B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Cyber squatters nab South32, poke their tongue at BHP

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-14

BHP Billiton has ruled out buying the South32.com domain name, which is owned by a company based in Malibu. It is believed to have demanded $A10m to surrender the name. BHP recently revealed South32 as the name of the spin-off that will hold its non-core assets, and says it was not willing to pay the price being sought by the domain name’s owner. Experts say BHP should have ensured that it owned the .com domain as well as related domain names

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, .AU DOMAIN ADMINISTRATION LIMITED, FABULOUS DOMAINS, DARK BLUE SEA LIMITED, KARI BIAN FILM COMPANY, SOUTH32 LIMITED, NTEGRITY PTY LTD

BHP Billiton names spinoff ‘South32’

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 9-Dec-14

BHP Billiton has revealed that the selection of a business name for its proposed spin-off was based on the suggestion of an employee. South32 will be based in Perth and hold BHP’s non-core assets in Australia, South Africa and South America. The name is derived from the location of the bulk of its assets. Brand specialist Designworks also assisted BHP in developing a name for the new company

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED, DESIGNWORKS LIMITED, AUSTRALAND PROPERTY GROUP, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD

Exporters face tough times: BIS

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 8-Dec-14

A report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned that commodity exporting nations may continue to experience difficult conditions for some time. It cites factors such as the rising US dollar, the recent fall in commodity prices and the funding models used by commercial banks. The price of iron ore has fallen by 18 per cent in recent months, while Brent crude oil is down 32 per cent. The Australian dollar in turn has fallen to a 4.5-year low of $US0.83

CORPORATES
BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Qantas should keep fuel surcharge despite oil price fall

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 4-Dec-14

The crude oil price has fallen from $US109 a barrel to just $US72 since Qantas increased the fuel surcharge on its international airfares in July 2014. Matt Crowe of the Commonwealth Bank believes that the carrier should leave the surcharge unchanged for now, noting that it generates 8-12 per cent of its annual revenue and offsets its overall fuel costs by just 27 per cent. Flight Centre MD Graham Turner recently urged airlines to abolish the surcharge

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, EMIRATES AIRLINES

Oil’s era of $US100 a barrel is over

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 3-Dec-14

The price of Brent crude oil fell by 0.5 per cent to about $US72 per barrel on 2 December 2014, compared with a year-to-date high of $US112 in June. Citigroup has warned that the oil price is unlikely to rise above the $US100 level in the long-term. The firm suggests that global economic growth would be boosted by an average of 0.08 per cent over the next four years if the oil price falls by a further $US10 per barrel

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES

Rio pushes for nuclear power in energy debate

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 20 : 2-Dec-14

Submissions have been lodged with the Australian Government’s new energy white paper taskforce. Rio Tinto argues that nuclear power should not automatically be ruled out as an option for the nation as it seeks to curb its greenhouse gas emissions. Fellow uranium producer BHP Billiton says in order for Australia to cash in on the growing demand for energy worldwide, local labour market laws must be relaxed to boost productivity. Others to make submissions are ANZ Banking, Peabody Energy and Qantas Airways

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA COAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Oil slump drives Santos to hybrid

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 27-Nov-14

David Knox and Andrew Seaton, CEO and CFO respectively of energy group Santos, on 26 November 2014 told investors about plans to compensate for the recent decline in the crude oil price by some 30%. The company, which has LNG projects in Queensland and Papua New Guinea, will cut costs and capital investment. A previous estimate for annual cash flow to grow 100% between 2013 and 2016 has been revised down to 65%, and Seaton foreshadowed a potential hybrid debt issue worth EUR500m ($A726m). Santos shares closed $A0.15 higher at $A11.98, after a fall of 5% the day before

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, PAPUA NEW GUINEA LNG PROJECT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, TOTAL SA

Energy exports at risk as oil prices slump

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 26-Nov-14

The price of Brent crude oil is trading at $US0.7945 per barrel, having fallen to $US77.92 in mid-November 2014. David Hewitt of Credit Suisse notes that a number of market watchers are particularly bearish about the outlook for the crude oil price, with some warning that it could fall below $US60. He also says Australian-listed LNG producers would be adversely affected by continued weakness in the crude oil price, as the price of LNG is linked to the crude oil price

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, REUTERS HOLDINGS PLC, LUPUS ALPHA COMMODITY INVESTMENT FUND, BLOOMBERG LP, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

BHP to live within its means

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 25-Nov-14

BHP Billiton has indicated that its focus will be on maximising production at its existing assets rather than pursuing large acquisitions. CEO Andrew Mackenzie has told an investor briefing that any future acquisitions are likely to be restricted to conventional oil and gas assets. BHP will also continue to seek productivity improvements and reduce capital expenditure, with plans to scale back the latter by $US600m in 2014-15 and $US1bn in 2015-16

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HESS CORPORATION, CHEVRON CORPORATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Nexus investors lash ASIC inaction

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 23 : 20-Nov-14

Piper Alderman lawyer Amanda Banton, who represents investors in Nexus Energy opposed to its acquisition by Seven Group Holdings, has criticised the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The watchdog has taken no action after Seven made a low offer of $A0.02 and then moved to buy the collapsed Nexus following the rejection by stockholders of the original bid. A major issue is the dual role of Don Voelte as Seven CEO and Nexus chair

CORPORATES
SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, NEXUS ENERGY LIMITED – ASX NXS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, PIPER ALDERMAN, AZURE CAPITAL PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES