Energy
LNG glut to trigger delays, cutbacks
Angela Macdonald-Smith 10:10 AM An LNG glut is likely to plague the market for six years, forcing delays to new projects and potentially causing some producers to cut output, Citigroup says
Peabody on edge, Australian jobs at risk
![More Australian mines face closure after Peabody warns of financial distress.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/v/6/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnicox.png/1458164861731.jpg)
Brian Robins 8:47 AM Thousands of Australian jobs are under threat with the largest privately owned coal miner in the world, Peabody Energy, warning overnight its financial survival was under a cloud.
Oil lifts as plans firm for output meeting
![Members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other producers plan to meet on April 17 in Doha ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/v/w/s/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnkyk5.png/1458155546720.jpg)
Mark Shenk 6:12 AM Oil rose as some OPEC members planned to meet with other producers in April to resume talks on capping output.
Oil lower for second day as Iran says no to freeze
![The Obama administration is reversing course with a new proposal to bar oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters, ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/6/i/l/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnjx4p.png/1458067412111.jpg)
Mark Shenk Oil dropped as Iran bolstered crude exports and Russia signalled the Persian Gulf nation won't join major producers in freezing output to reduce a global glut.
Chinese, Thai back Aussie renewables
![Neoen Hornsdale has been awarded a feed-in tariff for 100 megawatts in the ACT government's second wind auction.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/1/w/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnj07r.png/1458031019403.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Wind Energy Holding of Thailand has bought 50 per cent of CWP Renewables, confirming a surge of overseas interest in the wind and solar sector.
Tap Oil CEO exits, Asian investors boost control
![Tap Oil's Manora oil project started production just as oil prices were collapsing.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/4/3/r/7/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnj0rx.png/1458002854799.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Tap Oil will lose its CEO and more than half its staff in an overhaul forced by plunging prices that means its major Asian shareholders will boost control of the junior producer.
Oil lower on global glut, Iranian output
![Tehran wants to double its crude exports to 4 million bpd before considering an output freeze.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/i/y/3/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnixrs.png/1457990857508.png)
Oil prices fell about 3 per cent on concerns that a six-week market recovery has gone beyond fundamentals.
Cuba's oil promise attracts local junior
![MEO Australia CEO Peter Strickland said he is 'very encouraged' by results coming back from technical studies of Cuban ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/d/8/e/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gni1eq.png/1457987189541.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Cuba is far from the minds of most oil and gas explorers but MEO Australia is convinced an early entry into the island is a smart move as the Communist-ruled country opens up.
Oil players hopeful worst is over
![Global markets are particularly sensitive later.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/9/o/n/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gni2dq.png/1457938691136.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Tentative confidence is returning to the local oil and gas sector after the IEA declared that prices "might have bottomed out", helping stock prices make further gains.
Doubts over Qld LNG ramp up
![Two of the six trains across the three projects in Gladstone have yet to start up.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/3/2/8/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnhli9.png/1457849412962.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Weak commodity prices and worries over gas supplies have fuelled speculation that the Queensland LNG industry may ramp up output more slowly than scheduled.
US oil extends recovery through fourth week
![Brent for May settlement climbed 34 cents to $US40.39 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/i/8/w/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnh7f4.png/1457730583218.jpg)
Grant Smith and Moming Zhou Oil capped the longest run of weekly gains since May amid signs of rising US fuel demand and slowing crude production.
Goldman sees oil in $US25-$US45 range in second quarter
![Oil prices may have passed their lowest point as shrinking supplies outside OPEC and disruptions inside the group erode ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/h/4/h/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnh77d.png/1457720150680.jpg)
Sharon Cho The oil market may be starting to rebalance as US production shows signs of declining, potentially shrinking the global oversupply, according to Goldman Sachs.
Oil slips amid producer meeting doubts
![Futures in New York fell as much as 2.4 per cent after Reuters reported that a meeting among some of the top producers ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/v/6/j/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gng3af.png/1457627526856.jpg)
Moming Zhou and Grant Smith Oil slipped from a three-month high amid uncertainty about when a meeting between Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers will occur.
Death of a shale man: McClendon's final days
![Aubrey McClendon, co-founder of Chesapeake Energy, had ridden more wild ups and downs in America's energy patch than ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/9/2/1/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnf44a.png/1457645002504.jpg)
David Wethe Aubrey McClendon died last week when his SUV hit a wall at high speed. This is what happened beforehand.
Oil back above $US40 on US petrol draw
![US gasoline demand over past four weeks was also 7 per cent higher than a year ago, the EIA said.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/e/i/g/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnf1h2.png/1457551337296.jpg)
Oil prices surged as much as 4 per cent after a big draw in US gasoline convinced the market that energy demand was improving.
Oil price collapse hits exploration outlays
![Slumping oil prices have hit exploration spending.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/h/p/h/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnejdt.png/1457503565174.jpg)
Brian Robins In 2015, oil production fell to a 45-year low of just 76 million barrels, an annual survey by EnergyQuest shows, forcing Australia to import rising volumes of oil to keep cars on the road and industry running.
APA Group in hot seat as Sims hones in on pipelines
![Pipeline owners may be exercising too much market power, to the detriment of gas buyers, according to ACCC's Rod Sims.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/r/o/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnd1ay.png/1457474973697.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith APA Group is among companies in the firing line as the ACCC targets reforms to improve the lot of industrial gas buyers on the east coast.
Shell keeps BG's Nunan to head QGC
![Shell is heavily reliant on expertise from BG Group to run the QCLNG business in Queensland.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/u/y/7/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gne2ks.png/1457474772235.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Tony Nunan will head up Royal Dutch Shell's new LNG operation in Queensland after last month's $US53 billion takeover.
US sees oil output falling to four-year low
![US drivers will continue to enjoy gasoline prices below $US2 per gallon next year. The average retail price for ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/5/d/t/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gne1e8.png/1457470842048.jpg)
Moming Zhou US crude production will fall to its lowest since 2013 next year as battered shale drillers idle rigs to conserve cash. Still, Brent crude fell.
BHP to axe Hunter coal jobs
![Price slump forcing more job losses.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/g/b/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gndimf.png/1457465615460.jpg)
Brian Robins Hard on the heels of BHP Billiton's recent spin-off South 32 axing hundreds of jobs at its Illawarra mines, BHP is to wield the axe in the Hunter Valley, slashing 290 jobs.
Commodity rally seen as 'false start'
![In Goldman's 12-month view, copper may drop to $US4000 a ton and aluminium will probably slide to $US1350.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/t/l/i/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gne0bk.png/1457456312633.jpg)
Pratish Narayanan Goldman Sachs expects the rally in commodities from iron ore to gold will falter and forecast copper prices will slide as much as 20 per cent over the next year.
Twiggy's billion-dollar share rollercoaster ride
![Andrew Forrest has enjoyed a large rise in wealth recently.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/d/l/r/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gndela.png/1457507319372.jpg)
James Thomson and John Stensholt Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest made $612 million on Monday and then lost about $300 million on Tuesday.
Chevron prepares for first Gorgon shipment
![Chevrons' Gorgon gas project has been hit by cheaper competitors.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/8/y/5/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnd3ko.png/1457421834001.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Chevron's monster $55 billion Gorgon LNG venture has finally started production and is set to ship its first cargo next week.
Santos baulks at anti-CSG resolution
![BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 31: The new coal seam gas Santos Fairview Gas Processing Hub near Roma, west of Brisbane ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/e/8/p/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnd3z7.png/1457408660553.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Santos has refused to put forward a shareholder resolution calling it to scrap its controversial NSW coal seam gas project.
Speculators rethink prospect of $US20 oil
![Speculators' short positions in WTI fell by 25,639 contracts of futures and options combined to 150,718, the biggest ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/9/r/v/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnd0xn.png/1457386989328.jpg)
Moming Zhou Hedge funds unwound bearish bets at the fastest pace in 10 months as fear of oil sinking to $US20 a barrel faded.
Oil tops $US40 a barrel ahead of producer meeting
!["Market sentiment is turning positive because of this expected meeting to put a cap on production," said James Williams, ...](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/y/2/n/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gncz2v.png/1457368866578.jpg)
Grant Smith Brent crude rose above $US40 for the first time since December as major producers prepared to meet to discuss a production freeze.
APA back on acquisition track with $130m Ethane Pipeline bid
![APA Group is seeking again to use acquisitions to boost growth.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/7/r/7/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnc38d.png/1457333407632.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Acquisitive pipeline owner APA Group has launched a bid to take full ownership of the ethane pipeline running from Moomba to Sydney, in a renewal of its drive for external growth after being knocked back on deals twice in 2015.
Ferguson blasts NT Labor on fracking
![Martin Ferguson is set to lambast NT Labor for its fracking moratorium.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/b/8/a/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnc50k.png/1457330488300.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Former Labor resources minister Martin Ferguson is blaming the party's moratorium on fracking for putting a new pipeline at risk and pushing the territory to the brink of "catastrophic" gas shortages.
Higher oil prices boost WorleyParsons
![Rising oil prices have helped WorleyParsons CEO Andrew Wood buy time for a turnaround.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/2/k/l/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnas84.png/1457265357711.jpg)
Jenny Wiggins Fears WorleyParsons could be forced into an equity raising to strengthen its balance sheet are easing as higher oil prices and deeper cost cuts restore confidence
Tassie's battle to keep lights on
![A dam bust? Gordon Dam on Lake Gordon in Tasmania's south-west in better times.](/web/20160316233947im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/5/a/f/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gn8g5h.png/1458164116336.jpg)
Adam Morton The Apple Isle is using a fleet of diesel gennies and cloud seeding to try and make it rain, but will this state run out of power?