Broome, WA

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Australia’s reserves is so vast, the govt has to introduce measures to safeguard the environment from indiscriminate exploration.
Nobody paid attention to this before ‘coz oil was readily available. Besides, there was also uranium to fuel the nuclear power plants. The disaster in Japan changed the equation. Nuclear energy is no longer a viable alternative. This leads to the depletion of oil reserves even more rapidly. Harnessing solar energy is still a dream. So, gas is the next choice.
Oh, how I wish I were as young as Zulacs! Now, I’m only good at producing offspring.
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Australia creates world's largest marine reserve network, limits fishing, oil, gas exploration
By: Rod McGuirk, The Associated Press
Posted: 06/13/2012 7:20 PM | Last Modified: 06/13/2012 10:19 PM

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia has created the world's largest network of marine reserves and will restrict fishing and oil and gas exploration in a major step to safeguard the environment and access to food.

The area will cover 3.1 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles) of ocean including the entire Coral Sea, and encompass a third of the island continent's territorial waters.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said Thursday the government expects to pay an estimated 100 million Australian dollars ($100 million) to the fishing industry in compensation for the new restrictions on their operations that will take effect late this year.

Highly protected areas such as the Coral Sea off Australia's northeastern coast and the adjoining World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef will also be protected from oil and gas exploration. Both areas, which cover a total 1.3 million square kilometres (500,000 square miles), have shallow reefs that support tropical ecosystems with sharks, coral, sponges and many fish species.

The numbers of marine reserves off the Australian coast will be increased from 27 to 60.

Burke said he wanted the reserves to set a benchmark for the world in environmental protection and food security — the access to and consistent availability of food. The plan aims to guarantee future fish stocks by preventing overfishing.

"We have an incredible opportunity to turn the tide on protection of the oceans and Australia can lead the world in marine protection," he said.

Don Henry, chief executive of the environmental group Australian Conservation Foundation, said the plan will make Australia a global leader in ocean protection.

But he warned that the remote northwest region [Broome?] where an offshore oil and gas industry is already established had been left vulnerable to the threats of further energy exploration.

Rachel Siewert, a senator for the environmentally focused Greens party which supports the centre-left Labor Party minority government, described the plan as a "cave-in to the oil and gas industry."

Judy Lynne, chief executive of the recreational anglers' group Sunfish Queensland, said the ban on commercial operations in the most environmentally sensitive areas would result in more foreign trawlers fishing illegally.

Been browsing the www.boholster.com/Fish Market in Long Beach. Noticed the crab the lady was showing. Soooo tiny! Hehehe.
Reminds me of Broome and the Aus king crab. The shell is wider than a blokes shoulder to shoulder. Google “australian king crab” and click “Images for australian king crab - Report images”. Lots of them in Broome. Costs at least $300 each. But, if you’re working in the mines or in that massive gas plant construction project in Broome, should be peanuts.
One of the myriads of reasons to apply for work here. Hehehe.

Hmmmm! Something tells me that the golden days here [Ilihan] will soon be over. Although the youngbloods here are enjoying the fiesta, their hearts and minds are in Broome. Soon, they’ll be celebrating the fiesta there. Aside from lechon and adobong manok, there’ll be steaks and lobsters. And the really2X giant mud crabs. Saw one being held up by a bloke with both hands. Similar to the ones in Central America. Like Philippines, Broome has a tropical climate.
Mamingao na kaau ang Ilihan. Or, for that matter, Bohol. Malungkot na si RG and whoever’s left behind. They’ll be reminiscing the sweet moments past. How delightful has been the friendship boon! Can’t help it! Like skipper, gotta accept the harsh realities of life. Money is more important. Hehehe.
I can envisage a talented girl like Zulacs being involved in the massive gas plant construction there. Unlike those working in the mines, no need to be travelling back and forth every fortnight. Plenty of time for correspondence courses online to fully qualify her profession. Perhaps, even go further. Eventually, becoming a ceo of that plant.
Buying a large vacant land for investment. Easy to secure a 25-yr home loan from the bank. Temporarily having a makeshift shelter for home. Eventually, a skyscraper designed by her. Annual fiestas will be held there.

Goodbye Bohol! Goodbye Philippines. Filipinas kong mahal.
   

Teresa Ooi From: The Australian July 12, 2012 12:00AM

INCENTIVES: Mining companies can pay up to $150,000 in cash allowances and incentives to entice staff to work in remote areas in Western Australia -- thanks to the resources boom -- a survey by Hay Group says.
Housing allowance is often the biggest cash payment made to employees on top of the basic salary, which is already 17 per cent higher than the market average.
Other incentives include a sign-on bonus of about $20,000, site allowance of about $20,000 and a shift allowance of about $17,000. Some companies also pay a retention bonus.
A senior manager in WA could get up to $96,000 in housing allowance compared to a similar position in Queensland, which will receive only $23,500.
"The huge disparity between WA and other states is based on the remoteness of many of the operations in the resources sector," Hay's senior consultant Steven Paola said.
"Some of these remote locations are becoming quite an expensive place to live and hence companies are providing additional allowances to employees to attract and retain them.
 ..."The payment of allowances and bonuses is integral to encourage workers to remote sites.
"While the allowances are much higher than in other industries, they are not out of kilter with the prevailing cost of facilities and services," Mr Paola said.
Remote areas, often described as "hardship" postings, lack basic services and are at least 200km from the closest town.
The survey of 55 companies in the resources, mining, construction, oil and gas industries was completed last month.
Mr Paola said a senior manager in WA's Pilbara region could receive up to $121,000 housing allowance -- five times more than a similar position in Queensland's Bowen Basin.
But Mr Paola warned: "The rising cost of wages and incentives may not be sustainable in the long term."
Property prices have also soared in WA, with the median house prices in the Pilbara at $800,000 -- higher than Sydney's $555,000.
House prices in Port Hedland have also skyrocketed: a three-bedroom house now costs more than $1.7m.
"The high demand and acute housing shortage have resulted in one Pilbara property being sold every 15 hours," Mr Paola said.
In regional Queensland's Bowen Basin, the median house price is $578,500 -- $79,500 higher than Brisbane.
For executives who are sent to work in the sector for a shorter term, most companies pay a rental allowance as a cash payment on top of the employee's base salary.
In WA, companies tend to pay a rental allowance that is double that of other states.
A senior manager in WA can expect to receive an annual rental allowance of $26,000 compared to $18,200 in Queensland.
But in the Pilbara, rental allowance can be as much as four times the national average.
TERESA OOI

Hmmmm! Something tells me that the golden days here will soon be over. Although the youngbloods here are enjoying the fiesta, their hearts and minds are in Broome. Soon, they’ll be celebrating the fiesta there. Aside from lechon and adobong manok, there’ll be steaks and lobsters. And the really2X giant mud crabs. Saw one being held up by a bloke with both hands. Similar to the ones in Central America. Like Philippines, Broome has a tropical climate.
Mamingao na kaau ang Ilihan. Or, for that matter, Bohol. Malungkot na si RG and whoever’s left behind. They’ll be reminiscing the sweet moments past. How delightful has been the friendship boon! Can’t help it! Like skipper, gotta accept the harsh realities of life. Money is more important. Hehehe.
I can envisage a talented girl like Zulacs being involved in the massive gas plant construction there. Unlike those working in the mines, no need to be travelling back and forth every fortnight. Plenty of time for correspondence courses online to fully qualify her profession. Perhaps, even go further. Eventually, becoming a ceo of that plant.
Buying a large vacant land for investment. Easy to secure a 25-yr home loan from the bank. Temporarily having a makeshift shelter for home. Eventually, a skyscraper designed by her. Annual fiestas will be held there.
Goodbye Bohol! Goodbye Philippines. Filipinas kong mahal.  

Broome is part of the Pilbara region. When I wrote this post, I thought that properties there could be bought at throw-away prices. Didn’t realise they’ve gone off the roof. Even higher than Sydney! Outrageous!!!!!
 

Yes, indeed! Really love to go back.

"I'd like to see myself married with a child and hopefully still involved in the entertainment business as an actor who is also able to write a bit and direct some projects."  
- Fred Savage

The Browse LNG is a $34 billion liquefied natural gas plant project proposed for construction at James Price Point, 60 kilometres (37 mi) North of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. The plant is being built by a joint partnership including Woodside Petroleum, Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and BHP Billiton. It would process natural gas extracted from the Browse Basin. Liquefied natural gas would then be shipped from a port facility also located in the Browse LNG Precinct.
Technical description
The plant will include three LNG trains able to process an expected 15 million tonnes of LNG per year. LNG would be pumped via 8 pipelines to a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) jetty. In the construction phase the Precinct would also include a camp to house 8000 workers and would entail the clearing of 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) of coastal bushland.
The Browse Basin contains proven gas reserves of 30.4 billion cubic feet (860 million cubic metres) of gas and 600 million barrels (95×106 m3) of condensate. Estimations of the reserves range up to 60 billion cubic feet (1.7 billion cubic metres), making the basin comparable in size to the North West Shelf region.

Project Location        :  Western Australia
Project Manager       :  Woodside Energy Ltd (operator)
Project Owner          :  Browse Joint Venture
Constructor             :  EPC contractors selected in competitive process
Construction Period  :  5-6 years, from mid 2013
Project Value           :  TBC
Project Status          :  Evaluating tender bids for construction

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Australia’s reserves is so vast, the govt has to introduce measures to safeguard the environment from indiscriminate exploration.
Nobody paid attention to this before ‘coz oil was readily available. Besides, there was also uranium to fuel the nuclear power plants. The disaster in Japan changed the equation. Nuclear energy is no longer a viable alternative(?). This leads to the depletion of oil reserves even more rapidly. Harnessing solar energy is still a dream. So, gas is the next choice.
Oh, how I wish I were as young as Zulacs! Now, I’m only good at producing offspring.

ABC Kimberley Updated October 01, 2012 13:53:01
 
BHP says further drilling results confirm the Tallaganda find has huge potential.
Mining giant BHP Billiton says its oil and gas deposits in Western Australia's Kimberley are now a key focus for the company, after making a huge discovery in the Carnarvon Basin.
BHP made the Tallaganda gas discovery earlier this year and says further drilling results show the area has huge potential.
The company says the Tallaganda find has been its biggest discovery in 2012.
A company spokesperson says it is a world class deposit with significant potential and it opens up a large area close to existing fields.
BHP has also acquired additional prospective tenements over the past financial year.
BHP says its oil and gas exploration programs will now be focused on its tenements in WA's Carnarvon Basin along with its Gulf of Mexico deposits in the United States.
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In other words, after James Price Point is done, next contract will be nearby Tallaganda bringing along a wealth of experience.

By ABC's Sara Phillips Updated Mon Oct 8, 2012 9:21am AEDT

Environmentalists have found a laundry list of reasons to oppose the James Price Point gas hub. But there is one aspect of the proposal that Woodside can't work around: the spectacular view. The ABC's Sara Phillips reflects on what would be lost if the plan goes ahead.

I recently went on holidays with my sister to the Kimberley region of Australia. It is a stunning part of the world.
The red earth and nuggetty shrubs (pindan country, they call it up there) give way unexpectedly to gorges of emerald green water and soaring black cliffs.

I persuaded my sister that we should drop in to James Price Point. You've probably heard of it: it's been in the news recently.
Australian energy company Woodside and partners are keen to unlock the natural gas of the Browse Basin 400 kilometres off the coast, north of Broome. They see $1 billion worth of possibility in the gas fields. In order to refine the gas, the company has received approval from the Western Australia Government to build an industrial plant at James Price Point.
Environmentalists have got wind of the proposal and are opposing it. News items featuring protesters grimly chaining themselves to bulldozers in the hot red dust have made it all around the world.
I wanted to see the area for myself. My sister, with a shrug, agreed to stop in.
We pulled up in our hired four-wheel-drive at about 2.00pm. We drove right to the edge of the cliff and disembarking from the car, we took in the view.
"Wow," said my sister.
At that hour of the afternoon, the sun is a bright white ball high in the sky. The sea, stretching to the horizon sparkled with a million diamonds. From our vantage point on the cliff, we could see the white beach stretching at least 80 km to the next point. We couldn't see a single soul walking on the sand. And the cliffs. When you see photos of the Kimberley, you assume that the tourism council has souped up the colours in Photoshop a bit. But the cliffs really are that red. Where they reach the beach, the red dirt sprinkles like chocolate on a cappuccino onto the white sand.
"Wow," I agreed. We decided to stay the night.
We spent the afternoon and the next day strolling along a people-less beach, tracing crab tracks and following marine snail trails. We sat in rockpools turned into a natural spa by the force of the incredible Kimberley tide. We marvelled at the starry northern sky, dimmed slightly by the light pollution coming from the proposed gas site.
Environmentalists have found a laundry list of reasons to oppose the gas hub. Flora, fauna, Indigenous culture, marine life, even, as showcased on Catalyst last week, dinosaurs.
Any or all of these reasons may be valid. Equally, Woodside may be able to build the plant with little or no disturbance to these features.
But there is one aspect of the proposal that Woodside can't mitigate: the view. James Price Point is undeniably beautiful. WA Premier Colin Barnett famously called Price's Point an "unremarkable" piece of coastline.
"I'm making the point that this is not the spectacular Kimberley coast that you see in picture postcards," he said to Four Corners.
Really? Have you had your eyes checked recently, Mr Barnett?
Woodside has alternative options for a gas hub location. Existing ports and gas plants are a little further away, and there have even been suggestions to build a big floating plant out to sea, nearer the gas field.
But developing a port for the gas was one of the conditions of the government approval to extract it. Besides the gas off the coast, under the pindan lies gold, diamonds, iron, bauxite and a wealth of other minerals. Barnett has been keen to exploit the potential of the Kimberley for as far back as 1998, when he was WA resources development minister.
But to process all these minerals, energy is needed, notes a 2005 report (PDF). A gas facility to provide the energy for minerals processing convenient to Broome, the biggest town in the area, would be handy. And proximity to the gas fields is obviously key. Sitting a gas plant "somewhere in the region of Dampier Peninsula" was one of the suggestions.
Any wonder Mr Barnett has expressed such enthusiastic support for Woodside's proposal: the plant is the first step to unlocking the mineral potential of the area.
But building an industrial facility of the size proposed by Woodside would, without putting too fine a point on it, ruin the spectacular beauty of James Price Point.
There's no way a large industrial complex would blend seamlessly into that landscape. A pier stretching out thousands of metres to waiting tankers is not something that some strategically planted bushes will hide.
The beauty of the area, described drily as "visual amenity" in the EPA report that recommended the proposal proceed, was "not considered to be a key environmental factor".
It's true, the Kimberley coastline has an abundance of beauty. For hundreds of kilometres in both directions, the turquoise sea meets the red earth. James Price Point is as beautiful as many locations along this stretch of Australia.
Any development anywhere in Australia of a previously untouched landscape irrevocably ruins the "visual amenity". James Price Point is no different.
But the question for Woodside, the protesters opposing it, and the pro-development Premier, is what price to place on that beauty.
This is not a disturbed environment, like building a new industrial complex in Port Botany or Altona. If the Point is to be developed, should the proponent, as with endangered flora and fauna, be required to compensate the state and her people in some way for the destruction of this natural place?

This is a pristine piece of Australia. Ancient and unchanged. Do we have a right to be adequately compensated for its loss?

Should all developments that compromise our natural heritage be asked for compensation? What form should that compensation be in? How would its value be determined?
If we are to relinquish our natural assets to private companies for a use that will fundamentally change the value of those assets, should we, as a nation, ask a little more in return?

This article was first published on the ABC's Environment portal.
Sara Phillips is the editor of the ABC's Environment Portal.

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To see a snapshot of the splendid coastline, click http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-08/phillips-james-price-point/4300504

Broome WA is an exotic pearling town and offers some deliciously indulgent eco-resorts, dotted across its spectacular landscape.
Broome's Cable Beach, with 22 kilometres of white sand, kissed by warm, crystal waters, is justifiably world famous and the ideal place to watch the sunset on a balmy, tropical night.
From fiery red ochre cliffs contrasting with bright turquoise waters to pearl diving sagas and dinosaur footprints - the history of Broome is as captivating as the scenery.
Situated in the State's far north, a two and a half hour flight from Perth, it's an oasis of colour, culture and eclectic characters.
The chilled out vibe, colourful lifestyle and vibrant landscape have made Broome a mecca for artists, writers and musicians.
The town's multicultural mix was shaped by a romantic pearling history when Japanese, Filipino and Malay pearl divers arrived in droves seeking their fortune.
Today, thanks to Broome's unpolluted waters, South Sea pearls are among the most coveted in the world. Witness first-hand how Broome pearls are cultured at a local pearl farm.
Pearl showrooms line the streets of Chinatown - splash out on a pearl (or two!) as the ultimate memento of your trip. This is also where you'll find art galleries, shops and cafes - the perfect place for some retail therapy.
One of Broome's natural treasures is the Staircase to the Moon. For three days after the full moon from March to October, reflections stretch out across shiny mudflats creating the beautiful illusion of a long silver staircase.
Another interesting natural attraction is Gantheaume Point, where you can see dinosaur footprints believed to be more than 130 million years old.
Accommodation-wise, there are plenty of plush hotels, up-market resorts and eco retreats to choose from. For the budget traveller, there's a good selection of hostels.
For those planning on travelling to Broome with a pooch we suggest planning ahead and checking the availability of dog-friendly accommodation options before you travel.
For more information on Broome WA contact the Broome Visitor Centre on +61 8 9192 2222 or visit their website.

Brings back memories of good young days.
Came here Aug 18, 1980. 1st job was as a mineral research assistant at the Qld Uni. Pay was a pittance but got good references.
1 yr later, accepted a job with BHP Minerals Ltd (owned by the then giant BHP aka the big Australian). Assigned to Koolan Island, WA, off Yampi Sound, an hr’s small Cessna flight from Derby, a coastal town. Derby is 214Km south of Broome, also a coastal town, located northwest of Aus.
Broome is a tourist attraction. Part of Cable Beach used to be a nude beach. Went there, sometimes, during long weekend break. Hehehe. Dunno now.
Got initiated into the Aus life – a fugue of tedium; of stultifying ennui. Hehehe. Had 12 haulage trucks (similar to the Wabco mine trucks), but 18 truck drivers rostered each shift. 6 went fishing at the wharf and rotated after each hour. Each shift is 12 hrs – 8 hrs normal rate, 4 hrs double rate.
Money was relatively easy, but, like any mining town, life was malungkot. Trend for single blokes to go to Phil and look for Pinays for marriage. Joined the bandwagon. That’s how got married. Hehehe.
Koolan Island was an open-pit iron ore mine. Has closed down since due to competition mainly from Brazil, having enough hi-grade iron ore reserve to supply earth for 500 yrs.
But Aus is still a major exporter of other ores like uranium, coal, gold, copper, etc.  

Really miss the nude beach. First time watched a number of girls in their naked beauty. Must be a replica of Paradise. Must have been what the Garden of Eden was. Hehehe. Wonder if still there.

i want to experience this