified and explained.  Emphasis is given to the estimation of the extent of reservoir
fracture network, prediction of the efficiency of matrix drainage, and their impact on the estimation of well's drainage volume. 
The main idea to take away from this lecture is that some conventional reservoir engineering interpretations and practices
may not be adequate (or appropriate) for shale reservoirs.  For example, hydraulic fracture conductivity is usually not a key
parameter for wells in shale reservoirs.  Examples are presented to highlight practices/problems in the interpretation of well
performance from fractured horizontal wells in shale reservoirs.

Biography:

Dr. Erdal Ozkan is a professor of Petroleum Engineering and co-director of Marathon Center of Excellence for Reservoir
Studies at Colorado School of Mines.  Previously, he was on the faculty at Istanbul Technical University. He has BS and
MS degrees from Istanbul Technical University and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Tulsa, all in Petroleum Engineering.
 His research interests are horizontal well technology, pressure-transient analysis, modeling fluid flow in porous media,
and shale reservoirs.
 
Dr. Ozkan has authored or co-authored over one hundred technical papers, co-authored a book, and contributed chapters
to the Well Testing Monograph and Reservoir Engineering Handbook of SPE.  He has served as the Executive Editor of
SPEREE, Chief Editor of The Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, and the Associate Editor of JERT. He was
involved in the organization of several SPE conferences, forums, and workshops including the recent meetings on shale
reservoirs. Dr. Ozkan is a member of the SPE RD&D Advisory Committee and a Technical Director of the SPE Research
and Development Technical Section. He is a Distinguished Member of the SPE and the recipient of the 2007 SPE Formation
Evaluation Award.
eozkan@mines.edu.



September 2011 Meeting - Oil price forecasting using probabilistic projection of United States dollar

Wednesday September 21 2011 at the Victoria Hotel (215 Little Collins St) at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes
~2pm. Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in
August 2010.

Speaker: Noll Moriarty 

Abstract:

Accurate forecasts for medium-term commodity prices are essential for companies committing to large capital expenditures.
The inaccuracy of conventional forecasting methods is well known because they tend to be extrapolations of the current price
trend. The inevitable reversal catches too many by surprise.

The paper presents a controversial empirical approach to price forecasting using the new field of Econophysics
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Econophysics) whereby the statistical techniques of physics are being successfully applied to
economics, particularly financial markets.  Significant advances are being made in taming volatile time series, allowing
statistically accurate predictions to be made and later verified by observation.

The paper discusses the outlook for oil price in the medium term (3-5 years). Industry consensus is the oil price is expected
to rise given strong demand from an improving world economy, particularly China. The paper challenges this expectation:

.       conventional approaches by the petroleum industry in forecasting the oil price are inaccurate

.       oil price in the medium term is not related to supply/demand (short-term perceptions cause spikes which we need to
smooth through)

.       oil price is inversely related to the valuation of the United States Dollar (if the dollar weakens, oil price rises and vice-versa)

.       therefore to forecast oil price, we need to forecast valuation of United States Dollar (USD)

.       USD monthly valuation changes can be modelled as normal distribution but is not random (i.e. serial correlation exists)

.       This methodology predicts USD strengthening next several years, hence oil price falling!

 The paper challenges conventional approaches to forecasting the oil price - industry can continue with an inaccurate approach,
or use the proven statistical power of Econophysics that predicts turning points.  No doubt companies will continue to use
conventional probabilistic forecasting techniques for the oil price. What is suggested is that the application of objective probabilistic
predictions would be a helpful adjunct to current methods.

Biography:

Noll has academic qualifications in geophysics from Adelaide University and a M.Sc. (Hons) from Macquarie University. He worked
for 20 years in petroleum exploration and development with Delhi, Esso, Oil Company of Australia, rising to exploration manager
in Origin Energy, where he attended to permits in the Eromanga, Cooper and Otway Basins.  In 1999 when the oil price was very
low, Noll was made redundant and saw the opportunity to transition his project evaluation skills to financial planning. 

In 2001, he completed a Diploma of Financial Planning from Deakin University.  He founded Archimedes Financial Planning in
2000: a company that specialises in applying the proven petroleum industry risk management techniques to personal financial
planning for discerning clients located throughout Australia and overseas. 

Noll is a 30 year member of ASEG and PESA.  He has presented seven papers at ASEG and APPEA conferences with three
highly commended awards and one best presentation award at ASEG 1995


August 2011 Meeting - Clay: The Summary Lecture of the FESAus 2010 Clay Master Class

Tuesday August 23 2011 at the Victoria Hotel (215 Little Collins St) at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.
Business / smart dress

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities)

-$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members all provided SPE member rates), $60 non members, $15 students
Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in August 2010.

Speaker: Dr Joseph Hamilton

Abstract

The clay-bearing siliciclastics are the most common rock types encountered while drilling for oil and gas. Clay minerals
occur in all of the rock components (i.e. source, reservoir and seal) of a siliciclastic petroleum system The small grain size,
crystalline structure and variable chemistry of the clays within these rocks poses a range of geological and engineering
questions – in relation to borehole stability, log responses,formation damage, petrophysical properties and their
measurements and connectivity and productivity. This lecture summarises the FESAUS 2010 Master Class presentations
on clays from a range of professionals working with clays and shales..

Biography:

:

Joseph is a geologist with a BSc from London University and a DPhil from Oxford University. From 1975 to 1988 he held research
positions as a geochemist at Columbia, Glasgow and Cambridge Universities.

From 1988 to 2003 he held various research and research management positions in CSIRO and in the Australian Petroleum
Cooperative Research Centre. This period was followed by two years as Duprey

Professor of Petroleum Geoscience and Head of the Petroleum Geoscience Unit, University of the West Indies. Subsequently,
although the fishing is not as good, he returned to Australia and is now senior reservoir mineralogist with ALS Ammtec, where he
 leads the application of Automated Mineral Analysis techniques for the petroleum industry. He continues to supervise research
students as well as occasional lecturing at universities. He is the 2011 Distinguished Lecturer for the Formation Evaluation
Society of Australia. During his career he has received four best paper awards from international conferences and has more than
100 published papers.


July 2011 meeting - The Australian Coal Seam Gas Sector: Evolution of the CSG equity market, valuation
metrics and where to for this multi-billion dollar industry?

Thursday July 28 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke Streets) at
12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.  Business / smart dress 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in
August 2010.

Speaker: John Young (Wilson HTM Investment Group) 

Abstract:

The Australian coal seam gas sector has risen from obscurity to become a major part of the Australian energy landscape, with two
multi-train CSG to LNG projects sanctioned and more expected.  However, the strong shareholder returns experienced in recent
years, despite the global financial crisis, have moderated as the industry matures.  This presentation will review the evolution
of the CSG equity market, valuation metrics and where to from here for this multi-billion dollar industry.

Biography:

John Young is Senior Resources Analyst and head of the Energy Research team with Wilson HTM Investment Group, one of
Australia’s longest standing investment houses, where he covers the energy sector.  He has 28 years experience in the petroleum,
 resources and financial services industries with Mobil Oil, ExxonMobil, WMC Resources, BHP Billiton and Wilson HTM.  John
 holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree, Master of Applied Science degree and graduate diplomas in Business Science,
Management and Applied Finance


May 2011  Meeting - The Carbon Storage Task Force and a national Carbon Mapping and Infrastructure
Plan

Tuesday May 17 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke Streets)
at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.  Business / smart dress 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in
August 2010.

Speaker: Bob Griffith (Carbon Storage Task Force APPEA representative) 

Abstract:

The Carbon Storage Task Force was created by Minister Martin Ferguson in late 2008 to bring together key stakeholders to
 develop a national Carbon Mapping and Infrastructure Plan which would be a roadmap to driver prioritisation of and access
to the national geologic storage capacity to accelerate the deployment of CCS technologies in Australia.  The Task Force
included Federal, State, Petroleum, Pipeline, Power, Coal, Union and Environmental representatives.

 Key Findings / Recommendations

  • CCS is technically viable and, under appropriate management regimes, safe
  • High confidence of eastern Australia having 70-450 years of aquifer storage capacity
  • Implementation a $250 M pre-exploration program
  • Develop several transportation & storage demonstration projects at a scale of 1 MTA
  • Support pipeline infrastructure development for economy of scale, cost and safety
  • Identify and pursue incentives for competitive exploration over 2010-2017 and other policy and fiscal terms to support CCS deployment
  • Develop and implement a communication strategy

Biography:

Bob Griffith served as the APPEA representative on the Carbon Storage Task Force commissioned by Minister Martin Ferguson in
 September 2008 and will be presenting this talk in that capacity. Bob is a Vic/Tas SPE committee member and representative for
the SPE ANZ-PNG Council.  Bob has 38 years of experience with ExxonMobil primarily in reservoir management & development
roles in:  Nigeria, North Sea, Malaysia, Alaska, Texas & Australia. Bob is currently the Reservoir Technology Manager - Esso
Australia (1995-2002 / 2008-present.


April 2011 Meeting - Challenges of the Future

Monday April 4 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke Streets) at 12:00
noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.  Business / smart dress 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members all
provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in August 2010.

Speaker: Dr Behrooz Fattahi (2010 SPE President) 

Abstract:

The balance between the global supply and demand for crude oil is becoming progressively tighter, increasingly requiring our
 industry to face new and unique challenges. Our industry of tomorrow will have to address the demands of operating in adverse
environment, development of new technologies and expediting implementation in the field, as well as optimization of processes
 and enhancing collaborative efforts to reduce cost,

This presentation provides an overview of initiatives that must be directed at addressing the key issues, as well as SPE’s
engagement in facilitating the industry dialogue on global exchange of knowledge.

Biography:

Behrooz Fattahi holds Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering and in Mechanical Engineering both from Iowa State University.
He works as the Heavy Oil Development Coordinator for Aera Energy LLC, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil
companies. Prior to joining the oil industry, he conducted research for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
and the National Science Foundation, and taught a variety of courses in fluid dynamics and solid mechanics at Iowa State
University. He joined the petroleum industry in 1977 by joining Shell International.

Behrooz Fattahi is a past member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and American Association of
University Professors. He served as the Executive Editor of the SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering Journal, and on the
board of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International (SPE) as the Director of the Western North America Region,
 President of SPE Americas Inc., and Vice President-Finance. He is a member of the Board of American Institute of Minig,
Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and also  serves as a member of the United States National Petroleum
Council.

Behrooz Fattahi served as the Chairman of the Board, and the 2010 President of SPE International. He is currently a member
of the Executive Committee of the SPE Foundation.


February 2011  Meeting - Bridging over Uncertainty: Past Performance into Forecasting

Thuresday February 24 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke
 Streets) at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.  Business / smart dress 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
 all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in
August 2010.

Speaker: Dr Sameh Macary (Chevron Australia) 

Abstract:

Engineers are tending to be more deterministic;  with the ever growing challenges of decision making and risk assessment
associated with huge investments, the “need” to realize many (or even all) objectives of the business endeavor becomes crucial.

However, our scientific/technical education drives us to spend more time and money to get closer to “The Answer”. This leads,
 naturally, to deterministic conservative estimates, possibly false precision and frequent surprises.

This presentation examines the concept of modeling the existing data (past performance) into visualized tools to help in
predicting the future (forecasting).  Engineers use the Monte Carlo Simulation, Decision Trees, Data Bases, Expert Systems,
 Linear Programming, Design of Experiments and Artificial intelligence to state their uncertainties, not as discrete values, but as
continuous ranges.  G&G, reserves estimates, development plans, operations, IPR, and economics are areas where these
 techniques can be applied.

One approach to use multidisciplinary teams to tackle uncertainty;  however, team members have to first unify their views,
 thoughts, and sometimes even units!!!  They also need to use visualization tools and experiment with sensitivity analysis to
 define the way to process optimization.

How high are the “highs” and how low are the “lows” and when they occur is difficult to predict?  So let us put our past
experience in an updated form to minimize uncertainty.

Biography:

Dr Macary is currently with Chevron-Australia as Petroleum Engineering Advisor. He graduated in 1981 from Cairo University and
gained a PhD in Production & Reservoir Engineering from the Azerbaijan Institute of Oil & Chemistry in 1988. Dr. Macary has 12
SPE Papers. He was recently awarded the Regional Technical Award for Reservoir Description and Dynamics in the Middle East. 


January 2011 Meeting - Water Reuse ( Petroleum Industry Application)

Tuesday January 25 2011 at the Kelvin Club (Melbourne Place, alley way off Russell St between Little Collins and Bourke Streets)
at 12:00 noon -12:15pm for 12:30pm start. Concludes ~2pm.  Business / smart dress 

Payment: Cash or cheque only on arrival (no credit card facilities) -$50 SPE members (PESA, ASEG, IChemE, EA etc members
 all provided SPE member rates
), $60 non members, $15 students Note: price rise to $50 members and $60 non members in
 August 2010.

Speaker: James E. Myers (P.E. Chevron)

Abstract:

This presentation is an introduction to water reuse in the petroleum industry.  It presents a systematic approach on how to
evaluate the potential of water for reuse.  Virtually any water can be treated with off-the-shelf technologies and successfully
reused for many different applications.  However, not all water reuse makes sense based on economics, energy consumption
or local need for the water.  Other candidate waters for reuse include petrochemical wastewater, municipal wastewater, ground
water and storm water.  Water treatment technologies are classified as primary (gravity), secondary (biological) or tertiary
(polishing step).  Some of the reuse applications include agriculture, aquaculture, silviculture, industrial processes, recreation,
wildlife and municipal non-potable.  As easily accessible water resources become scarce and the human population expands,
 the need for sustainable water reuse becomes paramount to both public and private sectors.  The petroleum industry can
effectively reuse water to benefit the local communities in which oil is produced and refined.  Produced water that was once
 considered a throw-away by-product of crude oil production can become an asset in agriculture, aquaculture and silviculture.     

Key take-away:  Basic knowledge of what, why, where, and how to re-use water from the oil / gas industry in an environmental
and economic responsible way.

Biography:

James Myers is a senior environmental engineer with 26 years of experience in the petroleum industry.  He is a biologist with
a couple of degrees in engineering.  His technical specialty is the biological treatment of liquids and solids from worldwide
upstream and downstream petroleum operations.  Some of his projects include treatment of produced water, refinery wastewater,
ground water and marketing terminal storm water, constructed treatment wetlands, water reuse, landfarming and composting
of sludge, spill response (domestic and international), natural resource damage assessment, permit negotiations, wildlife habitat
enhancement (duck nesting, purple martin houses, wildflower planting), and environmental workshops on wastewater treatment,
constructed treatment wetlands, landfarming and solid waste management.  He has used prescribed burns to control plant
succession for wildlife habitat enhancement and to clean up oil spills.  He has served on technical committees for API, PERF,
OSRADP and TGLO.  He has two patents in landfarming and a volunteer award from USFWS for a waterfowl database.  Jim’s
wetlands have garnered awards from IOGCC and the Wildlife Habitat Council.