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REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Santos (STO.AX) said on Thursday an Australian court has granted an interim injunction preventing it from starting work on laying undersea pipelines on its $3.6 billion Barossa gas project off northern Australia. Australia's offshore regulator ordered Santos in January to evaluate the environmental risks to underwater indigenous cultural heritage before starting pipeline work though it did not prohibit the start of work. Santos has said, citing an independent expert, that there were no specific underwater cultural heritage sites along the planned route of the pipeline. A Santos ship was hours away from beginning work on the pipeline, lawyers for Munkara told the court. Santos said the vessel will remain at its current location but no pipeline works will be conducted during the interim injunction.

Persons: Santos, Chris Helgren, Simon Munkara, Munkara, Renju Jose, Ayushman, Mrigank Dhaniwala, Rashmi Aich, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Federal, Environmental, Office, EDO, Woodside, Thomson Locations: Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada, Australia, Tiwi, Munkara, Barossa, Scarborough, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Exclusive: Timor president says China military cooperation 'never discussed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The agreement also provided scope for funding from China including government and commercial loans to East Timor, he said. Some Australian politicians expressed concern after China's state media reported on Saturday that Beijing's agreement with East Timor, around 700km (450 miles) north-west of Australia, also covered military exchanges. "It was never discussed in terms of military cooperation, never discussed, and the Chinese side also never raised this issue," Ramos-Horta said. East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, aims to join the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN by 2025 as it seeks to reduce high poverty rates. Australia has appointed an envoy to speed up negotiations between East Timor and Woodside; Gusmao's government wants gas to be piped to East Timor and not Australia.

Persons: Jose Ramos, Caitlin Ochs, Horta, Xanana Gusmao, Xi Jinping, heightening, Ramos, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln, 私 Organizations: Sustainable, United Nations, REUTERS, Rights, East, Reuters, Southeast, ASEAN, Canberra, Woodside Energy, Greater Sunrise, Greater, Australia, UN's, Fund for Agricultural Development, Global Citizen, Pacific Locations: Horta, Timor, New York City , New York, U.S, East Timor, China, Australia, Indonesia, Canberra, Solomon Islands, 2,000km, Timor Leste, ASEAN, Singapore, Malaysia, East Timor's, Dili, Greater Sunrise, Southeast Asia, Woodside, United States, New York

☆ Exclusive: East Timor president says China military cooperation was 'never discussed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The agreement also provided scope for funding from China including government and commercial loans to East Timor, he said. "It was never discussed in terms of military cooperation, never discussed, and the Chinese side also never raised this issue," Ramos-Horta said. East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, aims to join the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN by 2025 as it seeks to reduce high poverty rates. Australia has appointed an envoy to speed up negotiations between East Timor and Woodside; Gusmao's government wants gas to be piped to East Timor and not Australia. Australia's relationship with East Timor is "stronger than at any time in the last decade", Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Persons: Jose Ramos, Caitlin Ochs, Horta, Xanana Gusmao, Xi Jinping, heightening, Ramos, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln Organizations: Sustainable, United Nations, REUTERS, Rights, East, Reuters, Southeast, ASEAN, Canberra, Woodside Energy, Greater Sunrise, Greater, Australia, UN's, Fund for Agricultural Development, Global Citizen, Pacific, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: Horta, Timor, New York City , New York, U.S, East Timor, China, Australia, Indonesia, Canberra, Solomon Islands, 2,000km, Timor Leste, ASEAN, Singapore, Malaysia, East Timor's, Dili, Greater Sunrise, Southeast Asia, Woodside, New York

☆ Chevron accepts Australian labour tribunal's terms to end strike at LNG plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A 3D printed natural gas pipeline is placed in front of displayed Chevron logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 21 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) said on Thursday it has the accepted recommendations from Australia's labor regulator to end its dispute with unions at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia. The Fair Work Commission of Australia, which has the power to impose a settlement, "strongly recommended" parties accept its proposals to end work stoppages that began on Sept. 8 at the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG operations. The workers at the facilities, which account for nearly 7% of global LNG supply, are backed by the Offshore Alliance - that combines the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers' Union. Chevron had been negotiating with the workers for weeks alongside Australia's Woodside Energy (WDS.AX), which managed to avert the strikes last month after reaching a deal.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sourasis Bose, Maju Samuel, Shinjini Ganguli, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Chevron, REUTERS, Offshore Alliance, Maritime Union of Australia, Australian Workers ' Union, Australia's, Energy, Thomson Locations: Western Australia, Australia, Bengaluru

"We've certainly seen Australia's reputation being affected as some existing buyers expressed interest in diversifying their suppliers for long-term supply," said Ryhana Rasidi, LNG analyst at analytics firm Kpler. "Australia is the closest gas supplier we can get. By far, Australia, U.S. and Qatar are the three pillars in LNG supply chain. As well as its political stability, its proximity to Asia might be Australia's saving grace, industry analysts say. "Ties are very strong between North Asia and Australia as a legacy supplier, so many participants are keen to continue the relationship," said Kaushal Ramesh, LNG analyst at Rystad Energy.

Persons: Inpex, Resources Madeleine King, We've, Ryhana, Jane Liao, Kaushal Ramesh, Emily Chow, Yuka Obayashi, Muyu Xu, Andrew Hayley, Joyce Lee, Lewis Jackson, Florence Tan Organizations: Reuters, Chevron, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Workers, Japan's Kyushu Electric Power, Chevron's, Woodside Energy, West Shelf, South, Resources, Taiwan, Tohoku Electric Power, Kyushu Electric Power, Osaka Gas, Rystad Energy, Thomson Locations: Chevron, Barrow Island, Australia, Rights SINGAPORE, TOKYO, Qatar, United States, Western Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, Oman, U.S, Asia, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Sydney

A general view of Chevron's Wheatstone LNG facility in Pilbara coast, Western Australia, as seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on September 8, 2023. If there is still no deal by then, the unions will completely stop work for two weeks. Australia was the world's largest LNG exporter last year, shipping out 80.9 million metric tons of the fuel in 2022 versus 79 million tons in 2021, according to the International Gas Union. A prolonged strike could disrupt exports and raise prices of LNG, which is used for electricity generation. The same union alliance also secured agreements last year with Shell (SHEL.L) and Inpex (1605.T) at their LNG facilities in Western Australia.

Persons: Chevron, Wheatstone, Baden Moore, NAB's Moore, Emily Chow, Lewis Jackson, Florence Tan, Tony Munroe, Miral Organizations: Reuters, Chevron, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, NEXT, Unions, International Gas Union, National Australia Bank, NAB, Woodside Energy Group, WHAT'S, Woodside, North West Shelf, Shell, Thomson Locations: Wheatstone, Western Australia, Rights SINGAPORE, SYDNEY, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Asia, Europe, Ukraine, Inpex, Woodside

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chevron is seen at the company's office in Caracas, Venezuela April 25, 2018. Australia is the world's biggest LNG exporter and its main buyers are in Asia. "Unfortunately, following numerous meetings and conciliation sessions before the Fair Work Commission, we remain apart on key terms," a Chevron spokesperson said. Brad Gandy, a spokesperson for the Offshore Alliance, said the union coalition had agreed "in good faith" to the mediated talks, "but after five days Chevron has barely budged". Energy analyst Saul Kavonic said the strikes appeared to be designed to put more pressure on Chevron to cut a deal rather than substantially affect production.

Persons: Marco Bello, Brad Gandy, ratcheting, Saul Kavonic, Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson, Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed, Miral Fahmy, William Mallard Organizations: Chevron, REUTERS, Rights, Woodside Energy, North West Shelf, Offshore Alliance, CHEVRON, Australian, South, Taiwan . Energy, Thomson Locations: Caracas, Venezuela, Australia, U.S, Asia, British, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Western Australia, Sydney

☆ Chevron begins mediation talks to avert Australia LNG strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Chevron logo is pictured after the U.S. government granted a six-month license allowing Chevron to boost oil output in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 2, 2022. Reuters first reported on Friday that Chevron had filed a request for mediation with the FWC. Any industrial action would disrupt Australia's LNG exports and increase competition for the super-chilled fuel, forcing Asian buyers to outbid European buyers to attract LNG cargo. Reuters GraphicsGorgon, Australia's second-largest LNG plant, has an export capacity of 15.6 million tonnes a year and Wheatstone 8.9 million. A similar dispute between the union alliance and Woodside-operated (WDS.AX) North West Shelf LNG facility, Australia's biggest, was resolved last month after workers approved a deal.

Persons: Gaby Oraa, Australia's, Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Chevron, U.S, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Offshore Alliance, South, Wheatstone, West Shelf, Thomson Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, Australia, Western Australia, Perth, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Woodside, Sydney

Chevron's Gorgon and Wheatstone projects account for more than 5% of global LNG capacity, and news of the possible strikes sent European natural gas prices surging. "It's set to cost Chevron their LNG exports as (the industrial action) starts to bite," said the alliance that groups together the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers' Union. The unions last week warned that work stoppages could cost Chevron billions of dollars. "Ten hour work stoppages: it is a harsher initial industrial action than what the unions contemplated for Woodside," he said. Last week, Offshore Alliance and Woodside (WDS.AX) resolved worker disputes at North West Shelf, Australia's largest LNG facility, after negotiating higher wages, job security and employee-friendly rosters, averting industrial action.

Persons: Gaby Oraa, Wheatstone, Saul Kavonic, Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson, Florence Tan, Alasdair Pal, Chris Reese, Shri Navaratnam, Tom Hogue Organizations: Chevron, U.S, REUTERS, SYDNEY, Workers, Reuters, Offshore Alliance, Maritime Union of Australia, Australian Workers ' Union, Shell, Energy, Woodside, North West Shelf, Thomson Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, SINGAPORE, Australia, Woodside, WDS.AX, Asia, Chevron, Sydney, Singapore

A 3D printed natural gas pipeline is placed in front of displayed Chevron logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. Workers on Thursday voted to authorize the Offshore Alliance of unions to call a strike at Chevron's Gorgon and Wheatstone projects. In a Facebook post on Friday, the union alliance said of Chevron's senior management team: "Their stupidity is about to cost them $billions in lost production and profit." The Offshore Alliance, which combines the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers' Union, must give Chevron seven working days' notice before a strike. The Offshore Alliance announced on Friday that workers had "overwhelmingly endorsed" the draft agreement in a meeting the previous evening.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Wheatstone, Saul Kavonic, Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson, Cynthia Osterman, Kim Coghill Organizations: Chevron, REUTERS, Rights, Workers, Offshore Alliance, North West Shelf, Maritime Union of Australia, Australian Workers ' Union, South, Taiwan . Energy, West Shelf, Woodside, Thomson Locations: Chevron's, Australia, Woodside, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Woodside's, Dutch, Sydney

☆ Morning Bid: August rescued by Nvidia, bond rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsA look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanA dire August for world markets is being rehabilitated in its final week, helped by another sparkling AI-related surprise from chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) and a rebound in battered bond markets. The bar for surprise from Wednesday's earnings update was sky high, but the company somehow managed to vault it again. Despite the rebound the index is still down more than 4% for August - its worst month since last September. Ironically, the retreat in bond yields comes amid signs of cooling economic activity - but that comes with the significant relief that central banks may not have to squeeze any harder to get inflation back close to targets. Bond yields are in retreat in advance of the speech, helped by the easing economic data and a decent 20-year bond auction on Wednesday.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Jerome Powell's, Jackson, China's spluttering, Bernadette Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, Federal Reserve, Fed, Treasury, Woodside Energy, Chicago Fed, Kansas City Fed, Intuit, Ulta, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Frankfurt, Asia, Shanghai, Europe, Kansas, Jackson

"It's pleasing that Woodside has made our members a strong offer without industrial action being taken," Gandy added in a statement. The project in Western Australia, along with the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities of Chevron Corp (CVX.N), account for about one-tenth of global supplies. Workers at Chevron's facilities are also considering industrial action, and the combined threats had supported LNG prices over the past few weeks. The Woodside workers unions had threatened to strike as early as Sept. 2 unless their demands for better pay and conditions were met. Asia spot LNG prices remained supported at above $14 per million British thermal units at Wednesday's close, with traders still cautious about LNG supplies from Australia.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Brad Gandy, Woodside, Gandy, Warren Patterson, Saul Kavonic, Renju Jose, Florence Tan, Sonali Paul, Stephen Coates, Miral Organizations: Woodside Energy, REUTERS, Rights, Woodside, North West Shelf, Workers, Chevron Corp, Chevron, North West, Australia . Energy, Thomson Locations: Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada, Rights SYDNEY, SINGAPORE, Western Australia, Woodside, Asia, Wednesday's, Australia, Sydney, Singapore

It's likely that workers at the Chevron (CVX.N) plants will join their Woodside colleagues in authorising industrial action, which could then be launched with a seven-day notice period. The worst-case scenario is that industrial action is prolonged and forces a total shutdown of the three plants. The most likely outcome for the time being remains limited industrial action, ongoing negotiations and an eventual settlement that sees the unions get some of what they want, most likely in exchange for some longer-term guarantees. LNG imports by Asia, Europe vs spot Asia priceASIA IMPORTS RISINGAsia's imports for August are expected to lift to 22.86 million metric tons, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler. This would be up from 21.61 million metric tons in July and would be the strongest month since January's 23.37 million.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, It's, Europe's, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Woodside Energy, West, Offshore Alliance, Chevron, Woodside, Kpler, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights LAUNCESTON, Australia, Woodside, Western Australia, Asia, Europe, North Asia, ASIA, Japan, South Korea, South, Russia, Ukraine

REUTERS/Florence Tan/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Unions at Woodside Energy Group's (WDS.AX) North West Shelf offshore gas platforms on Sunday announced plans to strike as early as Sept. 2, which could eventually disrupt shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from top global exporter Australia. The strike threat escalates a long-running dispute between Woodside and workers over pay and conditions on its North West Shelf gas platforms, which feed Australia's biggest LNG plant. Unions in Australia are required by law to give companies seven working days' notice before any industrial action but can elect to call off any action before then. "Offshore Alliance members don’t take industrial action lightly, but Woodside is really leaving them with little choice here." Workers there on Friday began voting on whether to grant unions permission to call for strike action, with the first results due by Thursday.

Persons: Florence Tan, Woodside, Brad Gandy, Alasdair Pal, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul, William Mallard Organizations: Woodside Energy, World Gas, REUTERS, Rights, West, Sunday, Australia, North West Shelf, Unions, Offshore Alliance, Maritime Union of Australia, Australian Workers ' Union, Woodside, Workers, Thomson Locations: Daegu, South Korea, Woodside, Australia, Sydney

Chevron and Woodside negotiated with unions on Tuesday to avert potential industrial action over pay and conditions at Australian facilities that supply about 10% of the LNG market. Meanwhile, workers at three Chevron facilities, Gorgon, Wheatstone platform and Wheatstone downstream, will vote on potential industrial action after the industrial umpire approved the ballots. Even if members vote for industrial action, the unions will still have discretion over whether to call for any. Possible industrial action could range from 30-minute work stoppages all the way to complete strikes. Employers must be given seven days' notice before industrial action.

Persons: Florence Tan, Saul Kavonic, Lewis Jackson, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Woodside Energy, World Gas, REUTERS, Chevron, Woodside Energy Group, Woodside, Reuters, Workers, West Shelf, Offshore Alliance, Credit Suisse, Thomson Locations: Daegu, South Korea, Woodside

A general view shows a special ship, "Neptune", the floating liquefied natural gas terminal, during the inauguration of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal 'Deutsche Ostsee' in the port of Lubmin, Germany January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File PhotoLAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The comfort that had characterised natural gas markets in Asia and Europe in recent months was shown to be a mere illusion by the threat of strike action at three major Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants. Benchmark Dutch natural gas prices jumped 28.3% from the close on Aug. 8 to the finish on Aug. 10 as reports of the looming strike action spooked the market. Woodside and Chevron are engaging in talks with labour unions at the LNG facilities, and it's not yet clear what form any strike action would take, assuming no agreement can be reached. Europe's LNG imports in contrast have been trending lower as the continent's natural gas storages remained elevated and demand shifts structurally lower as countries move to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Persons: Annegret, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, Woodside Energy, Chevron, West Shelf, Benchmark, South Korea, China, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lubmin, Germany, LAUNCESTON, Australia, Asia, Europe, Western Australia, North Asia, Woodside, Chevron, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, United States

☆ Asia stocks slip as US CPI fails to enthuse; dollar up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Passersby are reflected on an electric stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 18, 2023. The yen touched a six-week low of 144.89 per dollar in early trade on Friday, though volumes were thinned owing to a public holiday in Japan. Its stock markets were closed and Treasuries went untraded in the Asia session. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged 0.2% lower and headed for a 1% weekly loss. In stock markets, Chinese property stocks were taking a fresh beating on giant developer Country Garden (2007.HK), which is struggling with its debts, forecasting a $7.6 billion net loss in the first half.

Persons: Issei Kato, Treasuries, Mary Daly, Andrew Lilley, Sally Auld, JB, Tom Westbrook, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, U.S ., Headline U.S, CPI, San Francisco Fed, Yahoo Finance, U.S . Treasury, HK, Star Entertainment, Chevron, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Sydney, New York, Hong Kong, Alibaba, HK, New South Wales, Woodside, WDS.AX

☆ Morning Bid: Bonds droop as inflation cheer fades
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 1, 2023. Perhaps ask your friendly bond dealer, as traders in the world's deepest market quickly got over their excitement at steadying inflation, which held at 0.2% month-on-month. Yields went up along the curve, even if markets took the risk of another rate hike next month down a little. Yet the U.S. dollar held gains made overnight and took the yen back near levels that prompted intervention last year. Stocks there were back under pressure during Friday, with Alibaba (9988.HK) handing back gains on its solid result and property stocks sliding.

Persons: Tom Westbrook, Stocks, Treasuries, Joe Biden, Philip Lowe, Michelle Bullock, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, U.S ., HK, Chevron, PPI, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Asia, untraded, Tokyo, China, HK, Australia, Woodside, WDS.AX, Europe, joblessness

☆ Oil dips as demand concerns mount; eyes on US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) rose by 5.9 million barrels in the last week to 445.6 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.6 million-barrel rise, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday. U.S. crude oil exports fell by 2.9 million barrels per day last week, the steepest fall on record, to 2.36 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the data. Concerns over LNG supply drove European gas prices to a nearly 2-month high on Wednesday and buoyed the demand outlook for diesel as alternative fuel. However, oil prices remained supported by supply tightness worries as tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region could threaten shipment of Russian oil. Top exporter Saudi Arabia's plans to extend its voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels per day for another month to include September.

Persons: Johan Sverdrup, Carina Johansen, NTB, Brent, Phil Flynn, Priyanka Sachdeva, Phillip Nova, Jun Rong, Muyu Xu, Laura Sanicola, Muralikumar Organizations: West Texas, U.S . Energy, Price Futures, Index, CPI, Woodside Energy Group, IG, Saudi, Thomson Locations: North, China, U.S, ., United States, Chevron, Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Washington

☆ Chevron, Woodside in talks to avert strikes at Australian LNG operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Concerns over potential industrial action at three Australian LNG operations - North West Shelf, Gorgon and Wheatstone - sent European gas prices to a nearly 2-month high on Wednesday. Any industrial action would disrupt Australia's LNG exports and increase competition for the super-chilled fuel, forcing Asian buyers to outbid European buyers to attract LNG cargoes. About 99% of workers at offshore platforms that supply gas to the Woodside-operated North West Shelf LNG plant, Australia's biggest LNG plant, have voted in favour of a planned strike. Chevron said it was reviewing the applications from the union to Australia's independent Fair Work Commission (FWC) over planned strikes at its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants. Gorgon, the country's second largest LNG plant, has capacity of 15.6 million metric tons a year and Wheatstone 8.9 million.

Persons: David Gray, Gorgon, Wheatstone, Brad Gandy, Woodside, Renju Jose, Jacqueline Wong, Sonali Paul Organizations: Woodside Petroleum, REUTERS, Northwest Shelf, Chevron, Woodside Energy Group, North West, North West Shelf, LNG, West Shelf, Offshore Alliance, Shell, Wheatstone, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, SYDNEY, Japan, Woodside, Chevron

The referendum, which comes amid a wider reckoning over race relations, proposes to change the constitution and establish an advisory body called the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to give Indigenous Australians a direct say in policies that affect them. Five of those polled were funding or planned to fund the "Yes" campaign, while none endorsed nor were contributing to "No". Commonwealth Bank told Reuters it plans to fund the "Yes" campaign and had hosted two panel discussions with Indigenous speakers. Rio Tinto, which faced criticism in 2020 for destroying Indigenous rock shelters, said the Voice would bring an "additional lens" to government decision-making. Aurora Milroy, a lecturer in Indigenous affairs at the University of Western Australia, said supporting the Voice was easy publicity for companies.

Persons: Rita Wright, Loren Elliott, Anthony Albanese, Intifar Chowdhury, Albanese, Meg O'Neill, Ross Piper, Baker McKenzie, Thomas Mayo, Kate Gillingham, Peter Dutton, Coles, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Aurora Milroy, Byron Kaye, Praveen Menon, Melanie Burton, David Crawshaw, Devayani, Anant Chandak, Veronica Khongwir, Sujith Pai Organizations: Australian, REUTERS, Australia's, BHP, Rio Tinto, Woodside Energy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Labor, Voice, National, Nine Entertainment, Reuters, Commonwealth Bank, Ethical Investment, Qantas, Australian Financial, Liberal, Fair Australia, Miners, Fortescue Metals, University of Western, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Rio, Western Australia, Woodside, Queensland, University of Western Australia, Melbourne

Companies Woodside Energy Group Ltd FollowADELAIDE, May 17 (Reuters) - Australia's vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is trying to pull off something that seems almost impossible. They want to lead the transition to clean and renewable energy, while at the same time continuing to invest in, and produce fossil fuels. For example, Woodside is spending some $12 billion to develop its Scarborough natural gas field off Western Australia's coast, and has another advanced LNG project with its Browse field. But the hydrogen projects are largely still at the early stages and even if all the permitting approvals are received, they will still take several years to get up and running. It's an industry-wide problem that projects take several years, and sometimes more than a decade to go from initial proposal to actual production.

SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) - Australia's 30 biggest pension funds increased their investments in key coal, oil and gas producers by 50% in 2022 despite the funds' long term commitments to net zero carbon emissions, environmental activist group Market Forces said. Superannuation or retirement funds raised their investment to more than A$34 billion ($23 billion) in companies most responsible for expanding fossil fuels, Market Forces said. Market Forces only named AustralianSuper, which it said had increased its stake in Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS.AX), Australia's top independent gas producer, by about 19 times in 2022. In an emailed response, AustralianSuper said it had raised its stake as gas was a key part of an "orderly energy transition" ahead. It estimated more than A$140 billion of Australians' retirement savings are invested in fossil fuel companies through the funds, which have more than 9% of members' share investments in these firms on average.

☆ Australia govt to change petroleum tax, LNG projects to pay more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, May 6 (Reuters) - Australia will change its Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) to increase the tax paid by the offshore LNG industry, moves that should increase revenue by A$2.4 billion ($1.6 billion) over the next four fiscal years, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Saturday. "Under the current rules, most LNG projects are not expected to pay any significant amounts of PRRT until the 2030s. The Treasury review of gas pricing was started under the previous conservative government. Chalmers said both reviews had found that aspects of the PRRT were better suited to oil projects than LNG projects, and the deductions cap and other changes would help address that. There is expected to be a substantial improvement in the budget position due to higher than expected commodity prices boosting revenues.

☆ BP agrees to buy Shell's stake in Australian Browse gas project
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Samuel Mckeith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Woodside, BP and Shell are also all stakeholders in the North West Shelf LNG plant. "BP believes development of the Browse gas resources could make a significant contribution to energy security in Australia and to the Asia Pacific region," a BP spokesperson said. The company said it supported the concept of using carbon capture for the project and processing Browse gas in the North West Shelf LNG plant. Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said it was likely "very modest" given "the risks and ongoing spend required at the Browse project". Woodside last week played down concerns over the status of Browse project and told Reuters talks had resumed with the North West Shelf LNG joint venture about a processing deal for Browse.

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