Energy
BHP warns mining glut may take a decade to clear
Brian Robins 5:08 PM BHP Billiton has warned the glut in commodity markets may take a decade to work off as it works to squeeze costs while ramping up output so it can lift cash returns
Iron ore 'will take longest to come back'
![BHP boss Andrew Mackenzie: "We've had such a long boom. To walk that through in my view may take another 10 years."](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/k/3/t/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpoait.png/1466495312656.jpg)
2:57 PM The global iron ore market will take longer to balance out than other commodities as excess supply takes time to be absorbed after a boom, BHP boss says.
Ausgrid sale not to be delayed
![Electricity cables being laid by Ausgrid, which is being sold by the NSW government](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/c/2/9/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpo5ec.png/1466494428796.jpg)
Brian Robins 1:46 PM The NSW government expects to complete the sale of Ausgrid by the end of August.
Oil extends rebound on Brexit positioning
![US crude inventories probably dropped by 1.5m barrels last week, according to the median of estimates in a Bloomberg ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/9/r/w/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpnslj.png/1466458722132.jpg)
Mark Shenk 7:38 AM Oil gained, extending its advance from a one-month low last week, as equities rose.
Saudi exports fall as refineries slow output
![Oil companies typically shut refineries for maintenance in April and May in preparation for higher Northern Hemisphere ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/d/y/h/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpnslh.png/1466458235289.jpg)
Wael Mahdi 7:30 AM Saudi Arabia cut crude oil shipments in April to the lowest level in six months.
'No leadership and no commitment'
![Renewable energy accounted for 36 per cent of SA's electricity in May – and only one quarter of that total in NSW.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/h/s/g/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gplh8k.png/1466213328457.jpg)
Peter Hannam It's the one issue on which NSW is being outpaced by almost every other state.
Oil rebounds as greenback retreats
![Julian Jessop, chief economist and head of commodities research at Capital Economics, told Reuters Global Oil Forum an ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/j/1/l/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpm6fp.png/1466195613434.jpg)
Oil prices jumped about 4 per cent, as a weaker US dollar bolstered interest in risk assets.
Renewables rain on power's parade
![A rise in renewable energy helps to destabilise power market prices.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/y/n/i/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpkshm.png/1466201991784.jpg)
Brian Robins The surge in renewable energy has left households with whipsawing electricity bills as power companies push through a round of steep price rises.
Unaoil used global networks to move corrupt funds
![Cyrus Ahsani and his wife Sany](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/u/p/s/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpkbaj.png/1466062284902.jpg)
Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard, Richard Baker The Monaco-based oil company at the centre of a global bribery scandal used a network of offshore accounts and companies to shift funds under the noses of authorities for years.
Prices swing wildly as renewable use rises
![South Australia's experience has shown that a high proportion of renewables in the energy mix can lead to big movements ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/q/i/g/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpkdfz.png/1466059927453.jpg)
Brian Robins The surge in renewable energy in South Australia has left households with whipsawing bills as power companies push through a round of steep price rises.
Global oil market seen balanced in 2017
![By the end of next year, OPEC will need to pump nearly 1 million barrels above last month's production level to keep the ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/v/w/s/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpk1hb.png/1466020187621.jpg)
Javier Blas, Julian Lee and Grant Smith The world's most prominent oil forecaster anticipates near-equilibrium between supply and demand in global crude markets next year.
Solar to overshadow power companies
![Solar energy](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/3/k/p/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpji4a.png/1465983755102.jpg)
Brian Robins Smarter products and surging output from rooftop solar systems will keep a lid on the amount of power we buy from the grid.
Oil falls to three-week low as risk aversion rises
![OPEC kept estimates for world supply and demand in 2016 unchanged in its monthly market report.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/r/o/f/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpj4a0.png/1465936608861.jpg)
Mark Shenk Oil dropped to a three-week low in New York as risk aversion among investors sent equities lower and bolstered the US dollar.
AGL to hike power charges
![AGL is to slug households with steep price rises from July.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/o/r/s/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gphxzg.png/1465881336646.jpg)
Brian Robins Power prices are set to rise by much more than the rate of inflation in NSW as
Apple seeks to sell excess solar power
![Apple shares dropped on the back of Icahn's comments.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/t/k/8/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gphjgw.png/1465772766722.jpg)
Allana Akhtar Apple could start selling consumers another desired product - green energy.
Hopes of a collapse in demand for fossil fuels overstated
![Emissions rise from the Monroe Energy refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/d/c/w/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gphaba.png/1465703116342.jpg)
Jillian Ambrose "The world is going to have to continue using fossil fuels, whether they like it or not."
Are oil prices going to double?
![Some are betting that the current low oil price will generate a supply crunch.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/x/o/b/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpgxo3.png/1465636224120.jpg)
Javier Blas Investors are buying contracts that will only pay out if crude rises well above $US100 a barrel over the next four years - a clear sign some think they see seeds of the next boom.
Oil pulls back after recent rally, greenback gain
![Oil will return to around $US70 a barrel next year as the large overhang of crude is reduced, according to Energy ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/v/6/j/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpfys9.png/1465514986978.jpg)
Mark Shenk Oil declined from a 10-month high in New York as a stronger US dollar countered a rally driven by tightening global supplies.
Jemena remains positive on NT gas line
![Jemena is hunting customers for the NEGI gas pipelines.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/3/q/u/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpfjwy.png/1465471479127.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Gas pipeline developer says it can still fill a new $800 million pipeline from the NT to Queensland, despite the threat of a Labor moratorium on fracking.
IEA slashes gas demand outlook for fourth year
![Global gas prices will remain under pressure as "huge amount" of LNG export capacity is coming online just as demand ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/e/6/r/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpeybw.png/1465428908592.jpg)
Anna Shiryaevskaya While oil markets will start re-balancing after a slump next year, an oversupply in natural gas won't disappear until the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said.
Oil Search 'quietly confident' on deal
![Oil Search CEO Peter Botten.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/7/o/0/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpe71b.png/1465370920690.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Oil Search CEO Peter Botten says he is "confident" of shareholder support for his $US2.2 billion-plus takeover deal for InterOil.
Clough rebukes LNG producers
![Australia's wave of new LNG projects are all starting production within the next couple of years.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/8/p/v/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpe1ao.png/1465366663908.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Clough's new chief executive has told gas producers that putting the screws on contractors is not the answer to cost hurdles for new projects.
'By far the biggest ever month'
![Wind energy had a record month in May.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/f/8/c/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpe6qh.png/1465362200825.jpg)
Peter Hannam A windy May across south-eastern Australia helped smash wind energy generation records.
Woodside leaves door open on deals
![Woodside CEO Peter Coleman could still look at larger scrip-based acquisitions.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/d/a/4/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpduii.png/1465370657800.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman isn't totally ruling out a larger, scrip-based acquisition, while keeping the cap on any cash deal at about $US1 billion.
Oil closes above $US50 in New York
!["The path of least resistance for crude is still higher," said Clayton Rogers, an energy derivative broker at SCS ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/d/y/h/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpdyb5.png/1465335966816.jpg)
Mark Shenk Oil closed above $US50 a barrel in New York for the first time in more than 10 months as US crude stockpiles are estimated to have fallen for a third week.
Shell pares spending amid energy price slump
![Shell will spend $US29 billion this year, it said on Tuesday. That compares with a May forecast for capital expenditure ...](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/m/8/7/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpdycj.png/1465321276509.jpg)
Rakteem Katakey and Ryan Chilcote Royal Dutch Shell cut spending plans further and promised increased savings following its record purchase of BG Group.
Bid 'materially undervalues' InterOil: unhappy investors
![Phil Mulacek, the former chairman and CEO of InterOil, is seeking board control.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/3/i/p/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpdcs8.png/1465308087861.jpg)
Brian Robins Disgruntled shareholders in InterOil Corp say Oil Search's $US2.2 billion ($3 billion) takeover offer undervalues the company by as much as $US3 billion.
Gas industry was out to lunch: Woodside CEO
![Woodside CEO Peter Coleman says the gas industry is partly to blame for its own woes.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/c/0/a/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpd5rx.png/1465292004339.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith The natural gas industry has been "out to lunch", taking years to build LNG projects over budget and not snaring bigger market share, the Woodside CEO says.
CSG wastewater tanks adrift in flood
![Bubbling up near CSG wells: AGL says it's carbon dioxide.](/web/20160621123336im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/d/i/e/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gpd2mj.png/1465283801038.png)
Peter Hannam What's in those bubbles, anti-CSG activists want to know.