LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Gas price plunge after exporters toe PM’s line

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 13-Dec-17

A new report shows that wholesale gas prices on the east coast have fallen by up to 50 per cent since the Federal Government flagged plans to impose LNG export controls in order to boost domestic gas supplies. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will release the second report on its investigation into the east coast gas market on 13 December. The report notes that rather than a forecast gas shortage of up to 107 petajoules in 2018, there is the potential for a surplus of around 20 petajoules as LNG producers redirect export volumes to the domestic market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Shell in $2.2bn energy selldown

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Original article by Bridget Carter, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 : 14-Nov-17

Royal Dutch Shell is no longer a substantial shareholder in Woodside Petroleum, after selling a $A2.23bn parcel of shares in the oil and gas group. The transaction has reduced Shell’s stake from around 13 per cent to 4.8 per cent, and was part of its strategy of divesting $A30bn worth of assets over three years. Shell’s stake in Woodside has been progressively reduced from about 34 per cent since 2010, and the latest sell-down has capitalised on a rally in the crude price in recent months. Woodside shares closed $A0.33 lower at $A32.24 on 13 November.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BG GROUP PLC

Santos places Narrabri gas back in frame

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 10-Nov-17

Santos has advised that the Narrabri coal-seam gas project is among three growth options for the listed oil and gas producer. The $A3.6bn project had been declared a non-core asset in 2016, but Santos has advised that it is now one of six core assets. MD Kevin Gallagher says the Narrabri project has become viable given concerns about domestic gas supply and prices, although he adds that it may take until late 2018 or early 2019 to secure environmental approval from the New South Wales government. Santos is also considering an expansion of the Papua New Guinea LNG plant and development of the Caldita-Barossa field in the Timor Sea.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, CONOCOPHILLIPS, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH

Santos distrust ‘discount’ declines as confidence returns

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 24-Oct-17

Keith Spence will join the board of oil and gas company Santos on 1 January 2018, and he will replace Peter Coates as chairman in the following month. Spence was chairman of Clough from 2008 to 2013, when he worked with current Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher, who was MD of the engineering firm from 2011 to 2016. Spence will step down from the board of Oil Search to take up his new role. Fund managers have welcomed his appointment, seeing it as hopefully marking the end of a period when Santos was regarded as having bad managment and a poor culture.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CLOUGH LIMITED, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ENN GROUP, HONY CAPITAL

Oil’s not well: $4.5bn loss for sector

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 23-Oct-17

Australia’s oil and gas sector produced a record 488 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2015-16, according to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. However, APPEA also reported that the sector recorded a combined net loss of $A4.5 billion, the worst result since its annual surveys began in 1987-88. Taxes and royalties paid by the oil and gas sector fell from $A5.24 billion to $A4.25 billion, while total revenue fell from $A29.99 billion to $A23.73 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Oil Search production levels hit a new record

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 18-Oct-17

Australian-listed Oil Search has reported production of 7.91 million barrels of oil equivalent for the September quarter, which is nine per cent higher than previously. The company has advised that the record quarterly production means full-year output should be at the higher end of its forecast of between 29 mboe and 30.5 mboe. Oil Search benefited from a strong contribution from the Papua New Guinea LNG project, for which expansion plans are being developed.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Gas finally starts to flow at Chevron’s $44bn Wheatstone project in WA

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Oct-17

Shipments from the Wheatstone LNG project will begin in coming weeks after production commenced. The project was marred by delays and cost over-runs, with its cost blowing out from $US29bn to $US34bn. The project’s two production trains will produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG a year at full capacity. Wheatstone, in which Chevron has a 64.1 per cent stake, is one of $A200bn worth of LNG projects that have been developed in Australia in recent years.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, KUWAIT FOREIGN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION COMPANY, APACHE CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Gas controls raise world LNG prices

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-17

The Federal Government has signed a heads of agreement with Origin Energy, Santo and Shell that will avoid the need for it to impose LNG export controls. The LNG producers have committed to supplying sufficient gas to the domestic market to meet expected shortfalls in 2018 and 2019. The agreement also makes provision for any gas that is surplus to their contractual requirements to be offered to the domestic market first. Meanwhile, speculation that Australia’s LNG exports will be curbed has prompted a sharp rise in spot prices in North Asia in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, WOOD MACKENZIE, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Gas exports ‘starve local firms, jobs’

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Sep-17

The Federal Government will shortly decide whether to impose LNG export controls in response to concerns about a gas shortage in the domestic market. However, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has warned that few alternative options are available, and said local factories may close and shed staff if the Government fails to limit gas export volumes. Sims has also argued that energy sustainability, reliability and affordability are separate issues and each requires a different solution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

India-Exxon deal to cut gas price bodes ill

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Sep-17

The global oversupply of LNG has prompted India-based Petronet to renegotiate its 20-year Gorgon LNG supply contract with ExxonMobil. Petronet is believed to have secured a deal to reduce the price it pays by $US1.10 to $US1.30 per unit. Industry analysts say other Gorgon buyers may also seek to renegotiate their supply contracts, as part of a global trend for LNG buyers to do so. Saul Kavonic of Wood Mackenzie analyst says the biggest risk for Australian LNG producers will be if major Asian buyers such as Japan and China seek to renegotiate supply contracts.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, PETRONET INDIA LIMITED, GORGON JOINT VENTURE, WOOD MACKENZIE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS