Archived News for Energy Sector Professionals

The New South Wales Government is looking to drum up cash by letting go of some goods, starting with all the state’s renewable energy assets.

Doors to deal with flowback closing in NSW

A major coal seam gas company is shopping around for someone to deal with its chemical-laden ‘flowback water’, but the response from nearby treatment plants has not been favourable.

Tests to enflame thermo-power revolution

Engineers have been working for decades on the best way to harness the power of thermionic conversion, hoping to develop an efficient way to draw electricity from any source of heat.

Algae plant churns output back to input

An environmental engineer has developed and enacted plans for a single site which could process human waste and harvest oil and gas without harmful emissions.

Bill to bring greenhouse burial under control

An energy legislation amendment bill is up for debate in Western Australia, the bill seeks to lay down rules for transport and storage of greenhouse gas in pipelines and the ground.

Exploration buy-up bags millions of acres and barrels

A single company now owns exploration rights to 2.04 million acres of New Zealand’s East Coast Basin.

Operator finds gas will go, as eastern needs increase

A recent report by the Australian Energy Markets Operator says that the massive expansion of Queensland ports fails to allow for increased gas demands in Australia, and could lead to a domestic shortage.

Thousands list their names to keep the sun free

The mere proposal of a Federal Government plan to tax solar energy has led to 25,000 Australians making it known that they support cheap energy, regardless of how the big providers feel.

Billions on the table to shed assets

State governments will be eligible for massive incentives to sell-off their assets, under a new scheme announced by Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey this week.

Boom enters calmer phase, some look for new fields

A key government authority has said for the first time that the resources boom is winding down, at the same time as a new study says most Australians did not benefit from it.

CEFC points to high cost of collapse, no returns

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has defended its own existence, as the Federal Government continues its plan to shut-down the renewable-energy investor.

Office model to take the heat off commercial bills

A new system developed by University of Adelaide engineers can model and predict temperatures within a building, promising significant reductions in commercial energy use.

Santos spreads wells for knowledge

Australian oil and gas company Santos Ltd. is sinking eighteen water monitoring bores around its operations in New South Wales – saying that if water tables are diminished or damaged, they will know about it.

Study seeks to unpick conflicts, cut to core of land issues

A new project has been launched to find out exactly how the values of people in rural areas are affected by land use conflicts caused by CSG drilling, wind farms, irrigation and agriculture.

Board bid harpooned, point still made

A former industry executive has made the remarkable call for energy giant BHP to move toward environmentally sustainable technology and processes, while also trying to get a job on BHP’s executive board.

Path clear but no big steps taken in Warsaw

Industry insiders reporting from the UN-sponsored climate change talks in Warsaw say the solutions to the energy market’s effect on the environment are already here.

Polls show direct action as popular as inaction

According to recent polls, the Federal Government’s plan to replace the carbon tax with a direct action policy has been as well-received as having no policy at all.

Process cut to get gas freely floating

The Australian Government is continuing its pledge to dissolve approval processes it deems unnecessary or duplicative, this week announcing a new ‘one-stop-shop’ environmental process for offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage activities.

Suppliers say Australia has room for more wells

The chief executive of a major mine pumping equipment supplier says Australia needs to ignore the concerns of environmentalists and other residents, and surge full-steam into coal seam gas extraction.

Tech stepped-up to see X-ray scans of unknown proteins

Researchers have come up with an astounding new technique; using X-ray lasers to determine the molecular structure of proteins – without any prior knowledge of what they look like.