22nd Jul 2009 07:00
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NEWS RELEASE |
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Release Time |
IMMEDIATE |
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Date |
22 July 2009 |
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Number |
14/09 |
BHP BILLITON EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT report
for the QUARTER ENDED 30 June 2009
This report covers the Group's exploration and development activities for the quarter ended 30 June 2009. Unless otherwise stated, BHP Billiton's interest in the projects referred to in this report is 100 percent and references to project schedules are based on calendar years.
Development
First production was successfully achieved during the quarter at the Gemco Expansion Project in Australia (manganese) and the Atlantis North development in the deep water Gulf of Mexico (oil and gas). Both projects were ahead of schedule and within budget. In addition, the Alumar Refinery Expansion in Brazil (alumina) announced first production on 9 July. These projects will no longer be reported in future Exploration and Development Reports.
During the year ended 30 June 2009 an additional four projects to those noted above achieved first production and four projects were sanctioned. The four commissioned projects, all oil and gas, were Neptune, North West Shelf Train 5, North West Shelf Angel and Shenzi. The sanctioned projects were the Bass Strait Turrum, Angostura Gas Phase II and the North West Shelf Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert, Hermes (CWLH) Life Extension projects (all oil and gas), as well as the Western Australia Iron Ore Rapid Growth Project 5 (iron ore).
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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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Atlantis North (USA) 44% Oil/Gas |
185 |
H2 CY09 |
Tieback to Atlantis South |
First production achieved 5 June 2009, ahead of schedule and within budget. |
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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 |
On schedule and budget. Floating Production Storage and Offtake (FPSO) conversion continues. Final 3 of 15 tophole sections drilled and 2 producers and 1 injector well completed. Installation of subsea facilities continues. |
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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. Platform fabrication continues. |
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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 |
On schedule and budget. West Tuna platform retrofit work continuing. |
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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 |
On schedule and budget. Commenced jacket and topsides fabrication ahead of schedule. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Minerals Projects |
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Alumar - Refinery Expansion (Brazil) 36% Alumina |
900 |
Q2 CY09 |
2 million tpa of additional alumina |
First production announced. See News Release dated 9 July 2009. |
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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 75% complete and construction has commenced. Capital expenditure profile is being managed to reflect changing market conditions. |
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Iron Ore (Western Australia) RGP4 86.2% Iron Ore |
1,850 |
H1 CY10 |
26 million tpa of additional iron ore system capacity |
On schedule and budget. Engineering is 99% complete and construction is over 90% 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 currently 70% complete. Procurement and contracting activities are well advanced. Construction activities are continuing at all sites. |
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Gemco (Australia) 60% Manganese |
110 |
H1 CY09 |
1 million tpa of additional manganese concentrate |
First ore delivered ahead of schedule and within budget. |
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Klipspruit (South Africa) 100% Energy Coal |
450 |
H2 CY09 |
Incremental 1.8 million tpa export thermal coal. Incremental 2.1 million tpa domestic thermal coal |
On schedule and budget. Commissioning of the crushing stream and coal processing plant is progressing. Project is 91% 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. Construction activities are progressing and first stacker reclaimer delivered. Steel erection and coal processing plant equipment installation remains on schedule. Project is 70% complete. |
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Newcastle Third Port Project (Australia) 35.5% Energy Coal |
390 |
CY10 |
30 million tpa export coal loading facility |
On schedule and budget. Stacker reclaimer components delivered and construction activities are progressing well. Project is greater than 63% complete. |
Minerals Exploration
BHP Billiton continues to identify and prioritise various exploration activities. All of the exploration activities are reviewed regularly to ensure that we are capturing value accretive opportunities for future development.
For the year ended 30 June 2009, BHP Billiton spent US$695 million on minerals exploration, of which US$609 million was expensed. This includes US$94 million of exploration spend for potash in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Petroleum Exploration
Exploration and appraisal wells drilled during the quarter or in the process of drilling as at 30 June 2009.
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Well |
Location |
BHP Billiton Equity |
Status |
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Mad Dog South-1 |
Green Canyon Gulf of Mexico GC 826 |
23.9 % BHP Billiton (BHP Billiton operator for this well - BP operator for all other activities) |
Hydrocarbons encountered. Completing sidetrack drilling operations. |
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Brecknock-4 |
Browse Basin Western Australia WA-32-R |
8.33% BHP Billiton (Woodside operator) |
Plugged and suspended. Dry hole. |
Petroleum exploration expenditure for the year ended 30 June 2009 was US$548 million, of which US$400 million was expensed.
Further information on BHP Billiton can be found on our website: www.bhpbilliton.com
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Australia Samantha Evans, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2898 Mobile: +61 400 693 915 email: [email protected] |
United Kingdom Andre Liebenberg, Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7920 236 974 email: [email protected] |
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Peter Ogden, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2812 Mobile: +61 428 599 190 email: [email protected] |
Illtud Harri, Media Relations Tel: +44 20 7802 4195 Mobile: +44 7920 237 246 email: [email protected] |
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Kelly Quirke, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 2896 Mobile: +61 429 966 312 email: [email protected] |
United States Scott Espenshade, Investor Relations Tel: +1 713 599 6431 Mobile: +1 713 208 8565 email: [email protected] |
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Leng Lau, Investor Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 4202 Mobile: +61 403 533 706 email: [email protected] |
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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South Africa Bronwyn Wilkinson, Investor and Media Relations Tel: +44 20 7802 4015 Mobile: +44 7500 785 892 email: [email protected] |
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