B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Australia falling behind as global LNG producer

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 15-Oct-24

ConocoPhillips Australia’s president Jan-Arne Johansen has warned that the nation’s status as one of the world’s biggest exports of LNG is under threat. He notes that both the US and Qatar are ramping up their LNG exports, while Australia’s investment in the sector is falling behind. Johansen adds that the nation’s fiscal, regulatory and project approval regimes must be internationally competitive if it is to attract the investment capital that is needed for the LNG sector. He notes that Australia has sufficient gas resources to supply the domestic and export markets.

CORPORATES
CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Timor-Leste lays down ultimatum to Santos on gas project negotiations

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Original article by Peter Milne
The Age – Page: Online : 27-Aug-24

Sources have indicated that the Timor-Leste government is seeking a stake of at least 10 per cent in the Bayu Undan gas project in the Timor Sea. The production-sharing contracts of Santos and its partners in the project are slated to expire on 30 August; Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Minister Francisco da Costa Monteiro has written to Santos warning that the contracts will not be extended unless the Bayu Undan partners agree to the government’s demands. The gas fields are almost depleted, and Santos proposes to use them to store carbon from its Barossa gas project.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, EAST TIMOR. MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES, MINERALS AND ENERGY

Watchdog threatens critical Browse

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 18 : 7-Aug-24

Woodside Energy’s CEO Meg O’Neill has emphasised the importance of the company’s Browse LNG project. She contends that Browse is the only gas field of sufficient size to meet the forecast demand for energy over the near-term. The Browse project’s future is under scrutiny following a preliminary ruling from Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority that it presents a "unacceptable risk" to marine ecology. The EPA is expected to make a final recommendation on the project in 2025, although it can be overruled by the federal government. O’Neill has also defended Woodside’s deal to acquire a low-carbon ammonia project in the US.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

EPA blocks Woodside gas project

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Original article by Ben Potter, Tom Rabe, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 6-Aug-24

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has advised that it expects to release its final determination on Woodside Energy’s Browse LNG project in 2025. However, the EPA has concluded in its preliminary decision that the project’s environmental risks are "unacceptable". It is particularly concerned about the project’s impact on pygmy blue whales and green turtle nesting sites, as well as the risk of oil spills near Scott Reef, which is off the coast of Broome. WA Premier Roger Cook says his government wants Browse to proceed, arguing that it will boost the state’s gas supply and help Asian countries to decarbonise.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Woodside swoops with US gas deal

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 23-Jul-24

Woodside Energy will increase its presence in the US after securing a $US1.2bn ($1.79bn) deal to acquire Tellurian, which is developing an LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Tellurian’s Driftwood terminal is expected to have annual export capacity of about 27.6 million tonnes, which is significantly higher than Woodside’s annual production in Australia. Woodside expects to make a final investment decision on the Driftwood project by the end of 2025, and says the facility could be operational before the end of this decade. Tellurian is said to have invested more than $US1bn in the project to date.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, TELLURIAN INCORPORATED

Rinehart-backed Senex gas project gets go-ahead

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 26-Jun-24

Senex Energy has belatedly received federal environmental approval for its Atlas gas project in Queensland. Senex had commenced the environmental approvals process nearly two years ago, and CEO Ian Davies stated earlier in 2024 that the ‘legislative bureaucracy’-induce delays had increased the cost of the project by more than $150m. Approval for the project has coincided with warnings from the Australian Energy Market Operator that the east coast may run out of gas. Senex is owned by Posco and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

CORPORATES
SENEX ENERGY LIMITED, POSCO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Australia’s LNG shipments slump for the first time in years

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Original article by Nick Toscano
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 8-Mar-24

Figures from energy consultancy EnergyQuest show that Australian liquefied gas exports declined to 80.7 million tonnes in 2023, following a record-breaking year in 2022 when 81.2 million tonnes was shipped. It represents the first year-on-year decline since 2015, and with existing oil and gas fields drying up and limited investment in new fields, it is likely that Australia’s LNG production has peaked. Although Australia still earns tens of billions a year from LNG exports, its role as a key source of greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say need to be reduced in order to combat the worst impacts of global warming has seen the LNG industry become a major cause of environmental concern.

CORPORATES
ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD

Santos gets green light on $5bn project

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 16-Jan-24

The Federal Court’s Justice Natalie Charlesworth has ruled that Santos will not need to revise its environmental plan for the $5.3bn Barossa LNG project in the Timor Sea. Justice Charlesworth ordered Santos to temporarily stop work on a 262km pipeline in late 2023, pending a final ruling on Tiwi Islanders’ legal challenge to the Barossa project; Justice Charlesworth on Monday said she was not convinced that the pipeline would cause irreparable harm to the cultural heritag of the traditional owners. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher says the company will shortly resume its drilling program, adding that the court ruling will have broad economic benefits.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

LNG party to end this year as glut looms

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 12 : 9-Jan-24

Bernstein Research has forecast that a looming increase in global LNG supply could potentially see prices fall by up to 47 per cent by 2027. The firm notes that global supply is set to increase by about 140 million tonnes by the end of 2024, and this is set to be sustained for the next three years. Neil Beveridge of Bernstein says the global LNG market is reaching a ‘turning point’, and it will revert from being net short to net long in the next several years. Australia exported a record $92.2bn worth of LNG in 2022-23, but expectations of lower export volumes and prices would have a significant impact on future government revenue.

CORPORATES
BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

Big gas producers accused of predatory pricing

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Original article by Simon Johanson
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Sep-23

Energy Users Association of Australia CEO Andrew Richards has told a Senate inquiry into a new mandatory code of conduct for the gas industry that some of the sector’s behaviour can only be described as predatory. With the Association representing large commercial energy users, Richards told the inquiry that the code is essential to protecting businesses and households from what he contends is the gas industry’s unfair market power. The code currently covers gas producers selling into the wholesale market, but the inquiry was told it should be extended to cover gas retailers as well.

CORPORATES
ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA