B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Santos slumps after rating downgrade

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Dec-14

Investors have responded bearishly to a move by Standard & Poor’s to reduce the credit rating of Australian-listed Santos from "BBB+" to "BBB". Santos shares closed $A0.60 lower at $A7.70 on 9 December 2014, after reaching an intra-day low of $A7.46. The oil and gas producer has indicated that the ratings downgrade will have no impact on its finances, and notes that it has a healthy balance sheet

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Cyber squatters nab South32, poke their tongue at BHP

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-14

BHP Billiton has ruled out buying the South32.com domain name, which is owned by a company based in Malibu. It is believed to have demanded $A10m to surrender the name. BHP recently revealed South32 as the name of the spin-off that will hold its non-core assets, and says it was not willing to pay the price being sought by the domain name’s owner. Experts say BHP should have ensured that it owned the .com domain as well as related domain names

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, .AU DOMAIN ADMINISTRATION LIMITED, FABULOUS DOMAINS, DARK BLUE SEA LIMITED, KARI BIAN FILM COMPANY, SOUTH32 LIMITED, NTEGRITY PTY LTD

FAR moves closer to Senegal ambitions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 11-Dec-19

FAR Limited has yet to confirm details of a capital raising, with its shares placed in a trading halt on 10 December pending an announcement. The equity raising is believed to include a $146m share placement and a $30m share purchase plan. The capital raising and a new debt facility will provide FAR with the funding needed to proceed with the Sangomar oil project in Senegal, in which it has a 15 per cent stake. The project is initially slated to produce about 230,000 million barrels of oil, commencing in 2023.

CORPORATES
FAR LIMITED – ASX FAR, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CAIRN ENERGY PLC

Woodside moves forward on $6b Senegal oil project

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 4-Dec-19

The partners in the Sangomar joint venture have lodged a development plan for the offshore oil project with the Senegal government. The plan was submitted shortly before their licence was due to expire on 4 December. Woodside Petroleum and its partners in the $6bn project propose to undertake a phased development of the oil field, with production slated to commence in 2023. The project has been marred by a dispute between Woodside and junior partner FAR Limited over the former’s acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ stake.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PARK STUD PTY LTD, FAR LIMITED – ASX FAR, CONOCOPHILLIPS, PETROSEN

Woodside mulls $40bn projects

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 22-Nov-19

Woodside Petroleum expects to make final investment decisions on its Browse and Scarborough LNG gas projects within 18 months. CEO Peter Coleman says these decisions will be made in an increasingly competitive global environment for LNG producers. He adds that Australia is also competing with countries that have lower corporate tax regimes, less regulation and more competitive labour costs.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, JAPAN AUSTRALIA LNG PTY LTD, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Woodside tests patience on Scarborough

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 20-Nov-19

The recently-announced 52 per cent increase in the resource estimate for the Scarborough gas field may prompt Woodside Petroleum to retain more of its stake in the project. Woodside had previously flagged plans to reduce its 75 per cent stake in Scarborough. However, CEO Peter Coleman says Woodside still intends to reduce its stake in the Pluto 2 LNG plant by up to 50 per cent, although it is not an immediate priority. A deal with BHP to process gas from the Scarborough field via the Pluto plant is expected to be finalised by March.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHEVRON CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAR LIMITED – ASX FAR, CONOCOPHILLIPS

Santos seizes Australian oil and gas crown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-Oct-19

Santos expects a $US1.39bn deal to acquire the northern Australia assets of ConocoPhillips to boost its earnings by about 16 per cent. The deal includes the US group’s controlling stake in the Darwin LNG plant, as well as its interests in the Bayu-Undan, Barossa and Poseidon gas fields. Santos will now surpass Woodside Petroleum as Australia’s biggest oil and gas producer. ConocoPhillips still has a 37.5 per cent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CONOCOPHILLIPS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, WOOD MACKENZIE, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

BHP’s still pumped about petroleum

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 11-Oct-19

BHP’s head of petroleum Geraldine Slattery has told a recent question and answer session in London that oil and gas will remain an integral part of the group’s portfolio. However, whether its historical Australian oil and gas assets remain part of that portfolio is uncertain, with analysts suggesting it may seek to divest its interests in the North West Shelf and Bass Strait. Slattery added that BHP is upbeat about its long-term prospects in Mexico, where it has a stake in the Trion oil field.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BP’s grim warning on carbon emissions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Oct-19

BP’s chief economist Spencer Dale says everyone has a responsibility when it comes to steering the world towards a goal of zero net carbon emissions. He says energy companies like BP have a role to play in achieving cleaner energy, but that they cannot get too far ahead of governments and society. Dale adds that investing in new oil and gas fields is still important in terms of meeting energy demand in developing nations, while he says there is a growing mismatch between current emissions output and the wishes of society.

CORPORATES
BP PLC

Oil Search taps Wulff as legend Botten retires

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 & 22 : 2-Oct-19

Oil Search’s incoming CEO Keiran Wulff has downplayed suggestions that the Papua New Guinea-focused LNG producer may become a takeover target after Peter Botten steps down. Wulff says that succession planning has been in the works for some time, given that Botten has been at the helm for 25 years. Wulff, who currently heads Oil Search’s operations in Alaska, will succeed Botten in February. However, Botten will remain at Oil Search until August to ensure a smooth transition.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION