LNG

Santos has agreed to divert 200 petajoules to the South Australian government, delivered ex-Moomba from Santos’ Cooper Basin operations, formalising supply to the domestic market – rather than LNG exports.

Santos, the Asia-Pacific LNG operator with assets in Australia and Papua New Guinea and that recently held unsuccessful merger talks with Australian peer Woodside, has issued its annual reserves statement showing resources comprising 84 percent natural gas and 16 percent liquids.

Beach Energy Ltd, the Australian company involved in the Waitsia LNG export project in the onshore Perth Basin of Western Australia and in other natural gas ventures in South Australia and New Zealand, posted a fiscal first-half loss as it awaited major project completions.

Beach Energy of Australia, the company destined to be the nation’s newest liquefied natural gas exporter, has posted its fiscal second-quarter earnings report showing sales volumes down 5 percent to A$344 million (US$262M) and lower production as it planned a future LNG marketing campaign.

Australian LNG plant operator Santos expects to recognise a non-cash impairment charge in the range of US$700-US$800 million before tax, most of it attached to LNG, due to the revised oil price and the effects of Covid-19 and energy market demand fundamentals.

Australia-Pacific LNG project shareholder Santos said it was set to advance with production expansion, including using the Barossa feed-gas field for Darwin LNG and investment in the construction of additional Trains for the Papua New Guinea export plant.

Royal Dutch Shell and Santos, the operators of two LNG export plants in eastern Australia, Queensland Curtis LNG and Gladstone LNG, plan to work in partnership on new coal-seam gas acreage in the Surat and Bowen Basins.

Australian LNG stakeholder Santos said it would concentrate on continuing to supply feed-gas to the Darwin LNG plant, operated by partner ConocoPhillips since 2006, as well as developing other Australian natural gas assets and expanding Papua New Guinea LNG output to meet rising Asian demand.

Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher said the Australian energy and LNG production company was committed to boosting Cooper Basin production and working with domestic industry to deliver competitively priced natural gas as it signed another wholesale agreement.

Australian energy company Santos, with stakes in three Asia-Pacific LNG plants that shipped 250 cargoes in 2017, said it had narrowed its annual losses, boosted LNG income and was building its strategic relationship with ENN Group of China to focus on increasing Chinese LNG demand.