B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

US energy investors lining up $11b tilt for Santos

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 38 : 16-Nov-17

A global consortium of energy investors is said to be preparing to make a takeover bid for Australian-listed oil and gas producer Santos. The consortium is believed to intend to make an indicative bid of about $A5.30 per share, compared with Santo’s 2017 peak of $A4.78. Santos shares closed at $A4.38 on 15 November. The consortium, which is headed by Royal Dutch Shell’s former executive director Linda Cook, is understood to have make an initial approach to the Santos board in September. Santos had rejected a takeover bid from Scepter Partners in 2015, priced at $A6.88 per share.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STOROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLCHARBOUR ENERGY LIMITEDENN GROUPHONY CAPITALEIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERSSENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXYCHENIERE ENERGY INCORPORATEDCHRYSAORBOEING COMPANYCARGILL INCORPORATEDMARATHON OIL CORPORATIONTHE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORPORATIONSCEPTER PARTNERSBHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

China’s foot on the gas as exports boom

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 15-Nov-17

The spot price of LNG has risen by 53 per cent in the last two months, amid growing demand as China attempts to address air quality concerns by promoting alternatives to coal as an energy source. This in turn has resulted in a sharp rise in shipments from Queensland’s three LNG projects. Meanwhile, some market observers forecast that a global LNG shortage will occur earlier in the next decade than previously anticipated.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STOROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLCORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORGCONOCOPHILLIPSWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPLENERGY EDGEENN GROUPAUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITEDAUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Shell in $2.2bn energy selldown

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Original article by Bridget Carter, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 : 14-Nov-17

Royal Dutch Shell is no longer a substantial shareholder in Woodside Petroleum, after selling a $A2.23bn parcel of shares in the oil and gas group. The transaction has reduced Shell’s stake from around 13 per cent to 4.8 per cent, and was part of its strategy of divesting $A30bn worth of assets over three years. Shell’s stake in Woodside has been progressively reduced from about 34 per cent since 2010, and the latest sell-down has capitalised on a rally in the crude price in recent months. Woodside shares closed $A0.33 lower at $A32.24 on 13 November.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BG GROUP PLC

Santos places Narrabri gas back in frame

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 10-Nov-17

Santos has advised that the Narrabri coal-seam gas project is among three growth options for the listed oil and gas producer. The $A3.6bn project had been declared a non-core asset in 2016, but Santos has advised that it is now one of six core assets. MD Kevin Gallagher says the Narrabri project has become viable given concerns about domestic gas supply and prices, although he adds that it may take until late 2018 or early 2019 to secure environmental approval from the New South Wales government. Santos is also considering an expansion of the Papua New Guinea LNG plant and development of the Caldita-Barossa field in the Timor Sea.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, CONOCOPHILLIPS, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH

Sunrise gas must come to us: Dili

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Nov-17

The three partners in the Greater Sunrise LNG project have resumed negotiations with representatives of the Australian and Timor Leste governments. Processing gas from Sunrise at the Darwin LNG plant or a floating LNG facility remain the preferred option of the project’s partners, rather than a Timor Leste processing facility. Timor Leste Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has indicated that his government would be open to options other than this one, although chief of staff Nelson Santos has stated that shipping gas to Timor Leste for processing must be considered.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS SHIRE COUNCIL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, EAST TIMOR. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Maiden LNG shipment departs Wheatstone for delivery to Japan

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 1-Nov-17

Chevron has dispatched the inaugural shipment from the Wheatstone LNG project. Production at the $US34bn project commenced on 9 October, after originally being slated for late 2016. Wheatstone’s annual export volumes are expected to be 8.9 million tonnes when production reaches full capacity, while 200 terajoules of its daily output will be reserved for the Western Australia market. The project’s second production train is scheduled to begin operating within 6-8 months.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, JERA COMPANY INCORPORATED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Santos distrust ‘discount’ declines as confidence returns

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 24-Oct-17

Keith Spence will join the board of oil and gas company Santos on 1 January 2018, and he will replace Peter Coates as chairman in the following month. Spence was chairman of Clough from 2008 to 2013, when he worked with current Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher, who was MD of the engineering firm from 2011 to 2016. Spence will step down from the board of Oil Search to take up his new role. Fund managers have welcomed his appointment, seeing it as hopefully marking the end of a period when Santos was regarded as having bad managment and a poor culture.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CLOUGH LIMITED, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ENN GROUP, HONY CAPITAL

Oil’s not well: $4.5bn loss for sector

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 23-Oct-17

Australia’s oil and gas sector produced a record 488 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2015-16, according to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. However, APPEA also reported that the sector recorded a combined net loss of $A4.5 billion, the worst result since its annual surveys began in 1987-88. Taxes and royalties paid by the oil and gas sector fell from $A5.24 billion to $A4.25 billion, while total revenue fell from $A29.99 billion to $A23.73 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Oil Search production levels hit a new record

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 18-Oct-17

Australian-listed Oil Search has reported production of 7.91 million barrels of oil equivalent for the September quarter, which is nine per cent higher than previously. The company has advised that the record quarterly production means full-year output should be at the higher end of its forecast of between 29 mboe and 30.5 mboe. Oil Search benefited from a strong contribution from the Papua New Guinea LNG project, for which expansion plans are being developed.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Chevron drops $400m Bight drilling plans

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 13-Oct-17

Chevron has cited the low price of crude oil for its decision to shelve plans to undertake a four-well drilling program in the Great Australian Bight in 2018. Chevron says it was a commercial decision that was not influenced by factors such as environmental concerns or government policy. Chevron intends to focus on exploration off the coast of Western Australia, where it can utilise its existing infrastructure. BP abandoned plans to drill two wells in the Bight in October 2016, citing similar reasons for its decision.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BP PLC, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, STATOIL AS