B07 Oil and Gas Extraction

Fosun’s cash offer wins Roc Oil

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 5-Aug-14

Fund management firm Allan Gray, which has a 19% stake in Australian-listed Roc Oil, has given its support to a takeover offer worth $A474m. The suitor is private Chinese group Fosun, which will pay $A0.69 a share in cash. Allan Gray had previously lobbied against an attempt by Roc to stage a merger of equals with Horizon Oil that required no stockholder vote, and it motivated 51% of Roc’s investors to demand a say on the proposal. Roc will now be delisted by Fosun, and on 4 August 2014 the stock closed $A0.045 higher at $A0.675. Horizon shares fell $A0.025 to $A0.345

CORPORATES
ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED – ASX ROC, HORIZON OIL LIMITED – ASX HZN, FOSUN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Strike threat to Qld $70b LNG debut

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 4-Aug-14

Three separate LNG exporting plant projects worth a combined $A70bn are being pursued in the Gladstone region of Queensland by consortia led respectively by Santos, Origin Energy and BG Group. The latter has made the most progress, but is now also likely to be the most affected by potential strikes as the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has applied for protected industrial action. Workers may down tools from 7 August 2014 over talks on a new enterprise bargaining agreement. They seek a "four weeks on, one week off" roster instead of the current "three weeks on, one week off’

CORPORATES
BG GROUP PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, BECHTEL PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Woodside buyback in doubt

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 23 : 31-Jul-14

Woodside Petroleum shareholders will vote on a proposed share buyback at an extraordinary general meeting on 1 August 2014. The deal to buy $US2.68bn ($A2.85bn) worth of shares from Royal Dutch Shell must be supported by 75 per cent of votes, but a number of superannuation funds are expected to oppose it. There is concern that the selective buyback treats Shell more favourably than other Woodside shareholders

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ISS PROXY AUSTRALIA, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX

Woodside gains the backing of ASA

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Jul-14

Investors in Woodside Petroleum will on 1 August 2014 vote on the proposed stock repurchasing move worth $A2.85bn that has been triggered by Royal Dutch Shell’s partial divestment. The latter is reducing its stake from 23.1% to 4.5%, and Woodside wants to buy back 9.5% at $A36.49 a share. The company has gained the backing, with some qualifications, of the Australian Shareholders Association. However it must still address concern by institutional investors such as superannuation funds at the lack of franking credits. On 25 July the stock closed at $A42.70

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

BHP surge sets stage for buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 24-Jul-14

BHP Billiton expects its iron ore output for 2014-15 to top 245 million tonnes, after production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for 2013-14 rose to about 225 million tonnes. Most analysts had forecast that output for 2014-15 will be around 230 million tonnes. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says the upbeat production forecast could prompt BHP to reveal a share buyback program when its 2013-14 financial results are released in August 2014

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP|UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG|VALE SA|DEUTSCHE BANK AG|PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED

PNG project pumps up Oil Search

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Jul-14

Peter Botten, MD of Australian-listed Oil Search, on 22 July 2014 issued its output data for the second quarter of calendar 2014. Production was up 120% to 3.69 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly due to the first shipments by the $US19bn ($A20bn) Papua New Guinea LNG project in which the energy group partners Santos and lead operator ExxonMobil. Oil Search’s revenue also rose some 100% to reach $US339.7m in the three months. On the day its stock closed $A0.04 higher at $A9.54

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH|SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO|PAPUA NEW GUINEA LNG PROJECT|EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION|DEUTSCHE BANK AG|INTEROIL CORPORATION|TOTAL SA

Buyback may go on hold as iron ore earnings fall

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Jul-14

Analyst Paul Taggart says Credit Suisse expects any capital management initiatives at BHP Billiton to be deferred until August 2015 at the earliest. There has been ongoing anticipation of a stock buyback by the Australian-listed mining company. However, the iron ore price has contracted by nearly 25 per cent in 2014. The resources group’s 2014-15 earnings may fall by up to 14 per cent. BHP will issue its quarterly production results on 23 July 2014

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Indigenous group delays Buru

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

The Yawuru Native Title Holders Aboriginal Corporation has rejected a push by the listed Buru Energy for access to traditional lands in order to carry out hydraulic fracturing. However the company already has the necessary exploration permits, while there is no right for the Yawuru people to force talks under the Native Title Act. Buru has signalled it wants to co-operate with the traditional owners on the shale gas exploration, and has stressed the positive effect on job creation and affordable gas supplies in Western Australia. Buru is setting the pace among groups trying to tap the Canning Basin unconventional gas region

CORPORATES
BURU ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BRU, YAWURU NATIVE TITLE HOLDERS ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, KRED ENTERPRISES PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Woodside lifts output target

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 18-Jul-14

Australian-listed Woodside Petroleum produced 23.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in the second quarter of 2014, while sales were 24.8 per cent higher at $US1.67bn. There was an 8.7 per cent increase in output at the Pluto LNG project. Woodside now expects full-year output to be within the range of 89 million to 94 million barrels of oil equivalent

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Tor slaps Seven for ‘rushing’ Nexus sale

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 10-Jul-14

Hong Kong hedge fund Tor Investment Management has raised concerns about the hasty sale of Nexus Energy. It went into voluntary administration in June 2014 after rejecting an offer from Seven Group Holdings. It is thought that the deadline for the sale process is 31 July. Tor is concerned that Seven is using funding deadlines to force the sale of Nexus before other potential buyers can properly conduct due diligence

CORPORATES
NEXUS ENERGY LIMITED – ASX NXS, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, TOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (HONG KONG) LIMITED, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, GRESHAM ADVISORY PARTNERS LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC