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Two Speed Better Than No Speed, But Costs A Worry
Consultants (like me anyway) always live a little hand-to-mouth and a couple of things lately have made me think about our business.
The first was when I advertised a three-hour-per-week job doing our books - I got 110 applicants, one of them with a Masters' degree in accounting. All these for about the smallest micro-job it's legal to offer employment for, on money that would buy about a pie and a drink, well maybe a pie and two drinks in Karratha. I knew the banks were sacking people but I didn't think it was that bad.
Then I had a chat about oil field work in Perth and overseas, the repsonse was: "plenty of it, come on over". Our resources industry is getting bagged for being successful but a two-speed economy is better than a no-speed economy, and I'm glad I'm not looking for work in the other sectors of the economy right now.
The sheer cost of doing business is a worry though: costs have risen way above CPI – double I reckon. I thought we were supposed to do more with less? We drill few enough wells in Australia without the time and costs becoming prohibitive. If projects get too expensive before the cash ever rolls in we are all back looking for work to pay for our pies and our drinks.
The year-in-review in last edition (Dec/Jan) of PESA News Resources makes interesting reading: In 2009–2010: geothermal the rage. In 2011: wall to wall unconventional hydrocarbons, and more in 2012 I'm sure. There is a lot of optimism being put in to unconventional oil and gas in under-worked parts of the country. It's lovely to see the work happening and some good early results in the Cooper Basin. Good too to see some work in neglected basins again – dust being blown off old mudlogs and rock-eval reports all over the country. Good science made the difference to the last rejuvenation of the onshore exploration. Let's hope good scientific understanding of what is and what isn't an oil/gas shale play steers us right again, and I hope that getting services in and the product out can be done at a price that this new industry can afford.
I was also interested to see in the latest Quarterly Essay an honest survey of the energy balance in Australia and the world. People who think we can just shift our energy supply by some breezy action of government will get a useful intro to the sheer amount of new energy that must be conjured to do so. If you are being ear-bashed by such a person you can recommend it to them.
Our Federal Scholarship coordinator (borrowed with vast thanks from WA branch), is pleased to announce that the calibre of the 2011 post-grad scholarship submissions was so high that we felt we should offer two scholarships again. There were over 25 submissions from around the nation, reflecting a fantastic breadth of new and innovative research.
Around the branches the holidays are a distant memory as the mighty PESA engine fires up for 2012.
In Queensland planning for EABS IV is progressing very well. The website is now live at http://www.eabs2012.com.au. The Queensland event organisers are keen to talk to you about booths, sponsorships, speakers and posters. EABS is the premier PESA event for 2012 so mark it in your diary and give them a call.
The dates are 11–14 September 2012 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Registration opens in February and there will be early bird discounts until 4 June.
The NSW Christmas lunch was a blast. I won't steal the limelight from the associated news item except to say guest speaker Barry Goldstein (as ever) earned every bit of his lunch. The NSW branch's Phil Cooney is working hard compiling the PESA Exploration review for APPEA. This is one of the most demanding PESA jobs going around so if you want to showcase your 2011 project please send Phil a note.
The WA branch is thrilled that the WABS 2013 conference is now fully underpinned by three foundation sponsors: Shell, Woodside and Chevron. We are already receiving offers for papers and entire theme sessions before we've even sent out the call for papers, so there is clearly a pent-up need for geoscience professionals to share their insights on Western Australian E&P. Keep your eyes open for the WABS 2013 Expression of Interest.
The WA branch is also gearing up for another full year of technical talks, short courses and social events. Get ready to glam up at the Las Vegas Cabaret charity ball. The branch is also looking for fresh ideas for technical talks, so please feel free to reach out to the committee to volunteer or discuss your suggestions.
In November the ACT branch hosted a seminar by Andrew Cavanagh from Permedia/Halliburton, who talked about simulating the risk of leakage at the Weyburn-Midale CO2 storage site, which is the world's largest storage site. The seminar focused largely on the challenges of flow migration in a high well density domain.
The ACT President, Eric Tenthorey, made an improvised appearance as Santa (aka 'Scary Santa') at the annual Christmas party and handed out presents to the children (the brave ones, presumably). Door prizes were given away as were prizes for trivia and origami. It was also great to see some younger students from the Australian National University in attendance. A great time was had by all.
In early February the PESA ACT Branch/Geoscience Australia will be hosting a four-day course on Unconventional Resource Assessment by Jim Gouveia from Rose & Associates. A big roll-up is anticipated for a course on this hottest of hot topics.
The Victoria/Tasmania branch hosted a joint Christmas function with SPE, ASEG and GSA members. Dr Mark Mclean of GeoScience Victoria gave a ripping account of geophysical surveying in East Antarctica's Lambert Rift. The usually rowdy lot were riveted by great pictures, stories and wonderfully presented 3D fly-throughs.
Mike Hall from Monash University led an enthusiastic band of 20 or so PESA folk into the caves at the Flat rock site at Inverloch to observe and discuss the finer points of Strzelecki Group structures and sedimentology. Late afternoon refreshments were enjoyed at the Gurdies Winery at Western Port Bay. A big thank you goes to Mike for leading the trip, to Alan Tait for his useful insights and committee member Jim Driscoll for organising the event.
