SUPPLY AND DEMAND

RBA tips lithium, copper export boom

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Aug-18

Australia accounts for 12 per cent of the world’s copper reserves, along with around 25 per cent of global lithium reserves. The Reserve Bank of Australia predicts that exports of these commodities will increase to meet rising demand for renewable energy generation and electric vehicles. The RBA forecasts that lithium exports will triple over the next five years. However, the outlook for iron ore is not so clear, with demand from Chinese steel makers viewed as being somewhat mixed.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Twiggy, Santos battle over gas developments

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 10-Jul-18

Macquarie has suggested that Santos could find it hard to secure New South Wales government approval for its Narrabri coal-seam gas project if Australian Industrial Energy builds an LNG import terminal. AIE CEO James Baulderstone claims that the facility would be able to supply gas to NSW much faster and at much lower cost. However, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher argues that gas from Narrabri would be much cheaper. The AIE consortium’s members include iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL ENERGY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

Skills shortage hits a third of employers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 5-Jul-18

Some 34 per cent of Australian businesses have reported a shortage of skilled labour in a Manpower Group survey. This compares with 38 per cent in 2016 and 54 per cent in 2011. Richard Fischer of Manpower notes that Australian employers have been actively investing in staff training and upskilling in the wake of the global financial crisis. The survey also shows that companies are looking at options such as flexible working arrangements and greater use of temporary workers and freelancers.

CORPORATES
MANPOWER INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Australia to slip in LNG ranking

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Jun-18

The International Energy Agency’s latest gas market report notes that global demand for natural gas increased by three per cent in 2017. This was primarily due to rising gas consumption in China as part of the nation’s strategy to improve air quality. Meanwhile, the IEA forecasts that the global LNG market will grow by nearly 30 per cent over the next five years. Much of this growth will be due to higher production by the US, which is forecast to supplant Australia as the second-largest LNG exporter by 2023.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Petrol demand still on rise, but peak prediction is 2030

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 13-Jun-18

FACTS Global Energy chairman Fereidun Fesharaki expects growth in global consumption of crude oil to average 0.7 per cent a year until 2040. However, Fesharaki expects global demand for petrol to peak in 2030, while demand in Asia will peak in 2040. Fesharaki also says Woodside Petroleum’s Scarborough LNG project is certain to proceed, although he warns that other projects are doubtful due to LNG buyers’ aversion to long-term supply deals.

CORPORATES
FACTS GLOBAL ENERGY GROUP OF COMPANIES, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CREDIT SUISSE AG

Australia’s iron ore age nears peak

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-May-18

Australia now accounts for about 62 per cent of all iron ore shipments to China, compared with 43 per cent in 2010. He Ming of Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Australia’s iron ore exports to China will peak at 895 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021, before holding steady at around 884 million tonnes beyond 2023. Tony Robson of Global Mining Research expects Chinese steel mills’ demand for Australian iron ore to fall in coming years, as annual steel production peaks. Factors such as increased iron ore production in Brazil are also expected to weigh on Australian producers.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, GLOBAL MINING RESEARCH PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

LNG shortage to hit soon, says Woodside

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 24-May-18

Woodside Petroleum now expects a global shortage of LNG to occur in 2021, with CEO Peter Coleman warning that supply and demand could be in deficit even earlier. Woodside had previously flagged an LNG shortage in 2023, but it has revised this forecast due to factors such as rising demand in Asian countries other than China. Coleman also says contract prices for LNG buyers on Australia’s east coast are likely to rise.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Productivity blamed for low wage growth

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-May-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has rejected claims by ACTU president Sally McManus that low wages growth is the result of a shift in the industrial relations system in favour of employers rather than unions. Research by the AiG suggests that low growth in productivity is a major contributor to flat growth wages. Willox says low wages growth is a global trend, and he notes that there has been strong wages growth in some sectors due to supply and demand considerations.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Gas crisis looms as Bass Strait dries up

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Mar-18

A report from the Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts that Victoria’s gas production will fall to 187 petajoules in 2022, compared with 435 petajoules in 2017. Damien Sanford of AEMO has warned that Victoria faces a gas supply shortfall from 2022 unless new sources of gas are found. The Bass Strait gas fields are rapidly being depleted, and AEMO says Victorians could face the prospect of having to restrict gas consumption on days of peak demand from 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Rio iron ore mines shielded from potential US tariffs

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-18

Rio Tinto has advised that the automation of its haulage trucks will result in the loss of 200 jobs at its Brockman 4 and Marandoo iron ore mines in the Pilbara. The technology will also be rolled out at the West Angelas mine. Chris Salisbury, the CEO of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, says 25 per cent of the company’s fleet has been automated to date. He adds that the steel tariff policy of President Donald Trump is unlikely to affect demand for iron ore from the Pilbara, as a small proportion of the steel output of Rio Tinto’s Asian customers is exported to the US.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT