B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

LNG giants face bill for underpaid royalties

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 29-Nov-16

The royalty regime for the North West Shelf LNG project is under scrutiny following a review by the Australian National Audit Office. Amongst other things, the ANAO concluded that there are deficiencies in the way royalty payments are calculated, while the project’s partners may not be entitled to all of the deductions which they have claimed. A spokeswoman for Woodside Petroleum says the company has strict compliance procedures regarding royalty payments, and any underpayment is unlikely to exceed $A11.6m.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NORTH WEST SHELF LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES AND PETROLEUM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, JAPAN AUSTRALIA LNG PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED

AGL mulls gas import to beat supply crunch

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 15-Nov-16

The high domestic price of gas in Australia’s southeastern states and supply constraints may prompt AGL Energy to source natural gas from regions such as Asia, Europe or the Middle East. AGL will undertake a feasibility study on the proposal to build an LNG import terminal and processing facility, which would capitalise on a global oversupply of LNG. Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith put forward a similar suggestion earlier in 2016.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Forrest branches into oil and gas

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 2-Nov-16

Goshawk Energy and a company owned by Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest have applied for oil and gas exploration permits covering about 220,000 square kilometres in Western Australia’s onshore Canning Basin. Forrest has applied for the permits via Squadron Energy, which is a subsidiary of Minderoo. A spokeswoman for Minderoo says the company is not currently considering the use of fracking in the Canning Basin, but environmental groups have urged Forrest to rule out using the technology.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SQUADRON ENERGY, MINDEROO PTY LTD, GOSHAWK ENERGY PTY LTD, BURU ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BRU, ENVIRONS KIMBERLEY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONOCOPHILLIPS, APACHE CORPORATION, HESS CORPORATION, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, LAKES OIL NL – ASX LKO, EMPIRE OIL AND GAS NL – ASX EGO

Woodside plays down $US5 billion Wheatstone cost blowout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Nov-16

Woodside Petroleum has advised that a 17 per cent increase in the cost of the Wheatstone LNG project will have limited effect on the capital expenditure guidance it issued in early 2016. The oil and gas producer has a 13 per cent stake in the Chevron-led project, whose total cost has risen by $US5bn ($A6.6bn) to $US34bn. Saul Kavonic of Wood Mackenzie says he had already anticipated a cost over-run of at least 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOOD MACKENZIE, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Santos sells last Victorian asset

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 32 : 25-Oct-16

Australian-listed Cooper Energy will assume full ownership of the Sole gas project in the Gippsland Basin after securing a deal to acquire Santos’s 50 per cent stake for $A82m. Cooper Energy will undertake a $A63m capital raising to help finance the deal, and it will then seek a joint venture partner for the project. Santos has now offloaded all of its assets in Victoria. Its shares closed $A0.11 lower at $A3.73 on 24 October 2016.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, COOPER ENERGY LIMITED – ASX COE

Record LNG output limits Woodside pain

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 21-Oct-16

Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum has reported that it produced 25.2 million barrels of oil equivalent during the September 2016 quarter, which is 13.5 per cent higher than the June quarter. Sales revenue rose by 19.8 per cent to $US988m ($A1.29bn), although this was nine per cent lower year-on-year. Woodside has lifted its full-year production guidance for 2016 to between 92 million and 95 million boe.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Origin Energy in recovery mode after $25b APLNG venture

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-16

Just 3.02 per cent of votes cast at Origin Energy’s 2016 AGM rejected the group’s remuneration report, although an equities grant to outgoing CEO Grant King attracted a "no" vote of 16.21 per cent. King told shareholders that the company’s investment in the Australia Pacific LNG project had taxed its resources, and a stake of 30 per cent rather than 37.5 per cent may have been appropriate. However, King is upbeat about Origin’s outlook. He will be succeeded by Origin veteran Frank Calabria.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Oil bonanza hopes sink as BP abandons $1.4bn search

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Oct-16

Greenpeace and the Australian Greens have welcomed BP’s decision to terminate its oil exploration program in the Great Australian Bight. However, BHP has attributed the decision to factors such as the downturn in the crude oil price rather than pressure from environmentalists. Matthew Doman of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association says development of the Great Australian Bight’s oil fields would boost investment and employment in South Australia.

CORPORATES
BP PLC, GREENPEACE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

BHP keeps the faith in US shale business

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 6-Oct-16

The head of BHP Billiton’s petroleum division, Steve Pastor, is upbeat about the group’s US shale operations. He is particularly bullish about the Permian shale field in West Texas, noting that it could potentially become the division’s biggest source of production and cash flow within five years. Meanwhile, Pastor says BHP will consider acquisitions that add value, but it will only pursue deals that are appropriately priced. He has also forecast a global oil shortage in 2017.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC

Origin nearing start-up on second production LNG line

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Oct-16

A spokeswoman for the Origin Energy-led Australia Pacific LNG has indicated that the start-up phase for the project’s second production train has commenced. The second train is the last of the six that have been commissioned at the three rival LNG projects in Queensland. Energy Edge MD Josh Stabler says a sharp rise in gas consumption at the APLNG project in early October suggests that the second train is poised to commence production.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ENERGY EDGE PTY LTD, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SINOPEC CORPORATION, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD