ENERGY INDUSTRIES – AUSTRALIA

Santos sells last Victorian asset

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 32 : 25-Oct-16

Australian-listed Cooper Energy will assume full ownership of the Sole gas project in the Gippsland Basin after securing a deal to acquire Santos’s 50 per cent stake for $A82m. Cooper Energy will undertake a $A63m capital raising to help finance the deal, and it will then seek a joint venture partner for the project. Santos has now offloaded all of its assets in Victoria. Its shares closed $A0.11 lower at $A3.73 on 24 October 2016.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, COOPER ENERGY LIMITED – ASX COE

Perth fundies see more upside in resources

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 24-Oct-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index has gained 45.3 per cent so far in 2016, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has risen by just 6.2 per cent. The rebound in the share prices of resources and energy stocks has rewarded investors who capitalised on a sell-off in the sector earlier in the year. WestOZ Funds Management has been progressively lifting its funds’ weightings toward the sector over recent months, while scaling back their exposure to cash.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 METALS AND MINING INDEX, WESTOZ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WESTOZ INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX WIC, PACKER AND COMPANY INVESTIGATOR TRUST, NORILSK NICKEL, CAMECO CORPORATION, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, SANDFIRE RESOURCES NL – ASX SFR

Record LNG output limits Woodside pain

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 21-Oct-16

Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum has reported that it produced 25.2 million barrels of oil equivalent during the September 2016 quarter, which is 13.5 per cent higher than the June quarter. Sales revenue rose by 19.8 per cent to $US988m ($A1.29bn), although this was nine per cent lower year-on-year. Woodside has lifted its full-year production guidance for 2016 to between 92 million and 95 million boe.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Origin Energy in recovery mode after $25b APLNG venture

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-16

Just 3.02 per cent of votes cast at Origin Energy’s 2016 AGM rejected the group’s remuneration report, although an equities grant to outgoing CEO Grant King attracted a "no" vote of 16.21 per cent. King told shareholders that the company’s investment in the Australia Pacific LNG project had taxed its resources, and a stake of 30 per cent rather than 37.5 per cent may have been appropriate. However, King is upbeat about Origin’s outlook. He will be succeeded by Origin veteran Frank Calabria.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Oil bonanza hopes sink as BP abandons $1.4bn search

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Oct-16

Greenpeace and the Australian Greens have welcomed BP’s decision to terminate its oil exploration program in the Great Australian Bight. However, BHP has attributed the decision to factors such as the downturn in the crude oil price rather than pressure from environmentalists. Matthew Doman of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association says development of the Great Australian Bight’s oil fields would boost investment and employment in South Australia.

CORPORATES
BP PLC, GREENPEACE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Origin nearing start-up on second production LNG line

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Oct-16

A spokeswoman for the Origin Energy-led Australia Pacific LNG has indicated that the start-up phase for the project’s second production train has commenced. The second train is the last of the six that have been commissioned at the three rival LNG projects in Queensland. Energy Edge MD Josh Stabler says a sharp rise in gas consumption at the APLNG project in early October suggests that the second train is poised to commence production.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ENERGY EDGE PTY LTD, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SINOPEC CORPORATION, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD

Woodside would welcome Scarborough’s fare

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 14-Sep-16

Woodside Petroleum recently secured a deal to acquire 50 per cent of BHP Billiton’s stake in the Scarborough gas fields off the coast of Western Australia. There has been speculation that gas from Scarborough could potentially be processed at Woodside’s LNG plants, rather than using floating LNG technology. Woodside COO Michael Utsler says it is up to project operator ExxonMobil to broach the subject of options for processing Scarborough gas.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Origin Energy demerger chat emerges again

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 19-Aug-16

Australian-listed Origin Energy has posted a 2015-16 net loss of $A589m, compared with a loss of $A658m previously. The result was marred by after-tax impairment charges of $A515m, and the diversified energy group’s underlying profit was 41 per cent lower at $A354m. Meanwhile, Origin reduced its net debt by $A4bn to $A9.1bn due to a capital raising in 2015 and asset sales. CEO Grant King says a demerger of its LNG and energy retailing businesses remains a possibility.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION

Santos faces first loss in 20 years

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 24 : 17-Aug-16

Oil and gas producer Santos is poised to post a 2016 interim loss of nearly $US1bn, although opinion is divided regarding its underlying result. Macquarie Group anticipates an underlying profit of $US40m, but Citigroup and UBS have forecast a loss of $US80m and $US20m respectively. Santos’s total impairment charges over the last three years now exceed $US8bn, including the recent $US1.5bn pre-tax write-down of its stake in the Gladstone LNG project.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Santos clears the decks with $2bn write-off

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 16-Aug-16

Oil and gas producer Santos is tipped to post a 2015-16 loss of at least $US1bn, after revealing an additional $US1.5bn ($A1.96bn) write-down of the Gladstone LNG project. Santos had previously announced asset write-downs totalling $US3.9bn across its business in February. The Gladstone project will be able to produce about 7.8 million tonnes of LNG each year when it reaches full capacity, but Santos has advised that output will be capped at the 7.2 million tonnes that LNG customers have agreed to purchase.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION