B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Soaring LNG shipments yield $43.3b in exports

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Jan-19

Australian exports of liquefied natural gas rose by 23 per cent to 69.5 million tonnes in 2018, according to Energy Quest, with revenue from LNG exports increasing by an estimated 68 per cent to around $43.3 billion. The rise in 2018 exports was aided by new projects starting up in north-western Australia, with further increases in exports expected in 2019. The Woodside Petroleum-managed North West Shelf venture retained its position as Australia’s top LNG exporter in 2018, shipping around 17.28 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Boom time for gas as Australia becomes the major player

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 18 : 10-Jan-19

Australia surpassed Qatar as the world’s biggest LNG exporter in late 2018. However, Australia faces growing competition from rival nations in the LNG market, with global production capacity set to increase by nearly 35 million tonnes in 2019. An additional 60 million tonnes worth of annual capacity is also set to be approved over the next 12 months. The global economic outlook may also affect both demand for LNG and the price of LNG.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, INPEX CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, WOOD MACKENZIE, SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY

BHP may lift US oil investment

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 : 10-Jan-19

BHP is tipped to make a final investment decision on an expansion of the Atlantis oil field in the Gulf of Mexico within months. BHP has a 44 per cent stake in the oil field, and speculation that it will proceed with the expansion has been heightened after joint venture partner BP approved the third stage of the project. BP is now the biggest producer of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, with output of 300,000 barrels per day.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, PEMEX PETROLEOS MEXICANOS

Record LNG exports, but prices falling

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 : 9-Jan-19

The Gladstone LNG, Australia Pacific LNG and Queensland Curtis LNG projects’ export volumes rose to a record 5.4 million tonnes during the December quarter. Queensland Resources Council CEO Ian Macfarlane says the oil and gas industry contributed $8.2bn to the economy in 2017-18. Meanwhile, Saul Kavonic of Credit Suisse says declining gas production in Bass Strait has been the key contributor to rising gas prices on the east coast, and that prices would have risen much more if the three Queensland LNG projects did not sell gas into the domestic market.

CORPORATES
GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOD MACKENZIE

Energy stocks crunched as oil price slides

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 : 20-Dec-18

The price of Brent crude oil has shed about 34 per cent since October, with shares in Australia’s three biggest oil producers falling by more than 20 per cent over the same period. London Capital Group’s Jasper Lawler says the downturn in oil prices will result in "significant" deflationary pressure. However, airlines, mining companies and motorists are set to benefit from the sustained fall in the oil price, while US Bank Wealth Management’s Rob Haworth says OPEC’s recent cut in oil production may not be sufficient to offset weakening global demand and rising US shale output.

CORPORATES
LONDON CAPITAL GROUP, US BANK WEALTH MANAGEMENT, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Call for 10pc royalty on offshore gas amid boom

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 22 : 14-Dec-18

The federal government gained $946m in revenue from the petroleum resource rent tax in 2017, according to data from the Australian Taxation Office. However, the McKell Institute estimates that revenue from the PRRT could increase by $2.8bn a year if a 10 per cent royalty were to be imposed on offshore gas projects. The left-wing think tank argues that the PRRT was designed primarily to encourage the development of marginal oil projects and has little relevance to Australia’s booming gas industry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, McKELL INSTITUTE, CHEVRON CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE TAX INSTITUTE

Australia becomes an LNG force

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 7-Dec-18

Data from Bloomberg shows that Australia’s LNG exports totalled 6.55 million tonnes in November 2018, surpassing Qatar (6.27 million tonnes) for the first time. Australia’s LNG shipments for the calendar year are expected to exceed 78 million tonnes, compared with 77 million tonnes for Qatar. Projects such as Ichthys will further boost Australia’s LNG exports, although both Qatar and the US intend to increase production. Meanwhile, official figures show that Australia’s revenue from LNG exports totalled $38.8bn in the year to October, while coal and iron ore revenue was $64.6bn and $61.6bn respectively.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, INPEX CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, S&P PLATTS

Fracking decision a blow to Forrest

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 22 : 28-Nov-18

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan announced new hydraulic fracturing regulations on 27 November, following a review. He said that fracking will not be allowed in 98 per cent of the state, even though the review had found the risks associated with it are "low and manageable". Some of the licences held by a joint venture between Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy and Goshawk Energy will be impacted by the new regulations. Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association CEO Malcolm Roberts says it would have been preferable if the moratorium on fracking had been removed across the whole state.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, SQUADRON ENERGY, GOSHAWK ENERGY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, BURU ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BRU, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Oil price slide rings global alarm bells

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-Nov-18

The latest fall in crude oil prices has weighed on Australian oil stocks and heightened concerns about the outlook for the global economy. The price of West Texas Intermediate has fallen by 34 per cent since peaking at $US76.41 a barrel in early October, closing 7.7 per cent lower at $US50.42/barrel on 23 November. Brent crude in turn fell 6.1 per cent to $US58.80, extending its loss since early October to 31.9 per cent. Martijn Rats of Morgan Stanley says there is a good chance that OPEC will respond with further production cuts.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Santos buckles up for a wild ride in volatile oil market

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 19 & 29 : 16-Nov-18

Crude oil is trading at around $US56 a barrel, having peaked at $US81 in early October. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher expects the recent price volality to continue in the near-term, although he is confident that the Adelaide-based oil and gas producer can ride it out. Meanwhile, Santos is hopeful that its new exploration joint venture with Shell in Queensland will yield new a source of gas supply for the east coast.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES