Gas green light puts Woodside in front

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Apr-25

Woodside Energy has made a final investment decision to proceed with its e $US17bn ($27bn) Louisiana LNG project in the US. Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill has described the project as a "game-changer" for the oil and gas group. The project, which was previously called Driftwood, was acquired for $1.2bn in 2024. Woodside will contribute $US11.8bn to its development, while the balance will be funded by Stonepeak, which has bought a 40 per cent stake in Louisiana LNG. The project will make Woodside one of the world’s biggest producers of LNG, with a global market share of more than five per cent.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS

Santos clears last hurdle for $5.8b Barossa gas field

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Apr-25

A spokeswoman for oil and gas group Santos has advised that first production at its Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea remains on track for the September 2025 quarter. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety & Environmental Management Authority has granted the last major regulatory approval for the $5.8bn gas project, which has faced numerous delays due to environmental ‘lawfare’. Santos had advised in February that the Barossa project was 91 per cent complete.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

Santos seeks LNG supplies as contract expiry nears

Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Mar-25

Santos will seek short-term gas supply contracts for its Gladstone LNG project in Queensland, as its 10-year supply deal with the Australia Pacific LNG venture is set to end in May. Another gas supply deal with AGL Energy is slated to end in 2027. However, a gas industry source has warned that the domestic market is not big enough to replace the hundreds of petajoules that Santos has acquired from APLNG and AGL under the existing supply deals. They note that Santos may have to pay more for gas, given that the market has changed substantially since the existing supply contracts were signed.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Exporters brace for LNG new wave

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 8-Jan-25

Global supply of LNG is expected to ramp up in 2025, which is likely to weigh on local producers and the federal government’s revenue. The increase in production had been slated to occur in 2024, but delays to a number of LNG projects resulted in this being pushed back to 2025. Meanwhile, EnergyQuest notes that global output of LNG is expected to rise by about 50 million tonnes per annum from 2026, while Saul Kavonic from MST Marquee says there is likely to be a global oversupply of LNG beyond 2026.

CORPORATES
ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, MST MARQUEE

Australia falling behind as global LNG producer

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

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

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

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

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

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