Australia sues Exxon for falsely representing its local petrol brand
The Australian Competition Watchdog announced on Tuesday that it had taken Exxon Mobil’s local brand affiliate, which sells fuel at six of their branded petrol stations throughout Queensland, to court. Exxon Mobil, an American oil and gas company, owns and operates the Mobil brand. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges that Mobil misrepresented that "Mobil Synergy", its "Mobil Synergy", contained certain additives when it didn't. ACCC said that the firm also incorrectly claimed the fuel sold in these petrol stations was of a higher quality or composition than fuel sold at other locations…
After Nevada lithium deal GM looks for other sources of minerals to supply EVs
General Motors plans to increase its North American investment in lithium and other minerals that are used in the production of electric vehicles, after increasing its investment to almost $1 billion in a Nevada mining operation earlier this week. The U.S. carmaker announced on Wednesday that it will form a joint-venture with Lithium Americas in order to develop the largest lithium mine in North America, the Thacker pass lithium mine. The investment by GM in the project has been increased to $950 millions from its initial investment of $325 million announced last year.
Ampol, Australia's top stock loser, reaches record highs on the benchmark
The Australian share market reached a new record on Tuesday. This was due to the broad gains made by heavyweight miners as iron ore prices rose. However, Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, suffered the biggest losses after a lower production figure. S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6% by 2329 GMT to 8,305.5 after reaching a record-high of 8,307.2. The benchmark index rose 0.5% Monday. Ampol, which is the biggest loser in the benchmark index, has fallen as much as 5 percent to its lowest level in mid-January 2023. This was after it recorded a 42 percent drop in its third-quarter production from its Lytton refining plant in Queensland.
Rio Tinto launches farming trial in Australia to explore renewable diesel production
Rio Tinto, the mining giant, announced on Wednesday that it would develop seed farms to investigate the potential of Pongamia oil as a source for renewable diesel. The miner and Midway, a local manager of a woodfiber processor, have partnered to manage the farming operations. Pongamia, a native Australian tree, can have its seeds processed into renewable diesel. This alternative emits much less carbon than fossil fuel. Rio Tinto has cleared about 3,000 acres of land in Queensland to test the feasibility of a pilot project that will determine whether Pongamia seed oils can be used as a renewable fuel source for the company.
Santos Australia misses out on profit due to production costs and lower prices
Santos, an Australian oil and natural gas exploration company, posted a larger-than-expected drop in its first-half profits on Wednesday. This was due to lower realized prices and higher production cost amid a weak demand from China, the top consumer. The shares of Santos fell as a result. Price fluctuations are unpredictable due to supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical issues and a weakening of demand in China as a result of weakened economic recovery. Santos, Australia’s second largest independent gas producer…
Shell and PetroChina expand Surat coal-seam gas project in Australia
Shell and PetroChina announced on Monday that they have decided to expand their Surat coal-seam gas project in Queensland. This comes amid calls from the British oil giant for increased investment to boost the local energy supply. The decision was made at a moment when executives in the industry have been pressing for government action to bring investments back that were halted by state interventions to reduce energy prices and increase domestic supply. The Australian energy market operator, as well as the competition watchdog…
South Korea's POSCO Launches Takeover Bid for Australia's Senex Energy
Australian coal seam gas producer Senex Energy Ltd said it had received a $605 million takeover proposal from POSCO International Corp and was opening up its books to the South Korean trader with the aim of gaining a sweeter offer.The A$815 million or A$4.40 per share offer from POSCO International, the trading arm of steel giant POSCO, has already been twice-improved, Senex said."The Senex Board believes it is in the best interests of its shareholders to continue to engage with POSCO International and will assess any proposal received on its merits…
Santos Flags $560 Mln Impairment Charge on Virus-led Oil Slump
Australia's Santos said on Tuesday it will book non-cash impairments of up to $560 million after tax, joining a number of global energy majors forced to write down assets after a coronavirus-induced slump in oil prices.The country's second-largest independent gas producer expects to record non-cash charges of between $490 million and $560 million after tax in its 2020 interim results, it said in a statement.Most of the impairment charges relate to Santos's Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in its Cooper basin fields in Queensland…
Shell Weighs Sale of $2B-plus Share in Queensland LNG
Royal Dutch Shell is considering raising more than $2 billion from the sale of a stake in the common facilities at its Queensland Curtis LNG plant in Australia, according to a sale flyer reviewed by Reuters."Royal Dutch Shell plc is considering a sale of a 26.25% interest in the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) Common Facilities - a multibillion-dollar investment opportunity," the sale flyer said.The sale process is being run by Rothschild & Co and is due to be completed in 2020, the document showed.Shell declined to comment on what it called market speculation.
Shell QGC Ships 500th LNG Cargo from Curtis Island
Shell’s QGC business, along with its joint venture partners CNOOC and Tokyo Gas, have shipped the 500th cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its LNG plant on Curtis Island, Queensland.The cargo will be delivered by Gladstone’s namesake vessel, the GasLog Gladstone, Shell said.Shell’s QGC Vice President East, Tony Nunan said: “The 500th LNG cargo safely completed loading today from our plant on Curtis Island, five years since the first cargo set sail.“It takes commitment and collaboration to safely and efficiently develop, process and supply gas to both domestic and international markets.
Santos Profit Soars
Australia's No.2 independent gas producer Santos Ltd on Thursday posted a 89% jump in half-year profit, boosted by its acquisition of Quadrant Energy and strong output from its Cooper Basin fields in South Australia.Santos acquired Quadrant Energy last year in a $2.15 billion deal and in turn got an 80 percent stake in the promising Dorado oil find.The Adelaide-based gas producer on Thursday increased its forecast on savings from the acquisition to between $50 million and $60 million per year, from $30 million to $50 million.The Quadrant assets, along with the gas-rich Cooper Basin in Queensland, is the largest source of gas for San
Australia Set to be the King of LNG Exports
Australia is on track to surpass Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter, according to Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science (DIIS).Australia already surpasses Qatar in LNG export capacity and exported more LNG than Qatar in November 2018 and April 2019, said a release from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).Within the next year, as Australia’s newly commissioned projects ramp up and operate at full capacity, EIA expects Australia to consistently export more LNG than Qatar,…
Australia's Best Option is LNG Imports
Australia has painted itself into a corner with its natural gas industry and faces the stark reality that there are no easy choices to alleviate the dual problem of a looming supply crunch and the associated higher prices.Australia is far from the first country to find itself with an energy issue, but it is unusual insofar as the country is about to become the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and still it can't get its policy settings right to ensure domestic supplies.It sounds counter-intuitive and somewhat bizarre…
Turbine Brings New Wave of Energy to Gladstone Port
Australia's Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) is continuing to progress its renewable energy initiatives, with a tidal turbine deployed at its Barney Point Terminal in Gladstone.It is part of a six month trial aimed at demonstrating how tidal flows at the Port of Gladstone can be harnessed to produce electricity, according to a press release from the Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia.GPC has partnered with MAKO Turbines Pty Ltd for the demonstration, which is the first of its kind in Australian tropical waters using port infrastructure.Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher
APLNG, QCLNG Strike Deal to Share Infrastructure
The Australia Pacific LNG project (APLNG) said that it has signed a deal to buy gas from neighboring Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG ) project and for both projects to share infrastructure.Under the tolling agreements, the QCLNG project will be able to transport and process gas and water from the Arrow Energy Surat Basin fields using available capacity in existing Australia Pacific LNG-QCLNG joint infrastructure. The infrastructure sharing arrangements will commence from 2020 and continue until 2035, with options to extend to the end of 2049.In addition…
Australian States Delay Approving New Energy Policy
Australia's states on Friday held off approving a plan to end more than a decade of climate and energy wars and spur investment in new power supply, disappointing industry seeking certainty on energy policy.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pushing a National Energy Guarantee (NEG) in a bid to bring down electricity prices, which have more than doubled over the past decade, and ensure supplies following a string of blackouts in 2016 and 2017.Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said after a meeting with state governments that it had been "an important step forward" for the plan, which has been under negotiation for nearly a year.However
Plans for Another South Australia LNG Import Plant in the Works
A private firm is looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to South Australia starting in 2020, around the same time as two other proposed import projects, looking to fill a supply gap as domestic gas gets sucked into LNG exports.Venice Energy, set up by former BHP Billiton executives, plans to submit a development application to the South Australian government within the next month to park a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Port Adelaide, Managing Director Kym Winter-Dewhirst said.If regulatory approvals come through by March, construction could begin by June 2019, he told Reuters in an interview.
AGL Decision on LNG Import Terminal Expected in FY2019
AGL Energy Ltd, Australia's biggest power producer, expects to make a final investment decision on the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the financial year of 2019, a company official said on Friday.The A$250 million ($189 million) project will consist of a leased floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and jetty at Crib Point in the southeastern state of Victoria. The terminal will handle up to 130 to 140 petajoules a year, or 2.6 million tonnes of LNG, by 2020 or 2021."We are working to progress the project to a final investment decision in the financial year 2019 and are on track to do that…
To Frack or Not to Frack? Australia's NatGas Dilemma
The decision by the government of Australia's Northern Territory government to allow the resumption of fracking for natural gas will do little to immediately solve the country's energy woes, but will likely sharpen political battle lines. The territory's government said on April 17 that it has lifted a near two-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, accepting the recommendations of its own commission of inquiry into the practice. Northern Territory is a vast, sparsely-populated 1.4 million square kilometre (540…
Rio Tinto to Sell Kestrel Mine for $2.25 billion
Global miner Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its Kestrel coal mine to private equity manager EMR Capital and Indonesian coal company Adaro Energy Tbk for $2.25 billion. The Anglo-Australian mining company made a strategic decision in 2017 to exit coal and focus on growth in iron ore, copper and its aluminium division. The deal to sell the underground coal mine in Queensland, Australia, is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete in the second half of 2018. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru
