LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Santos clears last hurdle for $5.8b Barossa gas field

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Apr-25

A spokeswoman for oil and gas group Santos has advised that first production at its Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea remains on track for the September 2025 quarter. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety & Environmental Management Authority has granted the last major regulatory approval for the $5.8bn gas project, which has faced numerous delays due to environmental ‘lawfare’. Santos had advised in February that the Barossa project was 91 per cent complete.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

Santos seeks LNG supplies as contract expiry nears

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Mar-25

Santos will seek short-term gas supply contracts for its Gladstone LNG project in Queensland, as its 10-year supply deal with the Australia Pacific LNG venture is set to end in May. Another gas supply deal with AGL Energy is slated to end in 2027. However, a gas industry source has warned that the domestic market is not big enough to replace the hundreds of petajoules that Santos has acquired from APLNG and AGL under the existing supply deals. They note that Santos may have to pay more for gas, given that the market has changed substantially since the existing supply contracts were signed.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Australia falling behind as global LNG producer

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 15-Oct-24

ConocoPhillips Australia’s president Jan-Arne Johansen has warned that the nation’s status as one of the world’s biggest exports of LNG is under threat. He notes that both the US and Qatar are ramping up their LNG exports, while Australia’s investment in the sector is falling behind. Johansen adds that the nation’s fiscal, regulatory and project approval regimes must be internationally competitive if it is to attract the investment capital that is needed for the LNG sector. He notes that Australia has sufficient gas resources to supply the domestic and export markets.

CORPORATES
CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Watchdog threatens critical Browse

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 18 : 7-Aug-24

Woodside Energy’s CEO Meg O’Neill has emphasised the importance of the company’s Browse LNG project. She contends that Browse is the only gas field of sufficient size to meet the forecast demand for energy over the near-term. The Browse project’s future is under scrutiny following a preliminary ruling from Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority that it presents a "unacceptable risk" to marine ecology. The EPA is expected to make a final recommendation on the project in 2025, although it can be overruled by the federal government. O’Neill has also defended Woodside’s deal to acquire a low-carbon ammonia project in the US.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

EPA blocks Woodside gas project

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Original article by Ben Potter, Tom Rabe, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 6-Aug-24

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has advised that it expects to release its final determination on Woodside Energy’s Browse LNG project in 2025. However, the EPA has concluded in its preliminary decision that the project’s environmental risks are "unacceptable". It is particularly concerned about the project’s impact on pygmy blue whales and green turtle nesting sites, as well as the risk of oil spills near Scott Reef, which is off the coast of Broome. WA Premier Roger Cook says his government wants Browse to proceed, arguing that it will boost the state’s gas supply and help Asian countries to decarbonise.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Australia’s LNG shipments slump for the first time in years

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Original article by Nick Toscano
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 8-Mar-24

Figures from energy consultancy EnergyQuest show that Australian liquefied gas exports declined to 80.7 million tonnes in 2023, following a record-breaking year in 2022 when 81.2 million tonnes was shipped. It represents the first year-on-year decline since 2015, and with existing oil and gas fields drying up and limited investment in new fields, it is likely that Australia’s LNG production has peaked. Although Australia still earns tens of billions a year from LNG exports, its role as a key source of greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say need to be reduced in order to combat the worst impacts of global warming has seen the LNG industry become a major cause of environmental concern.

CORPORATES
ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD

Santos gets green light on $5bn project

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 16-Jan-24

The Federal Court’s Justice Natalie Charlesworth has ruled that Santos will not need to revise its environmental plan for the $5.3bn Barossa LNG project in the Timor Sea. Justice Charlesworth ordered Santos to temporarily stop work on a 262km pipeline in late 2023, pending a final ruling on Tiwi Islanders’ legal challenge to the Barossa project; Justice Charlesworth on Monday said she was not convinced that the pipeline would cause irreparable harm to the cultural heritag of the traditional owners. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher says the company will shortly resume its drilling program, adding that the court ruling will have broad economic benefits.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Top proxy group backs Origin bid

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 8-Nov-23

Proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services has endorsed the takeover bid for Origin Energy, recommending that shareholders should vote in favour of the deal on 23 November. The revised offer of $9.53 per share from Brookfield Asset Management and EIG values the deal at nearly $20bn. The offer price represents a 70 per cent premium to Origin’s share price when the consortium made its initial bid in late 2022. However, AustralianSuper maintains that the offer still undervalues Origin. The industry superannuation fund has a stake of more than 15 per cent in Origin, and could sway the vote given that the deal must be approved by 75 per cent of shareholders.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

AusSuper puts Origin deal on edge

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 22 : 1-Nov-23

The $18.7 billion takeover bid for Origin Energy will require the support of 75 per cent of shareholders when they vote on the deal later in November. However, the acquisition of Origin by Brookfield Asset Management and EIG Partners appears to be increasingly uncertain, following AustralianSuper’s decision to reject the deal. The industry superannuation giant has a 13.7 per cent stake in Origin, contending that the offer of about $8.81 per share is substantially below its estimate of Origin’s long-term value. Several other institutional investors believe that the offer price is too low.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

Woodside faces climate protest vote

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Original article by Giuseppe Tauriello
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 15-Mar-23

Woodside Energy’s climate strategy will come under scrutiny again at its AGM on 28 April. Some 49 per cent of shareholders had voted against the oil and gas group’s climate report at its 2022 AGM. Climate activists contend that Woodside’s latest climate plan fails to address concerns that were raised in 2022. Meanwhile, Vision Super and Betashares have joined with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility in calling for shareholders to vote against the re-election of Ian Macfarlane, Swee Chen Goh and Larry Archibald to Woodside’s board. They contend that the three directors should be held to account for the board’s repeated failure to present a credible climate strategy.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, VISION SUPER PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY