Australia's biggest takeover bids never came to fruition
The merger talks between Rio Tinto & Glencore failed after both sides could not resolve their differences on valuation. This ended months of negotiations about a tie up that would have created?the world's largest mining firm with a value market exceeding $200 billion. The following is a list containing some of the biggest failed mergers and purchases involving Australian companies in the last three years. After months of discussions, the takeover talks between mining giant Rio Tinto and Glencore came to an end. This ended a deal that could have transformed the global mining industry.
HMC Capital's share price in Australia rises after KKR invests in Energy Transition Platform
HMC Capital, a company based in Australia, announced on 'Friday that it had struck a deal with KKR managed funds to invest up A$603 (US$416.49 ) million in preferred equity into its Energy Transition Platform. This will increase its share price. HMC shares rose 7.7% intraday to A$4.34, their highest intraday increase since November 28, 2025. The investment will be backed by KKR’s Global Climate -Transition strategy and finance wind and battery storage projects that are essential to grid reliability –and Australia’s energy transition. Jessica?Amir is a trading platform MooMoo market strategist. "We've seen U.S.
Rio records record for Glencore exit, but banks and miners are sapping Australian shares
Australian shares continued to fall on Friday, as an index-wide sale led by banks and miners saw a decline in the market. Rio Tinto reached its highest level to date after abandoning discussions with Glencore about creating what would have been the world's biggest mining company. S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.6% by 2320 GMT to 8,748.50, setting the stage for its worst session since November. The benchmark fell by 1.3% during the week and is on track for its biggest loss since mid-November. The mining stocks continued to decline for a second day in a row…
Taiwan will increase its purchases of US gas in this year
Taiwan will increase its purchases of U.S. Natural Gas?to account for about one-third its import supply?this, and reduce its purchases from other countries. Taiwan, which has a large surplus of trade with the U.S. has expressed interest in an enormous new LNG project in Alaska, that the Trump Administration has been pushing to its Asian allies as a possible supply option. Kung Ming Hsin, Taiwan's Economy Minister, whose ministry is responsible for energy policy, said to reporters in Taipei, that Taiwan prefers more?gas coming from the United States than any other country.
Sources say that Rio Tinto will ask for more time to consider the Glencore deal.
Three people with knowledge of the talks said that Rio Tinto and Glencore will announce a delay in the merger talks before a UK regulatory deadline this Thursday. This is to give Rio more time to evaluate the merits of the deal. Rio Tinto may walk away from the deal, despite pushback by some investors, including those in Australia. These investors want to be "assured" that a deal will generate value, and are opposed to Rio Tinto paying an extra premium. In January, both companies announced that they were in the early stages of a merger.
Beach Energy's profit falls on account of higher costs and lower oil prices
Beach Energy, Australia, reported a 8% drop in its first-half profits?on Friday, due to higher costs of sales and lower oil and liquids price. This sent the company's shares down?more?than?5%. The benchmark ASX200 index edged down 0.2%, as shares of the oil-and-gas producer fell as much as 5.18 percent to A$1.190. This was their biggest intraday decline since January 7th. The Adelaide-headquartered company attributed the profit drop ?to higher cost of sales, including third-party purchases, non-cash inventory adjustments linked to ?Waitsia liquefied natural gas operations, and weaker oil and liquids pricing.
Commonwealth LNG signs 20-year supply agreement with Mercuria in response to US LNG export growth
Commonwealth LNG announced on Tuesday that it had signed a sale-and-purchase agreement for 20 years to supply Mercuria 1 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas per year. The deal stipulates that Mercuria would provide Commonwealth with the equivalent amount of natural gas (estimated at 133 millions cubic feet per day) and Commonwealth will convert it to LNG, which Mercuria can then purchase. Commonwealth, a company owned by energy asset management firm Kimmeridge and majority-owned by Commonwealth, is attempting to build America's first integrated export facility for LNG.
QatarEnergy signs long-term LNG supply agreement with Japan's Jera amid surge in demand
QatarEnergy signed a contract with Japan's largest power generator Jera on Tuesday to supply 3,000,000 tons of LNG per year for 27 years starting in 2028. This deal will further strengthen Qatar's position on the Japanese market. The agreement was made at the LNG2026 Conference in Doha and would strengthen QatarEnergy’s position in Japan, as the competition from U.S. companies and Gulf rivals,?United Arab Emirates, and Oman who offer more flexible terms, intensifies. The two firms have been in talks for months. First reported the talks in 2025.
QatarEnergy Secures LNG Supply Deal with Jera as Demand Surges
QatarEnergy, one of the world's biggest LNG suppliers, signed a deal on Tuesday with Japan's top power generator Jera to supply 3 million tons of LNG annually for 27 years from 2028, further strengthening Qatar's position in the Japanese market.The agreement, made on the sidelines of the LNG2026 conference in Doha, would bolster QatarEnergy's position in Japan as competition intensifies from U.S. suppliers and Gulf rivals United Arab Emirates and Oman, which offer more flexible terms.It follows months of talks between the two firms.
Activist shareholders ACCR and pension funds urge BP show that shift to oil will deliver value
UK pension funds, European activist shareholders and ACCR have urged BP to 'publish more information' to prove that its strategy to shift spending from low-carbon projects to oil and natural gas will bolster shareholder value. BP's then CEO Murray Auchincloss had announced a strategy shift back to hydrocarbons a year earlier, claiming that this would increase profitability after BP's predecessor Bernard Looney made ill-fated attempts at renewables. ACCR announced on Tuesday that it filed a joint resolution with a group of asset managers managing 191 billion pounds ($262 'billion).
Canada and Australia LNG cargoes headed to the Atlantic after Arctic storm in a rare move
Ship tracking data revealed that at least three LNG cargoes, loaded in Australia and Canada, are headed to Europe and the Americas, instead of Asia, their usual destination. This is because an Arctic storm has curtailed?exports out of the U.S. The diverting of "supply" away from Asia could lead to a tightening in supply and support the spot LNG price in that region. The price of gas has risen globally due to the increased demand. "Pacific cargoes could be brought into the Atlantic to backfill lost?U.S. Alex Froley is a senior LNG analyst with energy consultancy ICIS.
Origin Energy's Q2 APLNG revenues rise sequentially, Origin Energy raises the low end of its 2026 APLNG forecast.
Origin Energy, Australia, raised its 'lower end production forecast for 2026' of Australia Pacific LNG and reported a?10%?sequential increase in revenue in its second quarter stake in the same project, helped by increased LNG sales. The power producer expects that its production in 2026 from APLNG, a joint venture with ConocoPhillips & Sinopec, will be between 645 Petajoules (PJ),?and 680. This is a significant increase over its previous guidance range of 635 to 680. It did, however, flag a lower contribution to production in the second half due to fewer?days and a continued natural 'decline?
Carlyle's energy investment list as it targets Lukoil assets valued at $22 billion
Analysts initially estimated that the Carlyle Group would acquire most of Lukoil’s foreign assets at $22 billion. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (the U.S. agency responsible for sanctions) has yet to approve the sale. The?U.S. The?U.S. Treasury had given Lukoil a deadline of February 28th to divest their global portfolio. Carlyle has recently expanded its energy holdings to include stakes in U.S. proven developed producing (PDP), oil and gas assets as well as midstream infrastructure and renewable energy platforms.
Australia reaches new renewable milestone over 50%
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), a'statement made on Thursday,' said that Australia had achieved a clean energy milestone in the quarter ending December, despite a rise of over 2,2% in power demand from a year earlier. The gas-fired generation has fallen to its lowest levels since 2000. Meanwhile, the total electricity production across the National Electricity Market grew 3.1% from one year ago to just under 25,000 megawatts. The share of generation from renewables increased by 5 percentage points compared to a year earlier, and now exceeds 50%.
Kuwait Readies $7b Pipeline Deal as Gulf Turns to Foreign Investors
Gulf governments are stepping up infrastructure deals with foreign investors, with Kuwait set to launch an oil pipeline network stake sale as soon as February in a deal that could raise up to $7 billion, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.The shift comes as oil prices, down more than 25% in two years, sit below levels needed to fund the Gulf’s diversification plans. Governments are now offering investors access to assets once off limits - from pipelines to power plants - to bring in pension funds…
Australia and Timor call for progress on Greater Sunrise Gas Field
On Wednesday, East Timor's Xanana Gushmao and Australia's Anthony Albanese said that the Greater Sunrise -gas project should begin "as quickly as possible" with Australia pledging a third of state revenues to its neighbour. Albanese signed a partnership agreement on Wednesday with Gusmao, during his first visit to Australia's northern neighbor. The agreement covers deeper defence ties, border security, and economic development. The visit coincides with the tiny Catholic nation's?push to build a Liquefied Natural Gas plant on its southern coast, instead of?piping gas to an Australian plant in Darwin.
Australia PM Albanese discusses security and gas with East Timor during his visit to the country
In his first official visit to East Timor, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to highlight Australia's desire for stronger security and energy relations when he speaks in the?parliament of East Timor on Wednesday. The visit comes at a time when the tiny Catholic nation - also courted by China - continues to push for a liquefied gas plant to be built on its south shore, rather than in the Australian city Darwin. Albanese is scheduled to address the East Timor Parliament and meet with its President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minster Xanana Gulmao.
Darwin LNG begins shipments on the Kool Blizzard with its first cargo
Ship-tracking data revealed that the Darwin liquefied gas plant (DLNG), operated by Australian oil producer?Santos since restarting operations, had exported its first shipment. The shipment is currently heading to Sakai in Japan. Darwin LNG stopped shipments at the end of 2023, as its previous gas supply, the Bayu Undan Field in the Timor Sea was running out. The Barossa project, owned by Santos and SK E&S and JERA, is now supplying the plant with natural gas. The Kool Blizzard, a tanker that left the Darwin LNG facility in Australia's Northern Territory (Australia) on January 25th…
Australia now offers three new offshore wind licenses
The government announced on Friday that Australia had offered offshore wind licenses for projects off the coast of Western Australia's southern coast. These projects could bring 4 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy to the state's isolated power system. The offer comes after several other offshore wind project on the east coast Australia have been pulled in the last 18 months, slowing down the sector's progress. The state has extended the subsidy for a coal mine by five more years, citing energy security.
Inpex is working to advance Indonesia's Abadi LNG Project in order to meet the government's request
Takayuki ueda, CEO of Inpex Japan, said that the company is working hard to accelerate the start-up of the Abadi project to Indonesia in order to "meet" the government's request for speed. Western companies have shown a "strong interest" to purchase liquefied gas. Inpex will benefit from the long-delayed project worth $20 billion, which is expected to produce up 9.5 million tons of LNG per year. Inpex is Japan's leading oil and gas exploration company. The company aims to make a final decision on investment in 2027, with a start-up date in the early 30s.