I am horrified to report that yesterday’s cow ore boom has gone bust today. BHP is down -1.5%, RIO is down -1% though the king of the cow, FMG, is still up 0.7%:
Dalian is again under pressure opening 1.5 points down at 347.5.
Meanwhile, LNG had gone all cow gas today with WPL up 0.7% on positive comments from Shell about Browse, despite the oil crash, from the AFR:
Royal Dutch Shell remains unequivocally bullish on prospects for liquefied natural gas despite the current market glut, pointing to several options for new supply projects after its planned $US70 billion ($97 billion) takeover of BG Group and plenty of new markets opening up around the world.
“The fundamentals of this market look as robust now as in the past to us,” chief financial officer Simon Henry told investors overnight Australian time, spelling out Shell’s expectation that global LNG demand will expand at 5 per cent a year to 2030, only modestly lower than the 8 per cent annual growth seen since 2000.
“Shell is investing to develop new LNG demand, through offtake contracts and new LNG regasification projects.”
The briefing presentations to investors in London placed the Browse floating LNG project in Western Australia firmly in the picture for a potential go-ahead next year, as targeted by operator Woodside Petroleum, despite cutbacks in investment and costs that will total $US11 billion for Shell this year and tightening up of capital allocation amid expectations of continuing weak energy prices.
Poppycock. The market faces an huge glut and 5% demand growth won’t go near clearing it. But Shell either doesn’t know it or won’t say it given its bid for BG. If Browse goes ahead it’ll be the dumbest decision since Roy Hill.
Anyway, back to the bourse, STO is flat while ORG and OSH are down -1.5%. LNG continues to crash down -4.55%:
Another day in paradise!
