21st Apr 2010 07:00
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NEWS RELEASE |
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Release Time |
IMMEDIATE |
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Date |
21 April 2010 |
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Number |
12/10 |
BHP BILLITON EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 31 MARCH 2010
This report covers the Group's exploration and development activities for the quarter ended 31 March 2010. Unless otherwise stated, BHP Billiton's interest in the projects referred to in this report is 100 per cent and references to project schedules are based on calendar years. This report, together with the Production Report, represents the Interim Management Statement for the purposes of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. There have been no significant changes to the financial position of the Group in the quarter ended 31 March 2010.
Development
During the March 2010 quarter the Pyrenees project (oil and gas), offshore Western Australia, achieved first production on schedule and within budget. This project will not be reported in future Exploration and Development Reports.
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Project And Ownership |
Share Of Approved Capex US$M |
Initial Production Target Date |
Production Capacity (100%) |
Quarterly Progress |
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Petroleum Projects |
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Pyrenees (Australia) 71.43% Oil/Gas |
1,200 |
H1 CY10 |
96,000 barrels of oil and 60 million cubic feet gas per day |
First production announced, on schedule. See News Release dated 1 March 2010. |
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Angostura Gas Phase II (Trinidad and Tobago) 45% Gas |
180 |
H1 CY11 |
280 million cubic feet gas per day |
On schedule and budget. Installation campaign has commenced. Topsides fabrication continues. The overall project is 50% complete. |
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Bass Strait Kipper (Australia) 32.5% - 50% Gas/Gas Liquids |
500 |
CY11 |
10,000 bpd condensate and processing capacity of 80 million cubic feet gas per day |
Schedule and budget under review following advice from operator. West Tuna platform retrofit work continuing. The overall project is 33% complete. |
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Bass Strait Turrum (Australia) 50% Gas/Gas Liquids |
625 |
CY11 |
11,000 bpd condensate and processing capacity of 200 million cubic feet gas per day |
Schedule and budget under review following advice from operator. Platform fabrication continues. The overall project is 29% complete. |
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North West Shelf CWLH Life Extension (Australia) 16.67% Oil |
245 |
CY11 |
Replacement vessel with capacity of 60,000 bpd oil |
On schedule and budget. Floating Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) conversion continues. The overall project is 76% complete. |
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North West Shelf North Rankin B Gas Compression (Australia) 16.67% LNG |
850 |
CY12 |
2,500 million cubic feet gas per day |
On schedule and budget. Jacket fabrication continuing ahead of schedule. The overall project is 46% complete. |
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Minerals Projects |
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Worsley Efficiency & Growth (Australia) 86% Alumina |
1,900 |
H1 CY11 |
1.1 million tpa of additional alumina |
On schedule and budget. Engineering is essentially complete. Construction is 19% complete. The overall project is 38% complete. |
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Antamina Expansion (Peru) 33.75% Copper |
435 |
Q4 CY11 |
Increases ore processing capacity to 130,000 tpd |
On schedule and budget. Engineering is 58% complete. Construction commenced during the quarter. The overall project is 11% complete. |
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Iron Ore (Western Australia) RGP5 85% Iron Ore |
4,800 |
H2 CY11 |
50 million tpa additional iron ore system capacity |
On schedule and budget. Engineering is 93% complete. Construction is now 41% complete. The overall project is 46% complete. |
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Douglas-Middelburg Optimisation (South Africa) 100% Energy Coal |
975 |
Mid CY10 |
10 million tpa export thermal coal and 8.5 million tpa domestic thermal coal (sustains current output) |
On schedule and budget. The overall project is 96% complete. |
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Newcastle Third Port Project (Australia) 35.5% Energy Coal |
390 |
Mid CY10 |
30 million tpa export coal loading facility |
On schedule and budget. First vessel successfully loaded in March 2010. The overall project is 97% complete. |
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MAC20 Project (Australia) 100% Energy Coal |
260 |
H1 CY11 |
Increases saleable thermal coal production by approximately 3.5 million tpa |
On schedule and budget. Engineering is 90% complete. Construction is 50% complete. The overall project is 65% complete. |
Minerals Exploration
Grassroots exploration continued on copper targets in Chile and Zambia; nickel targets in Australia; manganese targets in Gabon; and diamond targets in Canada. Exploration for iron ore, coal, bauxite and manganese was undertaken in a number of regions including Australia, South America, Russia and West Africa.
During the quarter, the announced acquisitions of United Minerals Corporation NL and Athabasca Potash Inc. were completed. In addition, BHP Billiton entered into binding agreements with a subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy TBK (Adaro) to create a new joint venture for the Indonesian Coal Project (ICP). Subject to approvals, Adaro will acquire a 25 per cent interest in the ICP joint venture.
For the nine months ended ended 31 March 2010, BHP Billiton spent US$346 million on minerals exploration, of which US$315 million was expensed.
Additional Information
Following requests for information from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission as a part of an informal investigation relating primarily to certain terminated exploration projects, the Company has disclosed to relevant authorities evidence that it has uncovered regarding possible violations of applicable anti-corruption laws involving interactions with government officials. The Company is conducting an internal investigation, which is continuing, and is cooperating with the relevant authorities. It is not possible at this time to predict the scope or duration of the investigation or its likely outcome.
Petroleum Exploration
Exploration and appraisal wells drilled during the quarter or in the process of drilling as at 31 March 2010.
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Well |
Location |
BHP Billiton Equity |
Status |
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Double Mountain-1 |
Green Canyon Gulf of Mexico GC 555 |
70% BHP Billiton (operator) |
Drilling ahead |
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Firefox-1 |
Green Canyon Gulf of Mexico GC 817 |
50% BHP Billiton (operator) |
Drilling ahead |
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Bel Air-1 |
Liverpool Bay 110/13b |
46.1% BHP Billiton (operator) |
Drilling ahead |
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Cerah-1 |
Sabah Block N |
60% BHP Billiton (operator) |
Plugged & abandoned Dry hole |
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SE Remora-1 |
Gippsland Basin Australia VIC/RL4 |
50% BHP Billiton (Exxon operator) |
Plugged & abandoned Hydrocarbons encountered |
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Knotty Head-2 |
Green Canyon Gulf of Mexico GC 512 |
25% BHP Billiton (Nexen operator) |
Suspended Hydrocarbons encountered |
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Deep Blue-1 |
Green Canyon Gulf of Mexico GC 723 |
31.875% BHP Billiton (Noble operator) |
Drilling ahead |
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Wolverine-1 |
Laurentian Basin Canada E.L. 1087R |
45% BHP Billiton (CoP operator) |
Drilling ahead |
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Banduria-1 |
Sandakan Basin Philippines SC-56 |
25% BHP Billiton (Exxon operator) |
Plugged & abandoned Dry hole |
Petroleum exploration expenditure for the nine months ended 31 March 2010 was US$587 million, of which US$206 million was expensed.
Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our website: www.bhpbilliton.com
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Australia Amanda Buckley, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2209 Mobile: +61 419 801 349 email: [email protected]
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United Kingdom & South Africa Andre Liebenberg, Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7920 236 974 email: [email protected]
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Fiona Martin, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2211 Mobile: +61 427 777 908 email: [email protected]
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Illtud Harri, Media Relations Tel: +44 20 7802 4195 Mobile: +44 7920 237 246 email: [email protected]
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Leng Lau, Investor Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 4202 Mobile: +61 403 533 706 email: [email protected]
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Americas
Scott Espenshade, Investor Relations Tel: +1 713 599 6431 Mobile: +1 713 208 8565 email: [email protected]
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Ruban Yogarajah, Media Relations Tel: US +1 713 966 2907 or UK +44 20 7802 4033 Mobile: UK +44 7827 082 022 email: [email protected] |
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BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 Registered in Australia Registered Office: 180 Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia Tel +61 1300 55 4757 Fax +61 3 9609 3015
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BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209 Registered in England and Wales Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1BH United Kingdom Tel +44 20 7802 4000 Fax +44 20 7802 4111
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