Australia suffers wide losses when central bank keeps rate at 12-year high
The Australian share market continued to decline on Tuesday, after the central bank maintained the key policy rate in a 12-year-high level. This was done in order to maintain a restrictive policy until the core inflation rate is brought under control. By 0352 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen 0.4% to 8,131.4. The benchmark index was trading at a 0.3% decline ahead of the policy announcement. The benchmark closed Monday 0.6% higher. In line with the poll, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), kept its interest rate at the same level. It reiterated that restrictive policy was needed until core inflation decreased as desired.
Mitsubishi Japan expects LNG production to reach 17 million tonnes per year by early 2030
Mitsubishi, a Japanese trading company, expects to see its LNG production capacity grow by over 17 million tonnes per year in the early 2030s. This is due to its stakes including projects in Malaysia and Canada. Mitsubishi has invested in 12 LNG projects with a total production capacity of 110,4 million tons per annum in Brunei Malaysia Australia Oman Russia Indonesia USA Canada. This was revealed in a presentation on earnings by the company. LNG Canada will ship its first cargo in mid-2020, but all other projects produce gas. Mitsubishi will be able to produce 14 million tons of LNG per year, up from the current 12 million tons.
Woodside and Tokyo Gas discuss stake in US LNG Project
Tokyo Gas and Woodside Energy are in discussions about a possible stake in the multi-billion dollar Louisiana LNG export project. Two people familiar with these talks confirm this. Woodside, a major Australian oil and natural gas company, closed a deal this month to buy Tellurian Inc., a developer that had put itself up for sale after running out of money while building a U.S. Gulf Coast plant capable of converting shale-gas into LNG at a rate of 27,7 million tons annually. Tokyo Gas Natural Resources, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's biggest gas and electricity utility, is in talks to acquire a stake in the project.
J-Power, a Japanese gas-power company, will sell its stake to a US gas-power company
J-Power, a subsidiary of Japan's Electric Power Development, announced on Thursday that it had decided to sell its 50 percent stake in an American gas-fired energy company as part a reshuffle to its asset portfolio. This was done to increase capital efficiency. ACR IV Frontier Holdings, an investment fund, will purchase the Japanese utility's stake in Tenaska Frontier Partners, which operates a gas-fired 830 megawatt (MW), power station in Texas, for $155 millions. J-Power is expecting to book $93,000,000 in investment income after the transfer.
WiseTech shares soar after the CEO of WiseTech takes on a new role.
Australian shares rose Friday, with mining and technology stocks leading the way. WiseTech surged after its former CEO moved into a consultant role, and Whitehaven Coal soared on higher-than-expected quarter output. As of 2347 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8231.3. The benchmark is expected to lose 0.6% per week, the biggest loss since late September. Even as iron ore fell, miners gained 0.3%, and they were on course for a weekly increase of 0.1%. This is their first gain in four weeks. BHP gained 0.2% and Rio Tinto 0.9%. Fortescue, however, continued to lose money, dropping 0.1%, after it announced higher costs on Friday.
Australia and UK join forces to support clean energy technologies
The leaders of Australia and Britain announced on Friday that they plan to collaborate to increase the deployment and use of renewable energy technologies such as green hydrogen, offshore wind and other forms of renewable energy to help decarbonise the world. In a joint press release, Australian Premier Anthony Albanese said that the transition to net zero will create new jobs for both countries and strengthen their industrial base. In their statement, they did not specify how much money they would be committing to clean energy.
AG&P LNG acquires Australia's Venice Energy and develops South Australian import terminal
The Singapore-based Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific LNG (AG&P LNG) has agreed to acquire the Australian energy infrastructure developer Venice Energy and build its Outer Harbor Import Terminal in South Australia. AG&P LNG aims to have the LNG import terminal at Port Adelaide operational by the first quarter 2027. This was stated in a Thursday statement. The terminal will have an annual import capacity of two million metric tonnes. It will be constructed by converting a LNG carrier with a volume of 145,000 cubic metres into a floating storage unit and regasification (FSRU).
Financial Times - Oct 16
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. BBC, the British broadcaster, has announced plans for 155 job cuts across its news operations. This is part of a larger cost-cutting plan worth 700 million pounds (915 million dollars). Woodside Energy, an Australian oil and natural gas company, announced on Wednesday that it will delist next month from the London Stock Exchange in order to cut down the administration costs of the business.
Woodside Energy Q3 revenue exceeds expectations and will be delisted from LSE
Woodside Energy, an Australian company, reported on Wednesday a sequential increase in revenue for the third quarter and a record-breaking quarterly output. This was boosted by a faster ramp-up at its Sangomar Project and a strong performance across all of their LNG portfolios. The top independent oil producer in the country posted a 21% increase in revenue for the three-month period ended September 30, surpassing Visible Alpha's consensus estimate of $3.2 billion. Woodside's average realized prices for the third quarter of 2015 rose to $65. This is higher than the $62 boe price in the second quarter.
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.
Woodside completes Tellurian acquisition for $1.2 billion
Woodside Energy announced on Wednesday that it had completed the acquisition, including the debt, of U.S. Gulf Coast Liquefied Natural Gas export project developer Tellurian. Tellurian's shareholders voted last week in favor of the proposed acquisition by Australian energy producer. Woodside has announced that it is renaming the Driftwood Louisiana LNG opportunity to Woodside Louisiana LNG. The company stated that it aims to be ready for a final investment decision (FID), in the first quarter 2025, on the acquired project. FID is when a company gives its approval to the future development of a project.
Sources: Rio Tinto is in negotiations to purchase lithium miner Arcadium.
Rio Tinto is in talks with Arcadium to purchase its lithium mine, according to three sources who have direct knowledge of these negotiations. This would make Rio Tinto the third largest producer of battery metal for electric vehicles. One source said that talks have continued and been ongoing in London during the LME Week Conference. According to a second source, an offer should be forthcoming in the near term. The sources stated that talks are continuing and could not necessarily lead to a deal. The third source stated that Arcadium, a Philadelphia-based company, could be worth between $4 billion and $6 billion or more.
Origin Energy, Australia's hydrogen hub, plans to leave the Hunter Valley
Origin Energy, Australia's largest energy company, announced on Thursday that it will abandon its potential development project for the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in New South Wales. The project is estimated to cost A$207.6 millions ($142.60 Million). The second largest power producer in the country said that it will also cease all work on hydrogen development, but remains open to exploring commercial options for HVHH. Origin stated that the decision to leave the Hunter Valley Hydrogen hub reflects the uncertainty surrounding the timing and pace of development of hydrogen markets, as well as the risks involved in developing capital-intensive projects.
Research group: China has invested over $100 billion in cleantech overseas since 2023.
According to the Australian Climate Energy Finance group, Chinese companies have invested more than $100 billion in clean energy projects since 2023. They do this in order to avoid tariffs on imports from the U.S. CEF's research revealed that China was the largest producer and exporter in the world of solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles. Its investment, innovation, and manufacturing capabilities led the world by "an astonishing margin", the report said. It accounts for 32.5% global electric vehicle exports and 24.1% lithium batteries, and 78.1% solar panels.
Australia's Santos signs LNG deal with TotalEnergies
Santos, an Australian gas supplier, announced on Wednesday it had signed a contract for a midterm supply of liquefied gas with TotalEnergies Singapore. Santos said that under the contract which lasts a little more than three years it will provide 20 LNG cargoes or about 500,000 tons of LNG each year. The contract is expected to begin in the fourth quarter 2025. Santos will provide the LNG delivered ex-ship basis (DES) to TotalEnergies Gas & Power Asia. Kevin Gallagher, Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said that the oil-indexed contract along with the long-term LNG purchase and sales agreement recently signed with Hokkaido Gas…
Alchemy Resources, Australia, signs lithium partnership agreement with Japan's JOGMEC
Alchemy Resources, an Australian miner, announced on Monday that it had signed a deal with a Japanese government agency for the Japanese agency to fund up to A$6,000,000 ($4,15,000,000) in exploration costs to gain up to 51% ownership of Roe Hills in Western Australia. Alchemy Resources will manage the project for the duration of the partnership. Once the Japanese agency JOGMEC has acquired its vested interests in the tenements the two companies are expected to form a joint-venture, according to a company statement. The Roe Hills project is part of a lithium and gold miner's Karonie project.
Australian LNG producers could need to commit to more gas for the local market due to a possible shortage
Due to a decrease in supply forecasts for next year the Australian competition watchdog stated on Friday that liquefied gas producers (LNG) may have to commit more gas to the domestic rather than export market. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's quarterly report, the LNG supply surplus on Australia's east coast is expected to drop to 12 to 27 petajoules in the first quarter 2025. This is down from 26 to 35 petajoules forecasted in June. The lower forecast is due to an increase in exports contracted in the third quarter of 2009. Australia was the largest LNG exporter in the world until the U.S. overtook it last year.
Macquarie will take a minority stake in D.E. Shaw's green power arm could be worth up to $1.73 billion
Macquarie Group’s asset management division has acquired a minority stake of the green energy arm of U.S.-based investor D.E. The Australian company announced on Tuesday that it would invest up to $1.73 billion in equity into D.E. Macquarie Asset Management, a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management, and D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, or DESRI (Development Energy Services and Renewable Investments), has a pipeline of more than 25 gigawatts according to Macquarie. Macquarie’s investment comes as global firms face the brunt geopolitical turmoil, high borrowing rates and sticky inflation.
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.
Australian shares rise as energy stocks and banks shine
Investors digested and assessed the impact of the latest U.S. Inflation print on global interest rate outlooks. As of 1236 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.6% to 8,035.1 points. The benchmark closed Wednesday's session 0.3% lower. Market watchers have ruled out a Federal Reserve rate cut of 50 basis points (bp) next week and instead bet on a reduction of 25 bp. Most sub-indices in Sydney traded in positive territory. The "Big Four" banks saw a 0.8% increase in their rate-sensitive financials. Energy stocks are trading near 1% higher, with major sector players Woodside Energy and Paladin Energy both up nearly 1%.
