Chevron Australia Pty Ltd formed a Strategic Research Alliance with WA:ERA in 2005 which significantly increased the level of oil and gas research in Western Australia. The Western Australian Alliance for Advanced Energy Solutions (AES:WA) is a vehicle for maximising ongoing and future investment in research projects in Western Australia that are relevant to:

• oil and gas exploration and development
• hydrocarbon processing
• industry related health, safety and environmental issues
• education and training initiatives

 

The Alliance provides for multiple research projects over an open-ended period, with Chevron committing to invest up to A$5 million annually.  Chevron aims to enhance its relationship in the gas value chain from subsurface to product, and is continuing to do a signifi cant amount of research in that area.  Progress has been made over the past year on the ongoing liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) and gas to liquids (GTL) research projects at Curtin, UWA and CSIRO. In addition, eight new projects were initiated in 2008, broadening our efforts into subsurface, health, safety and environment, gas conversion and corrosion research. There are now in excess of 30 projects currently funded through WA:ERA. Chevron is also the proud co-sponsor, in conjunction with Woodside, of two new science chairs at the partner universities.  The appointments of Professor David Lumley as the Professorial Chair in Petroleum Geoscience at UWA and Professor Rolf Gubner as the Professorial Chair in Corrosion Engineering at Curtin, demonstrate great progress toward building needed capability for the energy industry.  Chevron, through the University Partnership Program which was announced in early 2008, is also sponsoring the Chair in Gas Process Engineering at UWA, aimed at bringing more focus to this key capability for the region.

Chevron’s Asia-Pacific Global Technology Centre (GTC) opened in Perth two years ago and 2008 marked a year of significant staffing growth. The GTC is one of two international technology centres established by Chevron, signaling our strong interest in developing excellence in research capability in this region and in Western Australia. The GTC has benefited WA:ERA through increasing Chevron’s spread of technology activities in Perth, improving the scope for collaborative work and increasing engagement with Chevron researchers.  In addition, the GTC has benefited from WA:ERA through education programs that have developed high quality recruits, many of whom are now employed by Chevron.  Chevron is pleased with the growth of the alliance over the past few years. In this fourth year of the joint venture, there has been continuing maturity of the relationship, with Chevron becoming more aware of the WA:ERA partners’ specific capabilities, leading to a closer and more productive working relationship. Numerous projects have been initiated and progressed for both the benefit of Chevron’s local operations, as well as our global technology needs.

“Chevron is starting to reap the benefits of the collaboration through
capability building and finished projects, and is looking forward to
seeing this progress continue in 2009 and beyond.”

Lisa Hawker, Manager, AES:WA
Chevron Energy Technology Pty Ltd

 

“Our partnership with WA:ERA is important because it allows us to invest in developing talent and capability in our own backyard. The agreement allows us to create tailored research programs that will have a positive impact on overcoming the many challenges of this business.”

 

Neil Kavanagh, Chief Science and Technology Manager
Woodside Energy Ltd

 

In 2004 Woodside Energy signed a Joint Venture agreement for a five-year program with WA:ERA worth up to A$30 million. R2D3 (Research to Discover, Develop and Deploy energy solutions for a sustainable future) provides increased industry focus and funding for the activities being undertaken by WA:ERA.  R2D3 enables Woodside to create tailored research programs and makes sure that results are fully integrated as a value-added activity into the business, with a strong emphasis on technology deployment. Woodside’s oil and gas resources are located in remote, offshore fields. They are in cyclonic environments, where seabed temperatures are very low, pipelines are long and costly and the available landfall locations are expensive places to build large gas processing plants. Woodside’s approach to these challenges is two-pronged; we utilise the best exploration and production technology and we emphasise operational excellence.

In 2008, Woodside invested $10 million on about 100 technology projects in its Strategic Technology Plan. We identified 11 areas in which Woodside could research, develop, improve or invest in technology that could have a positive impact on the company’s triple bottom line of profit, community and environment. Our focus is on LNG construction technologies, options for developing remote deepwater fields, detailed knowledge of meteorological and oceanographic (metocean) conditions, exploration and reservoir characterisation methods. The plan includes Woodside-specific projects undertaken by our own staff, collaborative research with industry partners (large and small) and direct funding of university research, professorial chairs and other programs. The innovation life cycle has three phases: discovery, development and deployment. Woodside’s focus is on the deployment phase.

Our partnership with WA:ERA is important because it allows us to invest in developing talent and capability in our own backyard. The agreement allows us to create tailored research programs that will have a positive impact on overcoming the many challenges of this business. Investing in local research means we are helping to develop service providers who can meet our needs for technology that is at the deployment stage. It also enriches the talent pool from which we draw our own staff. Woodside’s support of WA:ERA extends to a number of carefully selected projects. Sponsorship of the Professorial Chair in Hydrocarbon Research and the Woodside Hydrocarbon Research Facility at Curtin University led by Robert Amin, is a means to address the many challenges of developing gas fi elds in remote, deepwater locations such as fl ow assurance and subsea processing.

Woodside and Chevron have also taken the lead in developing the next generation of geoscientists by sponsoring the new Professorial Chair in Petroleum Geoscience at UWA. At a time when we struggle to employ enough qualified geophysicists, we hope Professor David Lumley will encourage many more students to study this exciting discipline. We also hope it will lead to the establishment of a world-class geoscience research facility in our neighbourhood. In the harsh environments in which Woodside operates, corrosion is a major issue. By co-sponsoring with Chevron the Professorial Chair in Corrosion at Curtin, we hope Professor Rolf Gubner will help to address the shortage of qualified corrosion scientists and engineers at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Exploration is an expensive business where the risks of drilling dry wells are relatively high. Knowing where to drill to find the hydrocarbons and then extract them is a powerful way to mitigate those risks. To that end, Woodside is funding a Curtin research project into a geochemical method to identify oil-prone zones in sedimentary basins. Understanding how to identify liquid petroleum sources, as opposed to lower value gas sources is one way to reduce exploration risk as you increase the likelihood of finding ‘sweet spots’ of petroleum reserves.

As oil and gas exploration takes the industry into deeper waters, emerging issues include submarine slides from the tops of the continental slopes and subsequent debris fields. How these submarine slides impact on the siting and routing of seabed infrastructure is the subject of a Joint Industry Project undertaken by UWA’s Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems. Avoidance of slideprone areas and mitigating actions when they can’t be avoided are part of the study’s scope. Pipeline stability research is another area that can potentially translate into big savings for the industry. UWA’s On-Bottom Stability Testing Program is challenging industry assumptions on pipeline loads, particularly in the unique geotechnical conditions of the North West Shelf. By physically testing the interaction between pipeline, soil and water, the
program can test current assumptions about pipeline stability. It could potentially save millions of dollars if current assumptions are proved conservative and the extent of expensive secondary stabilisation is reduced. Woodside’s involvement with WA:ERA is an important part of our overall Strategic Technology Plan. We look forward to reaping the benefi ts of this partnership in the future.

 

Neil Kavanagh, Chief Science and Technology Manager
Woodside Energy Ltd

 

 

"We are very pleased to partner with this unique alliance. We have a long operating history here in Western Australia as well as in the wider Asia-Pacific region, and it is one of our strongest growth areas. Our R&D commitment in the region needs to mirror this trend. We believe our investment in this agreement will pay significant dividends by enriching both our global and local research to ensure, along with our alliance partners, that we can best meet the needs of the industry today and well into the future."

Thierry Le Roux, President & COO
CGGVeritas


A new research alliance between WA:ERA (Western Australian Energy Research Alliance) and CGGVeritas was acknowledged at an official ceremony at the Australian Resources Research Centre in August 2009. The alliance is the first of its kind between an international geophysical service company and WA:ERA, WA's leading energy research provider supporting the State's oil and gas industry.

The agreement between CGGVeritas and WA:ERA defines a framework to support the rapid identification of opportunities for research, development, consultancy, education and commercial application of advanced geophysical technologies in the search for, and optimum exploitation of, energy resources. The framework provides formal guidelines for planning, agreeing and executing individual R&D projects once they have been identified.
 
As the first geophysical company to sign this kind of partnership with the WA:ERA, CGGVeritas will act as a focal point for exploring new topics for collaborative geophysical R&D projects.  The agreement will be of mutual benefit to all parties by maximizing the success of these projects in addressing regional E&P challenges, extending their scope, and adding value to a wider field of application.