B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

ATO drops boom on marketing hubs

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Aug-16

The use of offshore marketing hubs by resources groups will attract greater scrutiny from the Australian Taxation Office. The proposed crackdown will result in such companies being subject to stricter auditing and disclosure requirements if they are not completely transparent about their marketing arrangements. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both use marketing hubs in Singapore, while the ATO is concerned that the oil and gas industry may pursue profit-shifting arrangements as LNG exports ramp up.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BP PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

Beach ponders acquisition within next six months

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 29-Jul-16

Beach Energy has reported that the lower crude oil price resulted in its 2015-16 sales falling by 23.3 per cent, to $A558 million. Full-year production totalled 9.66 barrels of oil equivalent. The group posted sales revenue of $A16.6m for the June quarter, and production for the period rose by 13 per cent to 2.7 million. Beach has also advised that it expects capital expenditure to be within the range of $A180m to $A200m in 2016-17, while it aims to finalise an acquisition in the next six months.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Strong interest as Exxon sells off Bass Strait oilfields

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-16

The daily output of the Bass Strait oilfields has fallen to 19,000 barrels, having peaked at more than 500,000 in the 1980s. ExxonMobil Australia chairman Richard Owen believes that the oilfields are likely to be most attractive to companies with expertise in extracting value from resources projects that are nearing the end of their production life. He says there has been good initial interest from potential buyers of the oilfields, which ExxonMobil operates in partnership with BHP Billiton.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOOD MACKENZIE, APACHE CORPORATION, FOSUN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED

Oil Search buries ego and drops InterOil bid

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 22-Jul-16

Oil Search will not seek to match ExxonMobil’s takeover bid for InterOil. MD Peter Botten says it would not be in shareholders’ interest to increase the offer, and he adds that they will still gain most of the benefits of the deal with none of the associated risks. Oil Search has stakes in both of the two major LNG projects in Papua New Guinea, and Botten says greater co-operation between the two ventures will generate value for investors. Meanwhile, Oil Search has reported that its sales fell by seven per cent in the June 2016 quarter, to $US267.7m.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

Exxon tops Oil Search with bid for InterOil

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 19-Jul-16

Australian-listed Oil Search is not expected to exercise its right to match ExxonMobil’s $US2.48bn ($A3.26bn) takeover bid for InterOil. It has three days to match the bid. having made its own $US2.2bn ($A2.9bn) offer for InterOil in May. Some analysts suggest that the ExxonMobil deal would benefit all parties with exposure to the Papua New Guinea LNG sector, including Oil Search. Shareholders of InterOil were slated to vote on the Oil Search offer in late July.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Oil Search could be crushed in InterOil battle

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 15-Jul-16

Proxy adviser ISS has endorsed Oil Search’s $US2.2bn takeover bid for InterOil, with the target’s shareholders scheduled to vote on the deal on 26 July 2016. However, ExxonMobil is believed to be poised to outbid Oil Search with an offer that is about 10 per cent higher. ExxonMobil – which is Oil Search’s partner in the Papua New Guinea LNG project – has not been officially confirmed as the rival suitor for InterOil.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED

Woodside signs $560m African deal

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 15-Jul-16

Australian-listed Woodside Petroleum will acquire ConocoPhillips’ stake in exploration acreage off the coast of Senegal for $US430m ($A563.4m). The deal includes ConocoPhillips’ 35 per cent stake in the SNE and FAN deepwater oil discoveries. Woodside has estimated that the SNE discovery could potentially yield about 560 million barrels of oil. The listed FAR is a partner in the Senegal joint venture, which is operated by UK-based Cairn Energy.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CONOCOPHILLIPS, FAR LIMITED – ASX FAR, CAIRN ENERGY PLC, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Bleak credit outlook rating for oil and gas this quarter

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 14-Jul-16

Brent crude oil was trading at around $US48 per barrel on 13 July 2016, but ratings agency Standard & Poor’s still expects it to average $US40 for the remainder of the calendar year. Meanwhile, Lawrence Hu of S&P has identified the potential for a sustained oversupply of oil as the biggest risk for oil and gas companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Both S&P and Moody’s expect the oil price to average $US45 in 2017.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

LNG exports jump despite Gorgon woes

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-Jul-16

New data shows that Australia’s LNG exports were 18.5 per cent higher in June 2016 than in May. The data from EnergyQuest also show that LNG production rose by more than 500,000 tonnes to 3.6 million tonnes. There were a total of 44 shipments in June, although there were no shipments from the Gorgon project due to problems with the first production train. Western Australia accounted for 27 shipments, while 22 LNG consignments departed from Queensland.

CORPORATES
ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED

Oil Search sweetener needed for InterOil

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 12-Jul-16

ExxonMobil is believed to be the unnamed company that is seeking to trump Oil Search’s $US2.2bn ($A2.9bn) takeover bid for InterOil. The target has commenced negotiations with the as-yet identified suitor, which made an initial approach in late June 2016, and is understood to have made a scrip-based offer that is 10 per cent higher than the Oil Search bid. All three players have exposure to Papua New Guinea’s LNG sector.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TOTAL SA