Glencore asks government for help after claiming that the copper smelter in Australia is unviable
Glencore said that its Mount Isa copper-smelter is unviable, and it's waiting for the response to its requests from the state and federal governments in order to keep this facility open despite tough global conditions. The UK-listed company has been alarming local media regarding its Mount Isa Smelting Business in Queensland State as its mining operations will close next month. The company will have to purchase copper concentrates to process once global processing costs are at historic lows due to excess global smelting capacities.
Amazon will invest $13 billion over 5 years in Australia's Data Center Infrastructure
Amazon announced in a Saturday blog post that it will invest A$20 Billion ($12.97 Billion) between 2025 and 2029 in Australia to expand, maintain, and operate its data center infrastructure. This investment is expected to boost the country's artificial-intelligence capabilities. Amazon has made its largest technology investment in Australia. The funding will be used to support new server capacity, as well as generative AI workloads. It added that the company will also invest in three new solar farm in Victoria and Queensland. The three farms will have a combined power of over 170 megawatts.
Origin profits hit by Australia Pacific LNG price reduction for Sinopec
Origin Energy announced on Friday that Australia Pacific LNG had agreed to reduce the price of liquefied gas sold to Sinopec in China for the remaining ten years of their contract. Origin stated that the agreement was reached after a price review of their 20-year contract, out to 2035. "This has resulted in an improvement in the JCC-linked contracts slope, effective as of 1 January 2025," Origin added. The slope is the percentage of Japan Crude Cocktail benchmark prices to which LNG prices are linked. Origin said that the price reduction would reduce its earnings before interest…
Wood Mackenzie warns that Australia will not meet its renewable energy target.
Wood Mackenzie, a consultancy, said that Australia will fall well short of its target to generate 82% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, due to state-level rollbacks and grid connection delays, as well as inadequate investment. Australia is one of the most polluting countries in the world per capita because it produces coal-powered electricity. It has plans to close all coal-fired power stations by 2038. The center-left Labor Government, reelected in the first week of this month, said that it would transition to a grid powered by wind and solar with gas, hydropower, and energy storage as backup.
Origin Energy Australia reports a 10% decline in revenue for Q3 due to lower APLNG prices
Origin Energy reported a 10% decline in revenue from its Australia Pacific LNG Project (APLNG), as falling LNG prices and lower LNG volumes impacted the top line. Since the beginning of 2025, prices of liquefied natural gases have been under pressure due to a tepid winter season in Asia. This has been exacerbated by fears of a global economic recession following President Donald Trump's tariff policy. Origin realized $11.31 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), for its LNG from the APLNG Project in Queensland. This compares to $12.20 in the second quarter.
Glencore asks Australian Government to bail out local copper assets
Anglo-Swiss commodities company Glencore has said it has spoken to both Queensland and the Federal Government of Australia regarding the future of the Mount Isa Copper Smelter and Townville Copper Refinery assets. Glencore announced in October 2023 that its Mount Isa underground copper mines would be closed by the second half 2025. They cited studies and reviews which stated it was impossible to extend the mine's life. Sam Strohmayr said in a speech to Mount Isa local communities on Wednesday that the impact of the work is expected to be around 500 people.
Gas giants claim that Australia's opposition plan to reserve supplies may worsen the shortage
Gas giants around the world said that a proposal made by Australia's coalition of opposition to force producers to divert more gas from exports into the domestic market in an attempt to win votes would discourage investment and not solve the looming gas shortages. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition has pledged to lower power bills by implementing a gas reservations scheme. The center-left Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has introduced a cap on wholesale gas prices for 2022 and implemented other regulatory measures and policies to reduce emissions and meet domestic energy requirements.
Origin Energy's profit exceeds expectations on the back of strong LNG earnings
Origin Energy, an Australian power company, beat analysts' expectations on Thursday. This was due to higher LNG sales and gains from LNG trading. These factors offset a sharp drop at the energy markets division. Origin Energy, along with AGL Energy and Energy Australia as one of Australia's "Big Three" retailers of electricity, will spend A$1.5 billion to A$1.7 billion between fiscal 2025 and the majority of that money will go towards building storage batteries. Frank Calabria, Chief Executive Officer of Origin said: "Origin delivered a solid first-half performance...
Australia adopts tax incentives for critical minerals
Australia's Parliament has passed laws to give production tax breaks on critical minerals and renewable hydrogen, in an effort to boost energy transition plans, as the country aims for net zero emissions and reduce its dependence on China by 2050. The centre-left Labor Government said that the law passed on Tuesday will provide tax incentives of up to 10% for the processing and refining cost for 31 essential minerals for the fiscal years ending in June 2028 until 2040. A tax incentive of A$2 (1.26 USD) per kilogram of renewable hydrogen will be provided.
Potentia Energy purchases major Australian renewable energy assets
Potentia Energy is a joint venture of Italy's Enel and Japan's INPEX Corp. It announced Thursday that it will buy control stakes in renewable energy projects worth 1 gigawatt in Australia. This investment comes from investors in private equity funds and superannuation funds. Potentia stated that the acquisition included 700 megawatts in wind and solar assets and 430 Megawatts in late-stage projects, consisting of South Australian and Queensland Battery Energy storage system. The company also said that a wind farm in West Australia is included in this portfolio. Potentia is a company that has been operating in Australia for 8 years.
Australia's Origin Energy lowers its APLNG production for 2025
Origin Energy announced on Friday that it expects Australia Pacific LNG to produce less in 2025. However, the company reported a sequential increase of 11% in its second-quarter revenues from its stake in this project due to higher gas prices. The power producer expects production in 2025 from APLNG, Origin's joint-venture with U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips (and Sinopec) -- to be between 670-690 Petajoules. This is 2%-3 % lower than its previous guidance. Origin's forecast was impacted by the lower performance of some Queensland projects and weaker performance in non-operated asset due to unplanned maintenance.
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.
