PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Beach ponders acquisition within next six months

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 29-Jul-16

Beach Energy has reported that the lower crude oil price resulted in its 2015-16 sales falling by 23.3 per cent, to $A558 million. Full-year production totalled 9.66 barrels of oil equivalent. The group posted sales revenue of $A16.6m for the June quarter, and production for the period rose by 13 per cent to 2.7 million. Beach has also advised that it expects capital expenditure to be within the range of $A180m to $A200m in 2016-17, while it aims to finalise an acquisition in the next six months.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

BHP has high hopes for Trinidad oil prospects

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 29-Jun-16

BHP Billiton is optimistic that an oil well drilling program in Trinidad will yield positive results. The resources group is drilling three well in the region, with plans for another five wells later on. The Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Beagle Sub-basin off the coast of Western Australia are the focus of BHP’s oil exploration activities for the next several years. The petroleum division will account for the bulk of BHP’s exploration budget for 2016.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Exxon refines a growth story at Altona

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-May-16

Global energy group ExxonMobil will invest $A370m in its oil refinery in the Melbourne suburb of Altona over five years. This includes $A20m that will be spent on upgrading the plant’s daily production from 80,000 barrels to 90,000. The Altona refinery accounts for about 50 per cent of Victoria’s fuel supply, and ExxonMobil’s Andrew Warrell notes that the downturn of the Australian dollar in recent years has made the facility more competitive.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Investors puzzled as AWE rejects Lone Star bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 & 31 : 12-May-16

Shares in oil and gas producer AWE Limited closed 16 per cent higher at $A0.715 on 11 May 2016, after directors spurned an unsolicited takeover approach from a US private equity firm. Lone Star has offered $A0.80 per share, valuing the bid at $A420m, but AWE has described it as "opportunistic". The board was also concerned about some of the conditions attached to the bid, including a requirement for exclusivity. AWE’s shares have traded at an average of $A0.50 for much of 2016.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, LONE STAR FUNDS, LONE STAR JAPAN ACQUISITIONS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PEMBROKE RESOURCES PTY LTD, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, PENGANA GLOBAL RESOURCES FUND, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, CUE ENERGY RESOURCES NL – ASX CUE, ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, PERENNIAL INVESTMENT PARTNERS LIMITED, ANTARES ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AZZ

Santos puts cost cutting before more asset sales

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 32 : 5-May-16

Shares in Santos closed 8.7 per cent lower at $A4.20 on 4 May 2016, after the oil and gas producer’s annual meeting. Santos has shed 825 employees over the last 18 months, and CEO Kevin Gallagher has confirmed that more redundancies are on the agenda as part of the group’s cost-cutting strategy. He has also indicated that Santos may eventually divest some assets, but stressed that reducing costs and stabilising the company is the immediate priority.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HONY CAPITAL, ENN HOLDINGS, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, TOTAL SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Demerger option looms for Origin

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 & 22 : 2-May-16

The commencement of production at the Australia Pacific LNG project means Origin Energy’s oil and gas business accounts for the biggest proportion of its operations. This will strengthen the case for those who advocate that Origin should spin off its electricity and gas retailing arm, which boasts 4.3 million customers. However, Origin has some $A9bn worth of debt, which would make a demerger difficult to pursue at present, particularly given the continued weakness of the crude oil price.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BG GROUP PLC, CONOCOPHILLIPS, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HONY CAPITAL, ENN HOLDINGS, SINOPEC CORPORATION, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Falling oil price puts squeeze on Woodside

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Apr-16

Woodside Petroleum has reported sales revenue of $US982m ($A1.26bn) for the March 2016 quarter, which is 30 per cent lower than the same period in 2015. The group has been hit by the downturn in the crude oil price, while production was 4.8 per cent lower than the December 2015 quarter at 23.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. Production was affected by scheduled maintenance at the North West Shelf project and the end of production at the group’s Balnaves oilfield.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

New Santos chief executive wields axe as senior execs go

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 22-Mar-16

Santos has appointed Vince Santostefano to the post of COO, while Angus Jaffray will become executive vice president for strategy and corporate services. Meanwhile, James Baulderstone will step down as vice president of corporate development. Santos’s vice president for Queensland, Trevor Brown, will also leave the group. Both had been seen as potential successors to ex-CEO David Knox. New CEO vice president Queensland has commenced a restructuring program.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AZURE CONSULTING, THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP PTY LTD, CROWN CORK AND SEAL COMPANY

Caltex retains M&A firepower with modest buyback

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 24-Feb-16

Caltex Australia has posted a net profit of $A522m for calendar 2015, compared with $A20m in 2014. Underlying earnings on a replacement cost operating profit basis increased from $A795m to $A977m. However, the downturn in the crude oil price impacted on revenue, which fell from $A23.9bn previously to $A20bn. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.70 per share and a full-year payout of $A1.17, while Caltex will repurchase $A270m worth of its shares.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, CAR NEXT DOOR PTY LTD

Oil rout hinders Browse outlook

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 18-Feb-16

Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum has slashed its full-year dividend payout after posting a 2015 net profit of $US26m, compared with $US2.41bn previously. The group’s underlying profit of $US1.126bn exceeded market forecasts, although it was 53 per cent lower than in 2014. Woodside’s full-year result was marred by factors such as a $US865m write-down and the downturn in the crude oil price. Shareholders will receive a full-year dividend of $US1.09 per share.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BP PLC, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY