PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Harbour raises bid for Santos to $14.5bn

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-May-18

Shares in Santos closed 1.8 per cent higher on 21 May at $A6.36, in response to an improved takeover bid from Harbour Energy. The US group increased its bid from the initial offer of $US4.98 per share to $US5.21, which equates to $A6.95 based on the current exchange rate. Harbour Energy has advised that its new offer is "best and final", and it is conditional on Santos agreeing to hedge its oil production. Santos has told shareholders to take no action until its board considers the revised offer.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Santos shares slip as Harbour stands firm

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 18-May-18

Analysts differ on the merits of Harbour Energy’s bid for Santos, after the suitor submitted a binding offer for the oil and gas group. Harbour Energy has formally offered $US4.98 per share, which equates to about $A6.63 per share and is the same price as it had initially proposed. James Byrne of Citigroup and Andrew Hodge of Macquarie Equities expect Santos directors to reject the bid, although the Hayberry Global Fund’s Matthew Blumberg says the bid is "probably fair". Santos shares closed 1.9 per cent lower at $A6.20 on 17 May.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, HAYBERRY GLOBAL FUND, ENN ECOLOGICAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, HONY CAPITAL, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

No deal on takeover, says Santos

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-May-18

Santos has downplayed media reports which suggested that Harbour Energy has struck a deal with two Chinese investors in the oil and gas group. Santos has indicated that the incorrect media reports were based on a mistranslation of ENN Holdings’ Shanghai Stock Exchange announcement. ENN and Hony Capital have a combined stake of 15.1 per cent in Santos. Harbour Energy has yet to make a formal offer for Santos, although it has undertaken due diligence.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, ENN ECOLOGICAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, HONY CAPITAL, SHANGHAI STOCK EXCHANGE, WOOD MACKENZIE, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Co-operative Harbour advances Santos bid

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 16-May-18

Harbour Energy has secured an indirect stake in Santos of 15.1 per cent after striking an agreement with the oil and gas group’s Chinese shareholders, ENN and Hony Capital. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher has advised that Harbour Energy has completed due diligence, although it has yet to make a formal offer for the oil and gas group. Santos shares closed at $A6.23 on 15 May, and analysts say Harbour Energy may need to increase its initial offer if it opts to make a formal bid.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, ENN ECOLOGICAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, HONY CAPITAL, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Woodside cool on play for rival Santos

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 19-Apr-18

Woodside Petroleum has advised that its sales rose by 18 per cent to $US1.169bn in the March 2018 quarter. The oil and gas group’s production rose from 21.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in the March 2017 quarter to 22.2 million boe, with the result being boosted by the contribution from its 13 per cent stake in the Wheatstone LNG project. CEO Peter Coleman has downplayed speculation that Woodside could bid for Santos, stressing that the Browse and Scarborough gas fields are its priorities.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CHEVRON CORPORATION, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Cook tries to ease Santos bid tax concerns

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 30 : 6-Apr-18

Harbour Energy CEO Linda Cook has given her assurance that Santos will remain an Australian company if Harbour Energy’s $A13.5 billion bid for the oil and gas company succeeds. Responding to concerns that Harbour Energy is registered in the Cayman Islands and that corporate tax from Santos might be reduced if Harbour Energy assumes control of it, Cook stressed that the company Harbour Energy has established to acquire Santos is Australian, and therefore subject to the same amount of tax that Santos pays at the moment.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, ENN GROUP, HONY CAPITAL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CHRYSAOR, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Santos suitor could offload key gas assets

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Apr-18

Mark Samter of Credit Suisse has identified the Cooper Basin infrastructure at the Moomba gas plant as one of the Santos assets that Harbour Energy could potentially agree to divest in order to secure approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Samter says Santos’s assets in Western Australia could also be earmarked for sale if the $A13.5bn takeover bid succeeds. Approval from the FIRB is widely seen as a key risk for Harbour’s bid.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, HONY CAPITAL, ENN GROUP

Santos heats up with $13.5bn bid

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 4-Apr-18

Analysts say that gaining Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its $A13.5bn bid for Santos will be the greatest hurdle for US-based Harbour Energy. Santos has granted due diligence after the private equity-backed firm offered $A6.50 per share, compared with an initial approach in August which was pitched at $A4.55 per share. Harbour Energy has flagged plans to expand Santos’s drilling program in the Cooper Basin and increase domestic gas supply if its bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, EIG GLOBAL ENERGY PARTNERS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ENN GROUP, HONY CAPITAL, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Woodside rejigs pay to drive discipline

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 20-Mar-18

Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman was paid a total of $A10.3m in 2017, including almost $A4m in incentives. Some two-thirds of Coleman’s short-term incentives were paid in cash, but his future cash bonuses will be restricted to 12.5 per cent under Woodside’s revised executive incentive structure. Other key executives will also be restricted to cash bonuses of 12.5 per cent. The changes follow a review of Woodside’s incentive plan in 2017.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Mitsui offer for AWE deemed fair

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 22-Feb-18

AWE Limited has posted a 2017-18 interim net loss of $A23.8m, although its underlying loss narrowed from $A11.5m previously to just $A5.3m. Meanwhile, an independent expert’s report by Grant Thornton has concluded that the $A602m takeover offer from Japan-based Mitsui is "fair and reasonable". The firm values AWE’s shares at between $A0.78 and $A1.06, compared with Mitsui’s offer of $A0.95 per share. RBC Capital Markets says Mineral Resources and China Energy Reserve & Chemical Group are unlikely to make new offers for AWE.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, GRANT THORNTON AUSTRALIA, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT