ENERGY INDUSTRIES – AUSTRALIA

Woodside offers fix on Sunrise deadlock

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Oct-18

ConocoPhillips advised in late September that it had entered into an agreement to sell its stake in the Greater Sunrise venture to the Timor-Leste government for $US350 million. Woodside Petroleum and the other members of the venture have pre-emption rights over the stake, and Woodside CFO Sherry Duhe says a decision on whether to do so will be made soon. Timor-Leste is insisting that gas from Greater Sunrise is processed onshore, but Woodside CEO Peter Coleman has reaffirmed that an onshore plant would not meet its investment hurdles. He said a way around this dilemma would be for Woodside to only invest in the offshore part of the project. Woodside has reported a 25.4 per cent increase in sales for the September quarter.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, TOKYO GAS COMPANY LIMITED, KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED

Exxon coy on Bass drill test

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 16-Oct-18

ExxonMobil has advised that it is evaluating data from its Baldfish gas well in Bass Strait, but its lack of disclosure regarding the drilling program has prompted speculation about a large gas find. The gas well is located within the Dory prospect, which ExxonMobil acquired in 2017. Australian Industrial Energy has estimated that it could potentially cost at least $4bn and 10 years to develop the Dory field. AIE has advocated the construction of an LNG import terminal.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL ENERGY PTY LTD, LIBERTY PETROLEUM, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Low CSG quality may hit export contracts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 12-Oct-18

Australia Pacific LNG CEO Warwick King has told an energy conference that extracting gas from Queensland’s coal seam gas fields is proving to be more difficult than expected. There has been growing concern among industry analysts that the CSG reserves that have underpinned Queensland’s LNG export projects may not able to be extracted economically. Approval for the Gladstone plants was based on proven and probable reserves, whereas LNG export plants in Western Australia were approved on the basis of proven reserves.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL ENERGY, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, JEMENA LIMITED

Woodside may back Timor gas export plant

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 22 : 3-Oct-18

ConocoPhillips’ deal to sell its 30 per cent stake in the Sunrise gas field to the Timor-Leste government may prompt Woodside Petroleum to resume negotiations over development of the Timor Sea resource. There is speculation that Woodside may be more open to processing gas at a greenfields plant on Timor-Leste in the wake of ConocoPhillips’ move. Woodside has a 33 per cent stake in Sunrise and it is the operator of the project.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOOD MACKENZIE, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Beach Energy shares soar on growth plans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 28-Sep-18

Beach Energy currently produces 26-28 million barrels of oil equivalent each year, but it has outlined plans to increase this to 34-40 million boe by 2022-23. The company will also seek to lift its free cash flow to $2.3bn within five years. The Lattice Energy assets, which Beach bought from Origin Energy for $1.59bn in 2017, will be a major growth driver. Beach took on $US1.58bn worth of debt to finance the acquisition, but CEO Matt Kay expects the company to be almost debt-free by the end of 2019-20.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, NEW ZEALAND OIL AND GAS LIMITED, OMV AG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Santos planning to double gas output by 2025 thanks to Quadrant buy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 27-Sep-18

Oil and gas major Santos has forecast that its annual production could top 100 million barrels of oil equivalent by 2025. The proposed acquisition of Quadrant Energy and its Dorado oil find will be the main driver of growth in output. Santos has also told analysts that production in the Cooper Basin could rise by around 20 per cent by 2025, while MD Kevin Gallagher says the Narrabri coal seam gas project could further boost the company’s output if it receives government approval.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

AGL defies Coalition over Liddell closure

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Sep-18

AGL Energy’s interim CEO Brett Redman has reaffirmed its commitment to exiting coal-fired power generation and its proposed closure of the Liddell power station in 2022. However, Redman has told the company’s AGM that AGL will seek to work with the federal government to reduce electricity prices. Relations between AGL and the government became strained under former CEO Andy Vesey over the closure of Liddell, prompting Energy Minister Angus Taylor to warn of potential intervention if electricity retailers do not take action to reduce prices.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ENVIRONMENT VICTORIA

Tariff war fuels LNG prospects

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 20-Sep-18

Saul ­Kavonic of Credit Suisse says China’s move to impose a tariff on LNG imports from the US will make Australian-sourced gas more price-competitive. China has announced plans to subject US LNG to a tariff of 10 per cent, which will rise to 25 per cent in 2019, in retaliation for the Trump administration’s plans for similar tariff hikes on $US200bn worth of Chinese goods. The growing US-China trade war could also increase the likelihood that proposed LNG projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea will proceed.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, S&P GLOBAL PLATTS, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, IGM LIMITED, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LIMITED – ASX LNG, WOOD MACKENZIE, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Liquid sunshine offers hope for new energy export industry

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Sep-18

Cheung Kong Infrastructure, Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell are among the energy companies operating in Australia that are keen to grab a foothold in the hydrogen supply sector. The global hydrogen market is expected to be worth $US155 billion by 2022, while ACIL Allen has estimated that Australian hydrogen exports could be worth $1.7 billion per annum by 2030. As well as providing an export market for the renewables sector, developing a hydrogen supply industry in Australia would make the switch to lower carbon energy less expensive.

CORPORATES
CHEUNG KONG INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ACIL ALLEN CONSULTING PTY LTD, CSIRO, AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY, KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPANY LIMITED

Sino Gas investors accept Lone Star bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 6-Sep-18

Sino Gas shareholders voted on 5 September to accept US private equity fund Lone Star’s $0.25 per share takeover bid for the company. The bid, which values Sino Gas at $530 million, was first tabled in May. Grant Thornton had deemed Lone Star’s offer "to be fair and reasonable", and it had the unanimous support of Sino Gas’s board. Sino Gas is the only Australian-based gas company with operations in China, having commenced production in the Shanxi province in late 2014.

CORPORATES
SINO GAS AND ENERGY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SEH, LONE STAR FUNDS, GRANT THORNTON AUSTRALIA, TEMASEK HOLDINGS (PTE) LTD, OPHIR ENERGY PLC