Oil crash sinks $545bn in projects

January 15, 2016roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Jan-16

Data from Wood Mackenzie shows that the downturn in the crude oil price has prompted some $US380bn ($A545bn) worth of new oil and gas projects to be put on hold. Tom Ellacott of Wood Mackenzie expects this trend to continue. The oil price is trading at around $US30 per barrel, and the continued price weakness put further downward pressure on the share prices of Australian oil and gas producers on 14 January 2016.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE,{SPAC}SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO,{SPAC}ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG,{SPAC}WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL,{SPAC}OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH

Origin ships first LNG from Gladstone

January 12, 2016roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 12-Jan-16

Bulk cargo carrier "Methane Spirit" has left Gladstone with the first shipment from Origin Energy’s Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland. The first shipment had been slated for late December 2015, but the tanker eventually left Curtis Island on 9 January 2016. The majority of gas from the $A24.7bn project has been bought by Sinopec, while other customers include Kansai Electric. APLNG was the last of the three Gladstone LNG projects to commence production.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, BG GROUP PLC, BECHTEL INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, CONOCOPHILLIPS

Origin finally nears first APLNG shipment

January 8, 2016roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Jan-16

Bulk cargo carrier "Methane Spirit" will shortly leave the Port of Gladstone with the first shipment from Origin Energy’s Australia Pacific LNG project on Curtis Island in Queensland. Origin has pushed back the deadline for commencing exports from the $A24.7bn project several times. The first shipment was originally slated for mid-2015, but production did not start until December and Origin subsequently advised that exports would begin by the end of 2015.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, CONOCOPHILLIPS, GLADSTONE PORTS CORPORATION LIMITED, SINOPEC CORPORATION, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, BG GROUP PLC

Oil M&A tipped to ramp up in 2016 after quiet past year

January 8, 2016roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Jan-16

IHS forecasts an upturn in mergers and acquisitions activity in the global oil and gas industry in 2016. The global consultancy notes that the total value of such transaction was $US143bn in 2015, which is 22 per cent lower than previously, while there was a significant fall in the number of transactions worth more than $US1bn. Ben Wilson of RBC Capital Markets expects M&A activity to be particularly strong in Australia during 2016.

CORPORATES
IHS INCORPORATED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX DLS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, SCEPTER PARTNERS, INTEROIL CORPORATION, BERNSTEIN AND ASSOCIATES, APACHE CORPORATION, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Green light for Origin gas venture

January 6, 2016roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 6-Jan-16

Origin Energy and AWE Limited will proceed with the first stage of the Waitsia gas project in Western Australia. The joint venture partners will invest $A17.5m in the first stage of the Perth Basin project, after Alinta Energy secured a deal to buy 10 terajoules of gas per day over 2.5 years. The project will initially have a daily production capacity of 10 terajoules, although this could eventually be lifted to around 100 terajoules a day.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CITIC PACIFIC, WOOD MACKENZIE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Chevron slashes 1200 jobs from Gorgon project

December 23, 2015roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Burrell, Rebecca Puddy
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Dec-15

Chevron and its contractors are reducing the workforce at the Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia, with more job cuts expected as the construction phase of the project winds down. About 1,200 jobs have been cut at the Gorgon gas plant on Barrow Island in recent weeks, while Chevron is also believed to have downsized the workforce at its Australian head office in Perth. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the state economy shed about 10,000 jobs in November 2015.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, ACIL TASMAN PTY LTD, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, CHICAGO BRIDGE AND IRON COMPANY NV, KENTZ (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Woodside cuts spending, lifts production guidance

December 18, 2015roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 18-Dec-15

Woodside Petroleum has advised that its total production for 2015 will be within the range of 91 million to 93 million barrels of oil equivalent. Its previous forecast was 88 million to 93 million boe. The oil and gas group has also indicated that capital expenditure for the calendar year will be $US100m lower than previously forecast, and its exploration budget has been cut by $US70m. Woodside’s shares closed 0.85 per cent lower at $A26.82 on 17 December.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Woodside drops Oil Search bid

December 9, 2015roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Dec-15

Woodside Petroleum has advised that it will no longer pursue a $A10.2bn takeover bid for Oil Search. Woodside had never convinced investors and the Papua New Guinea Government – which has a 10.1 per cent stake in Oil Search – of its one-for-four scrip offer’s merits. Suhas Nayak of Allan Gray notes that Oil Search could not be classified as a "distressed asset", but says Woodside’s relatively healthy balance sheet means it can pursue such assets if appropriate opportunities arise.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

Buyers turn to FIRB as ACCC clears Shell-BG

November 20, 2015roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 20-Nov-15

Manufacturing Australia chairman Mark Chellew hopes the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) will consider whether Royal Dutch Shell’s $US70bn ($A98bn) takeover of BG Group is in the national interest. The deal requires FIRB approval following the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s decision to approve it without any conditions. Domestic gas users are concerned that the merger will result in offshore buyers gaining priority in Queensland LNG supply deals.

CORPORATES
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ARROW ENERGY LIMITED, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

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