LNG

The Australian Labor-led government plans to change the petroleum resource taxes regime to increase the tax paid by the liquefied natural gas industry over the next four fiscal years.

Santos, the Australian operator of the Gladstone and Darwin LNG projects and with a portfolio in Papua New Guinea, reported a more than three-fold increase in net profits of US$2.11 billion, a reward for its years of investment in the industry.

Dec 10 (LNGJ) - Australian LNG plant operator Woodside said it last year paid A$473 million (US$338.4M) in corporate income tax and a further A$234M in other taxes and royalties. The Perth-based company has three corporate entities and had combined taxable income of A$3.1Bln.

   Woodside noted in its annual disclosure to the public of its tax contributions that it had paid more than A$10Bln in Australian taxes and royalties since 2011. “Woodside does the right thing when it comes to paying our taxes in Australia,” stated Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill. “We value the trust of our employees, contractors, suppliers and customers, and we know that transparency and accountability are core to maintaining that trust,” she added.

Western Australian LNG operator Woodside again demonstrated its public transparency by declaring that it paid A$583 million (US$435M) in corporate taxes in Australia for the previous fiscal year and a total of A$10 billion in taxes and royalties over 10 years.