B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Sacked man loses $42m claim

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Original article by Tim Clarke
The West Australian – Page: 9 : 29-Sep-14

The Federal Court of Australia has ruled in favour of Woodside Petroleum in a unfair dismissal action by a former employee. Hassan Zaghloul sought more than $A42m in damages after claiming that he had been bullied and harassed during his tenure as the LNG group’s principal structural engineer. He has also accused lawyers involved in the case of professional misconduct

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Austerity drive drops Mackenzie to $9m

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 26-Sep-14

BHP Billiton’s 2014 annual report reveals that CEO Andrew Mackenzie received total remuneration of $US7.98m ($A9.06m) in 2013-14. This compares with the $US15.99m paid to his predecessor, Marius Kloppers, in 2012-13. The resources group has also advised that executives will receive no increase in their base salaries in 2014-15, while the annual report does not outline the likely effect that spinning off non-core assets will have on its executives’ salaries

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Resource exports to dip before a pick-up

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 20 : 25-Sep-14

Australia’s Bureau of Resources & Energy Economics forecasts 43 per cent growth in the nation’s earnings from resources exports in the next four years. LNG exports are expected to be a key driver of earnings growth over this period, while the agency forecasts that coal and iron ore prices will rebound in the next several years. Earnings from resources exports are forecast to fall by 1.4 per cent in 2014 before rising by 13.4 per cent in 2015

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY. BUREAU OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY ECONOMICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

India burning brighter for LNG exporters

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 19-Sep-14

India may emerge as a significant importer of LNG from Australia. Woodside Petroleum forecasts that demand for LNG in in India will rise to as much as 50 million tonnes by 2024. Peter Cleary, the head of LNG at Santos, expects India to import early spot cargoes from the GLNG project in Queensland. Analysts from Tri-Zen International say that India has insufficient infrastructure for large LNG imports

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, GUJARAT STATE PETROLEUM CORPORATION, PETRONET INDIA LIMITED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Moomba hub driving down gas price

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 17-Sep-14

Central Petroleum CEO Richard Cottee supports a gas pipeline from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to Moomba in South Australia. He said that the pipeline, costing about $A1.3 billion, would lead to a transparent gas price at Moomba. A hub-based pricing system would stimulate investment in increased supply and eventually reduce gas prices in the eastern states

CORPORATES
CENTRAL PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX CTP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Cheap gas flows in as prices slump to record lows

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Sep-14

Origin Energy, Santos and others are building three major LNG processing plants for the export market, in the Gladstone region of Queensland. The projects are forecast to cause higher domestic gas prices as the supply is diverted offshore. However in late August 2014, gas prices for local users have actually declined. In Queensland they have fallen to as little as $A1 per gigajoule, compared with the usual range of $A3 to $A4. From 2015 on they are estimated to reach up to $A10

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD

BHP says cash returns on horizon

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 22-Aug-14

Stockholders of BHP Billiton were unhappy that the 2013-14 results presentation and announcement of a new standalone entity to house non-core operations were not accompanied by news of a stock repurchasing scheme. It had been tipped to be worth between $US3bn and $US5bn ($A3.2bn to $A5.4bn), and on 21 August 2014 the stock fell a further $A0.10 to close at $A38.03. CEO Andrew Mackenzie concedes that the dividend lift of just $US0.05 to $US1.12 would have been disappointing for many, but says the group will return more capital to investors in the medium-term future

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Shell’s man cans corporate welfare

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 18 : 21-Aug-14

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia on 20 August 2014 heard from Andrew Smith, the chair of Shell Australia. He argued that the industrial relations system needs to be overhauled in order to ensure further productivity gains, which in turn will improve living standards. Smith honoured the victims of previous reforms that had from the 1970s on dismantled the trade tariffs protecting many industries, and also said businesses must not rely on government aid

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED,ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC,WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL,COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

Woodside on M&A chase

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Aug-14

Woodside Petroleum has posted a 2014 interim underlying net profit of $US1.136bn, which is 33 per cent higher than previously. Revenue was 24 per cent higher at $US3.55bn. CEO Peter Coleman says the group plans to spend up to $A5bn on large acquisitions, which could potentially include Apache’s 13 per cent stake in the Wheatstone LNG project. Andrew Williams of RBC Capital Markets believes that Woodside may also consider Apache’s Kitimat LNG project in Canada

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL,APACHE ENERGY LIMITED,RBC CAPITAL MARKETS,BERNSTEIN RESEARCH,CHEVRON CORPORATION

BHP says acquisitions not on cards

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Aug-14

BHP Billiton will focus on expanding its iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum operations if the proposal to demerge its non-core assets proceeds. CEO Andrew Mackenzie says BHP will not being pursuing acquisitions, although acquisitions are likely to form a key part of the spin-off’s growth strategy. Mackenzie also says the demerger will not have any impact on BHP’s future capital management strategy. Meanwhile, BHP aims to reduce cost by a further $US3.5bn over the next three years

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP,RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED,MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG,DEUTSCHE BANK AG