B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Santos heats up with $13.5bn bid

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 4-Apr-18

Analysts say that gaining Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its $A13.5bn bid for Santos will be the greatest hurdle for US-based Harbour Energy. Santos has granted due diligence after the private equity-backed firm offered $A6.50 per share, compared with an initial approach in August which was pitched at $A4.55 per share. Harbour Energy has flagged plans to expand Santos’s drilling program in the Cooper Basin and increase domestic gas supply if its bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ENN GROUP, HONY CAPITAL, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Gas crisis looms as Bass Strait dries up

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Mar-18

A report from the Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts that Victoria’s gas production will fall to 187 petajoules in 2022, compared with 435 petajoules in 2017. Damien Sanford of AEMO has warned that Victoria faces a gas supply shortfall from 2022 unless new sources of gas are found. The Bass Strait gas fields are rapidly being depleted, and AEMO says Victorians could face the prospect of having to restrict gas consumption on days of peak demand from 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Long-delayed Ichthys LNG almost ready

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 28-Mar-18

Inpex Corporation has advised that the Ichthys LNG project is nearing completion, although it has declined to provide any guidance on when production will commence. The commissioning process for the first onshore production unit has been completed, while commissioning of the offshore processing platform is slated for completion in the next two months. The cost of the Ichthys project has blown out from $US34bn to $US40bn, while production was originally scheduled to begin in late 2016.

CORPORATES
INPEX CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, WOOD MACKENZIE, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Woodside rejigs pay to drive discipline

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 20-Mar-18

Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman was paid a total of $A10.3m in 2017, including almost $A4m in incentives. Some two-thirds of Coleman’s short-term incentives were paid in cash, but his future cash bonuses will be restricted to 12.5 per cent under Woodside’s revised executive incentive structure. Other key executives will also be restricted to cash bonuses of 12.5 per cent. The changes follow a review of Woodside’s incentive plan in 2017.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Chevron says sector needs more teamwork

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 15-Mar-18

Chevron Australia MD Nigel Hearne has called for more co-operation among the nation’s oil and gas producers. He has cited the three separate LNG processing facilities on Curtis Island in Queensland as an example of how industry players could have collaborated in building the infrastructure. Meanwhile, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has ruled out relaxing the state’s gas reservation policy to allow gas to be shipped to the east coast unless WA gets a more equitable share of goods and services tax revenue.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHEVRON CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, INPEX CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Sunrise gas no chance for Darwin LNG

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Mar-18

Santos executive Bruce Clement says there is little prospect of gas from the Sunrise project in the Timor Sea being processed at the Darwin LNG plant. The Darwin facility and a greenfields plant in East Timor are the only options included in a new treaty on the maritime boundary between Australia and East Timor. The Darwin plant currently processes LNG from the Bayu-Undan gasfield, which is expected to be exhausted by 2022-23. Clement says the Barossa gas field is the only one that can be assured of supplying the Darwin plant after Bayu-Undan reaches the end of its life.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SK GAS COMPANY LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, PTTEP OFFSHORE INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED

Floating LNG not an option for Sunrise

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-18

Woodside Petroleum and ConocoPhillips have expressed disappointment that Australia and East Timor have not reached agreement on processing gas from the Sunrise gas field in the Timor Sea. An onshore processing facility in either Darwin or East Timor are the only options outlined in the new treaty on the maritime boundary between the two nations. Woodside has advocated the construction of a floating LNG plant. East Timor’s share of government revenue from Sunrise would be higher if the existing Darwin LNG plant is used.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION, CARNARVON PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX CVN

BHP heads offshore for petroleum growth

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Mar-18

Steve Pastor, the head of BHP Billiton’s petroleum division, is upbeat about the potential of oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, including the Trion project and the Wildling discovery. BHP will drill another appraisal well at Trion by the end of 2018, followed by two more in 2019. Pastor also says BHP will participate in the Mexican Government’s next auction of exploration permits in the gulf. He adds that there has been strong interest in BHP’s US shale assets, and the company could potentially swap some onshore shale acreage for offshore conventional oil assets.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PEMEX PETROLEOS MEXICANOS

Price doubts over Forrest LNG plan

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 27-Feb-18

BlueScope CEO Mark Vasella is supportive of plans by a venture backed by Andrew Forrest to import LNG into the New South Wales market. Port Kembla is one of three sites envisaged for the project, and Vasella says this would be the best choice, as it is close to customers and infrastructure. Energy Users Association of Australia head Andrew Richards has also welcomed news of the project, while a spokesperson for AGL, which is considering a similar import project in Victoria, said it backs the idea of new supply.

CORPORATES
BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, JERA, WOOD MACKENZIE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Private equity looks at BHP’s shale assets

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 22 : 26-Feb-18

BHP Billiton’s US shale assets are tipped to fetch at least $US10bn. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners notes that this equates to about eight per cent of BHP’s market capitalisation. Energy companies such as Chevron and Anadarko are likely to consider some of the shale assets, which have also attracted interest from private equity firms. The private equity sector has ramped up its investment in energy assets in recent years.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORPORATION, EOG RESOURCES INCORPORATED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, WARBURG PINCUS AND COMPANY, ATX ENERGY PARTNERS, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, EAGLECLAW MIDSTREAM VENTURES, ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS LP