PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND TRADE – AUSTRALIA

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

No need for a windfall tax: Woodside boss

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 28-Feb-23

Woodside Energy has posted a net profit of $US6.5bn ($9.7bn) for the 2022 calendar year, and an underlying profit after tax of $US5.2bn. It is Woodside’s first financial result since its merger with BHP’s petroleum division in June, and CEO Meg O’Neill says it has already achieved the forecast $US400m in operating synergies. Woodside paid $989m in corporate taxes in 2022, up from $333m in the previous year; it also had a petroleum resource rent tax bill of $720m, compared with zero in 2021. O’Neill says a super profits tax on resources groups is not necessary, arguing that the existing tax system is working.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Santos pumps up the sales volume with record year

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 : 20-Jan-23

Oil and gas producer Santos has advised that its total output for calendar 2022 was 103.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. This was at the lower end of its full-year guidance, but 12 per cent higher than the previous year. Production fell by two per cent quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2022 after a gas leak forced the temporary closure of the John Brookes platform in November; it is not expected to resume production before the end of January, which has prompted Santos to slightly downgrade its production guidance for 2023. Meanwhile, Santos’s revenue rose by 65 per cent to a record $US7.8bn ($11.2bn) in 2022.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Big Oil Search investors baulk at $21b merger

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 1-Dec-21

Oil Search shareholders will vote on the proposed $21bn merger with Santos on 7 December, and proxy votes are likely to determine whether the deal proceeds. The four major proxy advisers have backed the deal, albeit with some qualifications regarding valuation. Several large institutional shareholders in Oil Search have indicated that they will vote against the deal. However, investors with shares in both Oil Search and Santos are said to be largely supportive of the merger.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Oil Search gets proxy nod for merger

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Nov-21

Some 75 per cent of Oil Search’s investors will need to approve the proposed merger with Santos for the $21bn deal to proceed. Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that shareholders endorse the all-scrip offer, citing factors such as the 16.8 per cent premium over Oil Search’s share price, the pre-tax synergies and the absence of a superior offer. Wilson Asset Management also supports the merger, although Allan Gray Australia opposes it. Oil Search shareholders will vote on the deal on 7 December.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Woodside seals oil, gas mega-deals

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 19 : 23-Nov-21

Woodside Petroleum will become one of the world’s 10 biggest oil and gas producers after it finalised a deal to merge with BHP’s petroleum division. The announcement of a binding merger deal has coincided with the long-awaited final investment decision on the $16.5bn Scarborough LNG project. Woodside will control 52 per cent of the enlarged company, in line with the original terms of the merger deal that were released in August. The merger will expand the scope of Woodside’s operations to include Australia, the US, Africa and the Caribbean.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP sale could hurt its credit rating

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Aug-21

S&P Global Ratings says BHP’s proposed deal to merge its petroleum division with Woodside Petroleum will further increase its reliance on iron ore and make its earnings less diversified than rivals such as Rio Tinto and Glencore. BHP currently has a credit rating of ‘A’ from S&P, which has put it on CreditWatch negative; S&P has also flagged the possibility that the Woodside deal could prompt it to downgrade BHP’s credit rating by two notches, to ‘BBB+’.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Lockdowns need an exit plan: Ampol

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 24-Aug-21

Fuel retailer Ampol has reported a 2021 interim net profit on a replacement cost basis of $205 million, up 71 per cent. Earnings for its fuels and infrastructure unit rose 85 per cent to $208 million, while Ampol declared an interim dividend of $0.52 per share. Ampol has also unveiled a $1.9 billion bid for New Zealand fuels retailer Z Energy, while CEO Matt Halliday has called for the states to start opening up once the 70 per cent vaccination target is met.

CORPORATES
AMPOL LIMITED – ALD

Woodside investors cautious on deal

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 16 : 19-Aug-21

Allan Gray Australia MD Simon Mawhinney says there are a lot of "unknowns" with regard to Woodside Petroleum’s proposed deal to merge with the petroleum division of BHP. He says the biggest question is just what Woodside investors will gain in return for giving BHP shareholders a 48 per cent stake in the oil and gas producer. Meanwhile, Woodside has posted an underlying net profit after tax of $US354m for the first half of 2021, and revenue of $US2.5bn.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

PNG hits Santos with log of claims over Oil Search merger

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 6-Aug-21

The proposed merger between Santos and Oil Search would have to be in Papua New Guinea’s national interest, says Prime Minister James Marape. He has outlined a number of conditions that may have to be met for his government to approve the deal. They include a commitment to retaining corporate offices in PNG and to continue to employ and train PNG nationals. Saul Kavonic of Credit Suisse says the PNG government may seek to leverage its veto power to secure a better merger deal.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED