PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND TRADE – 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

Beach bulks up with $1.6bn Lattice deal

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 29-Sep-17

Beach Energy’s oil and gas production will be increased by about 150 per cent as a result of its deal to acquire the Lattice Energy assets of Origin Energy. Beach will significantly increase its debt to finance the $A1.585bn acquisition of the conventional oil and gas assets, but MD Matt Kay is confident that the company will be net cash positive by 2021. Origin had been weighing up both an IPO and trade sale of Lattice Energy, and CEO Frank Calabria says an IPO had remained under consideration until the deal with Beach was finalised.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, WOOD MACKENZIE, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW

Fuel industry on notice over underpayment

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 15 : 14-Sep-17

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has signalled that petrol retailers will attract further scrutiny over wage exploitation concerns. James will single out Caltex Australia in a speech on 14 September, noting that unlike 7-Eleven it has not worked with the FWO in establishing a compensation fund for underpaid employees. James adds that the FWO will issue a compliance report on Caltex in coming months, and notes that Fair Work inspectors have found similar issues to those that emerged at 7-Eleven.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD

Santos to cap Gladstone gas exports

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 25-Aug-17

Oil and gas producer Santos has posted a 2017 interim net loss of $US506m ($A642m), following a $US1.1bn loss for the previous corresponding period. However, it has booked an underlying profit of $US156m, compared with a $A5m loss previously. Revenue rose from $US1.21bn to $US1.5bn. MD ‘Kevin Gallagher says Santos is poised to announce additional domestic gas supply contracts, while it intends to limit the Gladstone LNG project’s annual export volumes to six million tonnes until the mid-2020s.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Santos deflated by $880m in impairments

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Aug-17

Santos has advised that its 2017 half-year accounts will include after-tax impairment charges totalling $US690m ($A880m). This includes a $US870m write-down in the value of its 30 per cent stake in the Gladstone LNG project, which was prompted by a downgrade in the group’s oil price assumptions for the next five years. The write-downs will be offset by a $US330m after-tax write-back associated with its Cooper Basin assets. Deutsche Bank expects Santos to post an underlying interim net profit of $US121.6m.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ENGIE SA

BP issues price vow in bid to win Woolies deal

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Aug-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is concerned that BP is not as competitive as Woolworths when it comes to fuel pricing. The ACCC is considering BP’s proposed $A1.8 billion purchase of Woolworth’s petrol stations, which was announced at the end of 2016. If the deal goes ahead, it would make BP the largest fuel retailer and wholesaler in Australia. BP Australia president Andy Holmes says it is keen to work with the ACCC to address any concerns it may have about the transaction.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Origin posts bumper sales of petroleum

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 1-Aug-17

Origin Energy has advised that its petroleum production rose by 40 per cent to 232 petajoules in 2016-17, while revenue from its petroleum operations increased by 105 per cent to $A2.2bn. The result was boosted by sales of $A1.46bn from its 37.5 per cent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project, while sales of conventional oil and gas grew by 26 per cent to $A746.9m. Origin has also reported production of 89.2 petajoules for the June quarter, which is 30 per cent higher than previously.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, LATTICE ENERGY, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, QUESTUS ENERGY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Woodside chief flags $6bn LNG overhaul

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Jul-17

Woodside Petroleum’s production in the June 2017 was 3.3 per cent lower than the March quarter, at 20.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. Sales revenue was 3.1 per cent lower at $US867m. The downturn has been attributed to scheduled maintenance work at the Pluto LNG project and an unplanned outage at the Karratha LNG plant. Meanwhile, Woodside has proposed investing an additional $US5bn ($A6bn) in the Karratha plant to keep it operational for another two decades and use it to process third-party gas.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Woolworths, BP brace for ACCC fuel stations decision

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 11-Jul-17

BP will have a similar number of petrol retailing sites as Caltex if a deal to acquire Woolworths’ petrol business is approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. The deal would also increase BP’s share of the wholesale fuel market to 30 per cent, compared with about 18 per cent at present. Grant Saligari of Credit Suisse says the ACCC may raise some issues regarding the proposed $A1.8bn deal, although they might not be of sufficient concern to completely veto the transaction.

CORPORATES
BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COLES EXPRESS, MILEMAKER PETROLEUM PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Gas explorers respond to PM’s demands

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 : 6-Jun-17

New data shows that Australian gas producers spent $A118.5m on onshore gas exploration during the March 2017 quarter, which is 20 per cent higher than previously. However, expenditure on offshore oil and gas ­exploration fell to $A221.8m, which is the lowest level since late 2005. Spending on mineral exploration rose to its highest level in two years, although the gold sector’s expenditure fell by nearly 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL