PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND TRADE – AUSTRALIA

More gas needed to meet demand: Beach

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 20-Feb-18

Beach Energy has posted a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A95.7m, which is seven per cent lower than previously. Beach has advised that the expected annual cost savings from its acquisition of Lattice Energy will be around $A50m, compared with its previous guidance of $A20m. Meanwhile, Beach executive Lee Marshall has warned that the east coast will face a gas supply shortage by the mid-2020s unless new gas reserves are found and ones that are considered to be uncommercial at present are developed.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Mitsui set to snare AWE as MinRes yields

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Feb-18

Japan-listed Mitsui is poised to acquire Australian-listed oil and gas producer AWE Limited after Mineral Resources chose not to match Mitsui’s cash bid of $A602m. Shares in AWE closed at $A0.985 on 2 February, compared with Mitsui’s offer of $A0.95 per share. AWE’s key asset is its 50 per cent stake in the Waitsia gas field in Western Australia. Beach Energy also owns 50 per cent of Waitsia, although it is not expected to launch a bid for AWE.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL

Beach watchful amid AWE takeover war

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

The board of AWE Limited has given Mineral Resources three days to match the $A602m cash offer from rival suitor Mitsui. Meanwhile, Beach Energy CEO Matt Kay has declined to comment on whether his company could join in the bidding war for AWE. The two companies jointly own the Waitsia onshore gas field in Western Australia, and Kay says Beach has no preference regarding its future partner in the project. However, he adds that Beach is monitoring the takeover battle to ensure that the interests of its shareholders are protected.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, NETWORK INVESTMENT HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

AWE expected to hand MinRes rejection notice

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 31-Jan-18

AWE Limited’s board is tipped to declare its support for Mitsui’s cash offer of $A0.95 per share on 31 January. Rival suitor Mineral Resources will then have three days to lift its cash and scrip bid of $A0.83 per share. AWE shares closed at $A0.975 on 30 January, after rising to $A0.99 on the previous day. The third bidder for AWE, China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group, is not expected to increase its offer.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, CANACCORD GENUITY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Santos’ full-year sales up 20pc

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 25-Jan-18

Oil and gas group Santos has advised that its sales rose 14 per cent in the December 2017 quarter, to $US861bn ($A1.07bn), while sales for the calendar year were up 20 per cent to $US3.1bn. Total production for the year was 3.4 per cent lower than previously at 59.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, although it was at the higher end of the company’s guidance. Santos still expects its output for 2018 to be within the range of 55 million to 60 million boe.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED

Oil Search reassures on Alaskan project funding

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Dec-17

Oil Search CEO Peter Botten says a recent $US400m deal to acquire stakes in several oil fields in Alaska was necessary due to the expected long delay in commencing each phase of its LNG project in Papua New Guinea. He has stressed that the investment in Alaska will have no impact on its commitment to the PNG LNG project. He has also indicated that Oil Search will not need to undertake an equity raising to finance either project.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, REPSOL SA

Browse back on Shell’s agenda

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 18 : 20-Nov-17

Shell Australia chairman Zoe Yujnovich says the company remains committed to the development of the Browse gas fields off Western Australia. There had been speculation that Shell’s sale of its remaining 13.5 per cent stake in Woodside Petroleum may see its interest in having the Browse fields developed decrease. The Browse fields were discovered over 40 years ago, with the latest plan to develop them involving linking them to the North West Shelf LNG plant by an undersea pipeline. The cost of the plan is put at $US25 billion ($A33 billion)

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION, BG GROUP PLC

Shell in $2.2bn energy selldown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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 distrust ‘discount’ declines as confidence returns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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