B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

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

Gas finally starts to flow at Chevron’s $44bn Wheatstone project in WA

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

Shipments from the Wheatstone LNG project will begin in coming weeks after production commenced. The project was marred by delays and cost over-runs, with its cost blowing out from $US29bn to $US34bn. The project’s two production trains will produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG a year at full capacity. Wheatstone, in which Chevron has a 64.1 per cent stake, is one of $A200bn worth of LNG projects that have been developed in Australia in recent years.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, KUWAIT FOREIGN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION COMPANY, APACHE CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

LNG surge powers $211b export record

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Oct-17

Australia’s chief economist Mark Cully expects the nation’s mining and energy exports to top $A211bn in 2017-18. Resources exports totalled $A204m in 2016-17. Cully is particularly upbeat about the outlook for the LNG sector, with expectations that annual export volumes will rise from 36.9 million tonnes in 2016 to 73.8 million by 2019. Iron ore export volumes are also forecast to rise over the next few years, although the value of such exports is expected to fall.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Bass gas in Exxon’s frame due to onshore constraint

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Oct-17

The rising price of gas on Australia’s east coast and restrictions on onshore production has prompted renewed exploration activity in Bass Strait. ExxonMobil, Origin Energy and Cooper Energy intend to undertake new drilling programs. ExxonMobil will drill two deepwater wells in the Dory prospect in the offshore Gippsland Basin. The company has previously warned that production at the Longford gas plant will fall in 2018 as its current output is not sustainable.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, COOPER ENERGY LIMITED – ASX COE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LIBERTY PETROLEUM

Beach bulks up with $1.6bn Lattice deal

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 29-Sep-17

Beach Energy’s oil and gas production will be increased by about 150 per cent as a result of its deal to acquire the Lattice Energy assets of Origin Energy. Beach will significantly increase its debt to finance the $A1.585bn acquisition of the conventional oil and gas assets, but MD Matt Kay is confident that the company will be net cash positive by 2021. Origin had been weighing up both an IPO and trade sale of Lattice Energy, and CEO Frank Calabria says an IPO had remained under consideration until the deal with Beach was finalised.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, WOOD MACKENZIE, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW

India-Exxon deal to cut gas price bodes ill

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Sep-17

The global oversupply of LNG has prompted India-based Petronet to renegotiate its 20-year Gorgon LNG supply contract with ExxonMobil. Petronet is believed to have secured a deal to reduce the price it pays by $US1.10 to $US1.30 per unit. Industry analysts say other Gorgon buyers may also seek to renegotiate their supply contracts, as part of a global trend for LNG buyers to do so. Saul Kavonic of Wood Mackenzie analyst says the biggest risk for Australian LNG producers will be if major Asian buyers such as Japan and China seek to renegotiate supply contracts.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, PETRONET INDIA LIMITED, GORGON JOINT VENTURE, WOOD MACKENZIE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Santos to divert gas

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 28 : 8-Sep-17

Santos has pre-empted the Federal Government’s decision on triggering the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism by agreeing to redirect 30 petajoules of gas from the Gladstone LNG export project to the domestic market in 2018 and 2019. The LNG buyer that has agreed to accept reduced exports is believed to be either Petronas or Korea Gas Company, which are partners in the GLNG project. Santos also recently struck a deal to supply gas to the Pelican Point power station in South Australia. Wood Mackenzie estimates that the latest deal will ensure that the gas shortfall on the east coast will be minimal in 2018.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, PETRONAS GAS BHD, KOREA GAS CORPORATION, WOOD MACKENZIE, TOTAL SA, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, ENGIE SA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Shell chief expects gas export clampdown

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 7-Sep-17

Shell Australia chair Zoe Yujnovich says the Federal Government is likely to implement its Australian Domestic Gas Supply Mechanism in 2018. She forecasts that the Australian Energy Market Operator will announce a structural shortfall of gas in the next few weeks, although she adds that the ADGSM is unlikely to have much impact on Shell’s LNG exports. Yujnovich adds that there are indications of downward pressure on gas prices.

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Santos to cap Gladstone gas exports

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 25-Aug-17

Oil and gas producer Santos has posted a 2017 interim net loss of $US506m ($A642m), following a $US1.1bn loss for the previous corresponding period. However, it has booked an underlying profit of $US156m, compared with a $A5m loss previously. Revenue rose from $US1.21bn to $US1.5bn. MD ‘Kevin Gallagher says Santos is poised to announce additional domestic gas supply contracts, while it intends to limit the Gladstone LNG project’s annual export volumes to six million tonnes until the mid-2020s.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Shareholders to get shale sale cash within two years, says BHP

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 24-Aug-17

BHP Billiton will aim to divest its US shale assets within two years, according to CFO Peter Beaven. CEO Andrew Mackenzie had previously indicated that the assets would be sold "relatively quickly". Beaven also said the proceeds of the sale are likely to be distributed to shareholders. Analysts differ regarding the valuation of the shale assets, with sale price forecasts generally ranging from $US7bn to $US10bn. The shale assets currently have a book value of $US14bn.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, TUDOR PICKERING HOLT AND COMPANY LLC, ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORPORATION