STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Mega-project days over: Exxon

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 1-Dec-16

ExxonMobil Australia chairman Richard Owen says the energy giant will consider options for undertaking a staged development of the Scarborough gas field. He has told a business lunch in Sydney that ExxonMobil is likely to examine ways to start delivering cash flows from new oil and gas projects at an earlier stage of their development, rather than the so-called "mega-project" approach of recent years. The Gorgon LNG has commenced shipments more than six years after construction commenced.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD

Mega-project days over: Exxon

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 1-Dec-16

ExxonMobil Australia chairman Richard Owen says the energy giant will consider options for undertaking a staged development of the Scarborough gas field. He has told a business lunch in Sydney that ExxonMobil is likely to examine ways to start delivering cash flows from new oil and gas projects at an earlier stage of their development, rather than the so-called "mega-project" approach of recent years. The Gorgon LNG has commenced shipments more than six years after construction commenced.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD

Rio unveils a higher vision after scandals

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 30 : 25-Nov-16

CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques used Rio Tinto’s investor presentation on 24 November 2016 to reveal that the resources giant will launch a revised mission statement in January 2017. He said the "vision and values" statement will reflect the miner’s "higher purpose" rather than focusing on shareholder value. Jacques also stressed the importance of Rio Tinto’s code of conduct, particularly in the wake of the payments scandal concerning the Simandou iron ore project. Jacques also aims to lift annual cash flow by at least $US5bn over the next five years.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Wesfarmers explores $2b coal mine sales

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 17-Nov-16

Australian-listed conglomerate Wesfarmers has advised that it is considering a range of options for its coal assets, including divestment. It has called for expressions of interest from potential buyers of the Curragh mine, as well as its 40 per cent stake in the Bengalla mine. However, Wesfarmers has stressed that a deal may not eventuate. The sale price of Curragh is likely to be boosted after the recent approval of an expansion plan, which will extend its mine life until around 2038.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, PEMBROKE RESOURCES PTY LTD, DENHAM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, JELLINBAH GROUP, MACH ENERGY, SALIM GROUP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, TAIWAN POWER COMPANY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP

Foxtel’s Tonagh looks within for TV content

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 22 : 17-Nov-16

Pay-TV group Foxtel could start producing its programs in-house instead of simply licensing them, according to CEO Peter Tonagh. He says the cost of Foxtel’s content is continuing to rise, adding that the company intends to redirect more of its expenditure to exclusive content. Tonagh has also told the Screen Forever conference that there has been an increase in Foxtel subscriptions over the last 12 months, while Netflix subscriptions have fallen. He added that some consumers have cancelled their Netflix or Stan subscription after signing up to Foxtel.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, HBO

AGL mulls gas import to beat supply crunch

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 15-Nov-16

The high domestic price of gas in Australia’s southeastern states and supply constraints may prompt AGL Energy to source natural gas from regions such as Asia, Europe or the Middle East. AGL will undertake a feasibility study on the proposal to build an LNG import terminal and processing facility, which would capitalise on a global oversupply of LNG. Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith put forward a similar suggestion earlier in 2016.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Westpac returns hit by need to build capital

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 15 : 8-Nov-16

Westpac has posted a 2015-16 cash profit of $A7.8bn. Its return on equity fell by 1.85 per cent to 14 per cent in the year to 30 September 2016, and its ROE target has been scaled back from 15 per cent to 13-14 per cent due to factors such as new capital requirements for the banking sector. PwC estimates that the combined ROE of the four major banks fell by 127 basis points to 13.75 per cent in 2015-16. Meanwhile, Westpac will seek to reduce its cost-to-income ratio from 42 per cent at present to less than 40 per cent

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

BHP will shake up hiring to get to 50 per cent women

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Original article by Joanne Gray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 8-Nov-16

BHP Billiton employs about 28,000 people worldwide, but only about 17.5 per cent of them are women. BHP’s Mike Henry concedes that it will be a challenge to lift the proportion of women in its workforce to 50 per cent by the target date of 2025. However, women now account for some 38 per cent of new hires at BHP, and Henry notes that the group was able to widen the field of applicants for jobs at its remote operations centre in Brisbane by waiving the requirement for 15 years’ experience in the mining sector.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LINKEDIN CORPORATION

Rio Tinto moves jobs to Singapore

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Original article by Tess Ingram, Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 3-Nov-16

Rio Tinto plans to shift more non-operational roles from Australia to Singapore, as part of a strategy to streamline its global organisational structure. The resources giant plans to centralise roles such as market analysis and economics in Singapore, where it currently boasts about 300 employees. Rio Tinto has also relocated a number of marketing roles in Perth to Singapore during 2016.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

ABC plan to ramp up iView output

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 2-Nov-16

The ABC’s 2017 TV program line-up will include a number of new drama shows and documentaries, while it has confirmed new seasons of 16 current shows. The public broadcaster will also produce some 200 hours of original content for its iView video-on-demand service. ABC MD Michelle Guthrie recently stressed the need for the broadcaster to adapt in response to changes in the way viewers consume media.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION