Woodside seeking permission to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas in Vic’s Port Campbell area: 23 threatened species potentially affected

Woodside Energy wanted to conduct a new round of seismic testing for oil and gas off Victoria’s Port Campbell, potentially disrupting the feeding season of the endangered blue whale, wrote Ewin Hannan in The Australian (8/10/2007, p. 4). Testing period would coincide with peak abundance of whales: Woodside had applied to the Howard Government to undertake the testing between November and May 2008, a period coinciding with the peak abundance of blue whales in the region. The survey area was about 20km south of Port Campbell, the coastal town west of the giant rock stacks known as the Twelve Apostles. Peter Gill, a long-time blue whale researcher, had said the survey area lay well within the blue whale feeding area. “If the survey occurs during the blue whale feeding season, and the whales are usually present between November and May, it is possible that blue whales may be displaced from preferred feeding areas,” he had said.

Survey needed to map sub-surface geology: In its application to the federal Environment Department, Woodside had said the survey was designed to map the sub-surface geology and ascertain the potential of sub-surface oil and gas deposits for further investigation. A survey vessel would operate an airgun that released bursts of compressed air that pushed the water away, creating a pressure wave that was used as a seismic signal. The survey would involve 23 days of testing.

‘Temporary’ displacement of whales: As the holder of a petroleum permit, Woodside had said it was required to undertake exploration to deduce the area’s potential for oil and gas production. In its submission Woodside acknowledged that 23 species listed as threatened under federal environmental legislation might occur within, or travel through, the project area. They included three species of whale, the great white shark, 12 albatross species, and the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. “There may be some temporary displacement of (whales) as a result of the seismic survey and localised impacts on feeding behaviour,” Woodside had said in its submission.

Wheat market up $10/t on 11 October; Sydney-delivered price at $480/t

The wheat market was up $10/t in the week, reported The Land (11/10/2007, p.67).  The Sydney delivered price was $480/t. Wheat prices were likely to hold better than barley into and during the harvest period with the multigrade forward contract for Port Kembla at $425/t on Tuesday. Growers were expected to sell whatever wheat they were able to harvest, after retaining enough for 2008 seed. Domestic buyers were expected to buy most of their 2008 physical requirements at harvest to avoid having to seek grain after the harvest.The Land, 11/10/2007, p. 67

How new NSW gas-fired peakers changed price spikes in 2001 and 2002

How new NSW gas-fired peakers changed price spikes in 2001 and 2002

A chart showing standard deviation in the electricity pool price per quarter contained in a report “Securing Private Investment in New Generation in New South Wales” prepared by Morgan Stanley for the Owen Inquiry also demonstrated the commissioning of gas-fired peakers during 2001 and 2002. Reference: Morgan Stanley, Report to the Owen Inquiry: Securing Private Investment in New Generation in New South Wales, 31 August, 2007. 16/10/2007

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Macedon gas field possible supplier to domestic gas market in Western Australia; change in gas delivery standards needed

BHP Billiton’s Macedon gas field off the West Australian coast was coming into play as a possible supplier to the domestic gas market, wrote Nigel Wilson in The Australian (12/10/2007, p. 22).

2007 upstream gas price in Victoria, Queensland, NSW, South Australia falls between A$2.00 per GJ and A$3.50 per GJ

The price for gas sold under contract in Eastern Australia was usually a confidential agreement between the gas suppliers and the gas buyer, according to a report, Availabiliy and Cost of Gas for NSW Baseload Generation, (31/7/2007) prepared for the Owen Inquiry by Wood Mackenzie.

Fed Govt uncertainty over climate-change policy blocking investment in new power gen; combined-cycle gas turbines cheaper than coal for NSW, Owen inquiry finds

The Owen Inquiry was a blunt rebuke for the Federal Government’s 10-year delay in agreeing to a national emissions trading scheme, wrote Marian Wilkinson in The Sydney Morning Herald (12/9/2007, p.4).

Week ahead for Victoria: mild weather, possible high gas demand Monday 15 October

Key QLD, NSW, SA, Vic electricity contracts support base load gas generation in Eastern Australia; new CCGT contracts logic explained

A report prepared for the Owen Inquiry showed that some of the key contracts supporting base load gas generation projects in Eastern Australia in recent years included:

Why Brisbane gas prices are low: Wood Mackenzie explains

A report prepared for the Owen Inquiry by Wood Mackenzie Wood explained why gas prices in NSW and South Australia were higher than the gas prices in Melbourne and Brisbane. Mackenzie’s gas price outlook was based on an assumption that rational economic investment decisions would be made based on cost and price.

Aviation data-matching to “identify terrorists” at 99.9% accuracy, creates 431,000 innocent people – a year – with damaged chances of jobs grant, or visa

Are you on a secret black list? Those caught up in terrorist-profiling systems are not allowed to know their scores or challenge the data. Yet their profiles, which may be shared with federal, state and even foreign governments, could damage their chances of getting a state job, a student grant, a public contract or a visa. It could even prevent them from ever being able to fly again.

Almost 25 per cent of spying related to commercial secrets; spies pose as business people or academics; shared secrets and trade negotiations targeted

A former top Australian spy said there had been no let-up in global espionage despite the cessation of the Cold War, and technological advances and globalisation made the country’s military and business secrets more vulnerable, according to John Kerin reported in The Australian Financial Review (5/10/2007, p. 27).

Leading edge data centre concept used to build business case for ACT gas generator: ActewAGL, Galileo Connect and Technical Real estate consortium examines $200m idea

According to John Thistleton, the latest data centres were known as data pods, and could be dovetailed into other data pods and scaled up as institutions grow, reported The Canberra Times (6/10/07, p. B23).

New South Australian plan: developer who wants to convert an old industrial site into residential housing deemed to have caused site or water contamination

A change to the law on contaminated land clean-up was a person who brings about a land use that is a rezone that results in site contamination becoming relevant (for instance, a developer who wants to convert an old industrial site into residential housing) will be deemed to have caused site contamination.

Police state creeps-up: secret police force—a force whose house-culture treats all dissent as dangerous—perfects the art of gathering and using information

Ross Anderson, a professor at Cambridge University in Britain, compared the present situation to a “boiled frog”—which failed to jump out of the saucepan as the water gradually heats. If liberty is eroded slowly, people will get used to it. He added a caveat: it was possible the invasion of privacy would reach a critical mass and prompt a revolt. If there is not much sign of that in Western democracies, this may be because most people rightly or wrongly trust their own authorities to fight the good fight against terrorism, and avoid abusing the data they possess, reported The Economist, 29/9/2007, p. 62

US leads world arms trade, holds 42 per cent of the market: wars in Iraq and Afghanistan prompted a weapons shopping spree

The US reaffirmed its leadership in world arms trade last year, cornering nearly 42 per cent of the market as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan prompted a weapons shopping spree among neighbouring nations.

China and India allow generals to use Burma’s ample natural resources and strategic geographical position to survive

In November 2005 the Burmese military junta moved the capital to a location near Pyinmana, 300 kilometres north of Rangoon, wrote Bertil Lintner in The Sydney Morning Herald (29/9/2007, p. 27).

Gippsland Basin oil: deposits $300bn in Fed Govt coffers over 40yrs; ExxonMobil confident much more to come

In the 40 years since the discovery of oil in Bass Strait, the Gippsland Basin operation has deposited $300 billion (in today’s money values) in Federal Government coffers, according to independent model­ling – and there was a lot more to come, wrote Keith Orchison in The Australian (29/9/2007, p.9).

Something is rotten within Austrade: Fire Power connection with AWB bribes, connected to spooky world of DFAT-connected energy intelligence

Kelvin Thomson, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability, Member for Wills, Australian Labor Party, House of Representatives, Commonwealth, said 20 September 2007. “Something is rotten within Austrade”. TPS Firepower Pty Ltd of Australia received four export market grants between 2002-03 and 2005-06, totalling over $394,000. Firepower CEO was previously Regional Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr John Finnin, was a person who negotiated the sanction-breaking and wheat for oil deal with Iraq. Firepower now faced prosecution buy ASIC and the Western Australian government. John Finnin had a top secret security clearance.

North Korea will disable its 5 megawatt nuclear reactor and its nuclear fuel fabrication facility and will receive 1 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil in return

According to Arshad Mohammed and Paul Eckert in Washington, North Korea could begin to de­clare its entire nuclear program as early as next week and disable its main nuclear complex by the end of December, reported The Advertiser, (5/10/2007), p. 36. In return, it could receive 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil from Wash­ington this month, a senior U.S. official said yesterday. The nuclear agreement was un­veiled by China, with North Korea saying it would disable the three main nuclear facilities at its Yongbyon site and provide a “com­plete and correct” declaration of all of its nuclear programs by the end of the year.

Australian Minister for Defence explains: Pine Gap is for spying and listening into everyone’s phone calls and controlling US missile defence system

Brendan Nelson, Minister for Defence, Australia Liberal Party, House of Representatives, Commonwealth – for reasons not made clear – made a ministerial statement concerning the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap, Alice Springs, on 20 September 2007. He said: “Pine Gap will remain a central element of Australia’s security and its relationship with the United States for the foreseeable future. All activities at the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap are managed to ensure that they are consistent with Australian interests. These activities take place with the full knowledge and concurrence of the Australian government, and Australia benefits fully from them”.

Bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to expand the black list of Internet addresses (URLs), websites hosted domestically and overseas

The Attorney-General was set to controls what Australians read on a website to can blacklist sites at will. The details were in the Coalition Bill to amend the Australian Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to expand the black list of Internet addresses (URLs) (now maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)). The changes to the law would give the Attorney-General the power to bar access to website. It was one of a very large number of Bills tabled in a pre-election frenzy – to use the Government majority in the Senate – aided by Labour, which weirdly, and wimpishly, usually colludes to create the majority. The Bill was adjourned to the first sitting day of the next period. Even after the election, government may control a Senate majority until June.

Chevron Australia managing director Jay Johnson moving to head oil and gas giant’s Eurasia strategic business unit, based in Kazakhstan; Turnbull ready to sign off on Pluto project

According to energy writer Nigel Wilson, Chevron Australia managing director Jay Johnson was moving to head the oil and gas giant’s Eurasia strategic business unit, based in Kazakhstan, reported The Australian (26/9/2007, p.40).

US dollar drops below Canadian dollar; low-value dollar makes long term Treasury bonds less attractive

The US dollar dropped below the Canadian dollar last week and was barely hanging on to parity now, reported David Cho in The Sydney Morning Herald (27/9/2007, p. 27).

Facebook, MySpace could become targets of new fed government bill blocking access to overseas sites blacklisted by federal police commissioner; blanket IP bans lack subtlety

Popular networking websites such as Facebook could become inadvertent targets of a new federal government bill blocking access to overseas sites blacklisted by the federal police commissioner, reported The Australian (25/9/2007, p.6).

No CO2 dumps in Bass Straight: ExxonMobil and BHPB already at work beyond Kipper from a new platform linked to its existing Marlin structure

According to Keith Orchison, in The Australian, (29/9/2007, p.9) ExxonMobil and BHPB were already at work on the next project beyond Kipper — the development of the Turrum field, estimated to hold 800 billion cubic feet of gas, from a new platform linked to its existing Marlin structure.

Burma riots sparked by skyrocketing fuel prices, as govt overstates growth, oil/gas deals

Experts said the Burma Government’s mistake was raising fuel prices overnight on 15 August without first publicly explaining the increase or considering a phased-in price rise, as other Asian countries have done, wrote Aye Win in The Advertiser (29/9/2007, p.70).

Air New Zealand partners with Boeing, Rolls-Royce to test biofuel blend in 747

Air New Zealand would start ground-breaking aircraft testing of biofuels as early as next year and believed the technology could become commercially viable for airlines sooner than expected, wrote aviation writer Steve Creedy in The Australian (29/9/2007, p.35).

Innocent man killed as “terrorist”; police operation goes wrong, London jury hears

In an unprecedented health and safety pros­ecution that was launched yesterday, the Metropolitan Police were accused of overseeing a “catastrophic” operation that led to the death of the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician who had been mistaken for one of the bombers involved in failed suicide attacks on London’s subway trains on 21 July 2005, wrote Charlotte Gill in The Courier Mail (3/10/2007, p.36).

Long road to legitimacy: Ramos-Horta once labelled a terrorist by Aus and refused visa

Jose Ramos-Horta has been one of the world’s enduring political figures, noted The Sydney Morning Herald (22/9/2007, p.25).

Howard and Costello throw principles of TPA “out the window” with predatory-pricing amendment

The Federal Government was of course a team effort, so while Howard was said to be the brains of the radical change to the [Trade Practices] law, it was actually done under the name of Treasurer Peter Costello who, by definition, deserved equal condemnation, wrote John Durie in The Australian (19/9/2007, p.48).