ENERGY INDUSTRIES – AUSTRALIA

AGL mulls gas import to beat supply crunch

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 15-Nov-16

The high domestic price of gas in Australia’s southeastern states and supply constraints may prompt AGL Energy to source natural gas from regions such as Asia, Europe or the Middle East. AGL will undertake a feasibility study on the proposal to build an LNG import terminal and processing facility, which would capitalise on a global oversupply of LNG. Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith put forward a similar suggestion earlier in 2016.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Forrest branches into oil and gas

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 2-Nov-16

Goshawk Energy and a company owned by Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest have applied for oil and gas exploration permits covering about 220,000 square kilometres in Western Australia’s onshore Canning Basin. Forrest has applied for the permits via Squadron Energy, which is a subsidiary of Minderoo. A spokeswoman for Minderoo says the company is not currently considering the use of fracking in the Canning Basin, but environmental groups have urged Forrest to rule out using the technology.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SQUADRON ENERGY, MINDEROO PTY LTD, GOSHAWK ENERGY PTY LTD, BURU ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BRU, ENVIRONS KIMBERLEY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONOCOPHILLIPS, APACHE CORPORATION, HESS CORPORATION, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, LAKES OIL NL – ASX LKO, EMPIRE OIL AND GAS NL – ASX EGO

Woodside plays down $US5 billion Wheatstone cost blowout

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Nov-16

Woodside Petroleum has advised that a 17 per cent increase in the cost of the Wheatstone LNG project will have limited effect on the capital expenditure guidance it issued in early 2016. The oil and gas producer has a 13 per cent stake in the Chevron-led project, whose total cost has risen by $US5bn ($A6.6bn) to $US34bn. Saul Kavonic of Wood Mackenzie says he had already anticipated a cost over-run of at least 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOOD MACKENZIE, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

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