North West Shelf green light signals warming to gas
It should never have taken more than six and a half years to make the right decision about extending the North West Shelf Project.
At last, on Wednesday, newly minted Environment Minister Murray Watt granted federal approval of Woodside Energy's application to extend the life of its gas drilling and LNG processing facility in the far northwest Pilbara region of Western Australia.
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Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
In one awful decision, Albanese has revealed his do-nothing plan
It didn't take long for us to discover what a triumphantly re-elected Labor government would be like. Would Anthony Albanese stick to the plan he outlined soon after the 2022 election of avoiding controversy during his first term so he could consolidate Labor's hold on power, then get on with the big reforms in term two? Or would he decide that his policy of giving no offence to powerful interest groups had been so rapturously received by the voters, he'd stick with it in his new term? Well, now we know. The re-elected government's first big decision is to extend the life of Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas processing plant on the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia for a further 40 years from 2030. What was it you guys said about your sacred commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050? You remember, the commitment that showed you were fair dinkum about combating climate change whereas the Coalition, with its plan to switch to nuclear energy, wasn't? So you're happy for one of the world's biggest liquified natural gas projects still to be pumping out greenhouse gases in 2070, 20 years after it's all meant to be over? Some estimate that the plant will send 4.4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, but that's OK because nearly all the gas will be exported. We won't be burning it, our customers will. (Though we don't quite know how we'll ensure their emissions worsen their climate but not ours.) To be fair, had the government failed to extend the project's licence, Woodside would have been ropeable and the West Australian branch of the Labor Party – which I sometimes suspect is a wholly owned subsidiary of the mining industry, or maybe the mining unions – might have seceded. But that's the point. If you want to govern Australia effectively – if you aim to fix our many problems – you have to be prepared to stand up to powerful interest groups. It's now clear Albanese isn't prepared to stand up, but still wants to enjoy the spoils of office. The strange thing is, according to our present law, the environment minister's power to end Woodside's franchise stems only from the project's effect on the environment, not on climate change. But this would have been no impediment to rejecting the continuation.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
In one awful decision, Albanese has revealed his do-nothing plan
It didn't take long for us to discover what a triumphantly re-elected Labor government would be like. Would Anthony Albanese stick to the plan he outlined soon after the 2022 election of avoiding controversy during his first term so he could consolidate Labor's hold on power, then get on with the big reforms in term two? Or would he decide that his policy of giving no offence to powerful interest groups had been so rapturously received by the voters, he'd stick with it in his new term? Well, now we know. The re-elected government's first big decision is to extend the life of Woodside Energy's North West Shelf gas processing plant on the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia for a further 40 years from 2030. What was it you guys said about your sacred commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050? You remember, the commitment that showed you were fair dinkum about combating climate change whereas the Coalition, with its plan to switch to nuclear energy, wasn't? So you're happy for one of the world's biggest liquified natural gas projects still to be pumping out greenhouse gases in 2070, 20 years after it's all meant to be over? Some estimate that the plant will send 4.4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, but that's OK because nearly all the gas will be exported. We won't be burning it, our customers will. (Though we don't quite know how we'll ensure their emissions worsen their climate but not ours.) To be fair, had the government failed to extend the project's licence, Woodside would have been ropeable and the West Australian branch of the Labor Party – which I sometimes suspect is a wholly owned subsidiary of the mining industry, or maybe the mining unions – might have seceded. But that's the point. If you want to govern Australia effectively – if you aim to fix our many problems – you have to be prepared to stand up to powerful interest groups. It's now clear Albanese isn't prepared to stand up, but still wants to enjoy the spoils of office. The strange thing is, according to our present law, the environment minister's power to end Woodside's franchise stems only from the project's effect on the environment, not on climate change. But this would have been no impediment to rejecting the continuation.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: ASX pops, IDP Education erases 40pc of market cap, Eclipse Metals doubles
ASX lifts as oil pops and wages outpace inflation Eclipse Metals doubles on rare earth news IDP Education craters 40pc, Eclipse Metals doubles The ASX 200 was up 0.6% on Tuesday morning as banks, energy and miners led a mostly green board. Not bad, considering we're coming off a fresh flare-up in Trump-Xi tariff tension. Overnight, US stocks took a shaky start in stride. The S&P 500 closed up 0.4%, Nasdaq rose 0.7%. There was mud-slinging between Washington and Beijing, along with talk of a potential call between Trump and Xi this week to smooth things over; but let's not hold our breath. Crude oil prices surged as wildfires in Canada knocked out an estimated 7% of the country's oil production. That news has boosted local energy players this morning. Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) shot up 1.5%. Gold also rallied hard, up 3%, on good old-fashioned fear. The Aussie dollar found some swagger, too, climbing to almost US65c as the greenback weakened on trade nerves. Back to the ASX, where IDP Education (ASX:IEL) was the biggest large cap mover this morning. Not in a good way. The stock faceplanted with a 44% dip after warning that global student numbers are drying up fast – up to 30% less placements this year. Language testing volumes are also expected to drop nearly 20%. The stock's now at its lowest level since 2016, and let's just say the market didn't take the news well. This is where things stood at around lunch time, AEST: Still in the large caps space, Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) was down 0.3% after trimming its full-year earnings outlook slightly to $770m (down from $780m). The Penfolds maker blamed lower-than-expected shipments, and the sudden exit of a key distributor in California. And, Domino's Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) slipped 3% as it reshuffled leadership in Japan to try and get its operations back on track. Wages go up; RBA plays it safe Meanwhile, the Fair Work Commission is lifting minimum and award wages by 3.5% starting July 1. That takes the national minimum to just under $948 a week, or $24.95 an hour. This is the first time in years that the increase has outpaced inflation (currently at 2.4%), which sounds like great news for workers. But there's a catch, experts said. It could add heat to consumer spending at a time when the RBA is trying to cool inflation down. Speaking of the RBA, the May meeting minutes were released today, and the message is: "We could've cut rates more, but let's not get ahead of ourselves." The central bank said it went with 25 basis points, and not a bigger cut, because that level struck the right balance between caution and predictability. The minutes also suggested that Trump's tariffs haven't really dented Australia just yet, and the board figured it would be riskier to overdo the cut now, and then have to slam on the brakes later. ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 3 : Security Description Last % Volume MktCap EPM Eclipse Metals 0.012 140% 44,462,844 $14,329,095 VAR Variscan Mines Ltd 0.007 40% 70,007 $3,914,289 BMO Bastion Minerals 0.002 33% 50,750 $1,355,441 BYH Bryah Resources Ltd 0.014 27% 24,733,813 $9,569,489 NC1 Nico Resources 0.092 26% 242,015 $8,008,142 WCE West Coast Silver 0.078 26% 2,882,262 $16,127,501 ION Iondrive Limited 0.025 25% 9,792,040 $23,656,727 CAV Carnavale Resources 0.005 25% 1,133,878 $16,360,874 ERA Energy Resources 0.003 25% 2,577,920 $810,792,482 EVR Ev Resources Ltd 0.005 25% 423,614 $7,943,347 MEM Memphasys Ltd 0.005 25% 499,000 $7,934,392 WYX Western Yilgarn NL 0.033 22% 113,076 $3,714,149 FTL Firetail Resources 0.091 21% 1,997,393 $28,502,098 MPW Metal Powdworks Ltd 1.120 20% 274,652 $94,822,106 AN1 Anagenics Limited 0.006 20% 100,000 $2,481,602 GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.003 20% 439,921 $7,051,062 NES Nelson Resources. 0.003 20% 2,700,000 $5,429,819 SLS Solsticeminerals 0.245 20% 1,145,637 $21,305,777 PEB Pacific Edge 0.089 19% 18,968 $60,893,698 FXG Felix Gold Limited 0.160 19% 3,371,970 $55,477,952 ALM Alma Metals Ltd 0.004 17% 300,000 $4,759,036 FGH Foresta Group 0.007 17% 68,000 $15,917,439 RNX Renegade Exploration 0.004 17% 3,510,002 $3,865,090 SHP South Harz Potash 0.004 17% 20,000 $3,308,186 Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) unveiled a massive 89 million tonne rare earths resource at its Grønnedal project in southwest Greenland. The updated estimate shows grades averaging over 6,300ppm TREO, including high-value magnet metals like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – key ingredients for EVs and wind turbines. That puts it among the highest-grade rare earth deposits in the world. This new figure is more than 70 times bigger than the previous estimate, and the mineralisation still looks to extend in every direction, said EPM. Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) has snapped up the Cardea 3 Bauxite Project in WA's Darling Range, just 17km from its big Julimar West deposit. It paid a modest $5k upfront, and will tip in more cash and shares once the exploration licence is granted. Previous drilling at Cardea 3 shows high-grade bauxite, with standout results like 7.5m at over 48% total alumina and low reactive silica. ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 3 : Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap OB1 Orbminco Limited 0.001 -50% 81,733 $4,795,136 IEL Idp Education Ltd 4.430 -41% 12,916,496 $2,079,171,496 EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.001 -33% 1 $4,880,668 OVT Ovanti Limited 0.002 -33% 7,374,999 $8,380,545 RCM Rapid Critical 0.002 -33% 7,719,243 $3,734,834 VML Vital Metals Limited 0.002 -33% 1,372,063 $17,685,201 DTR Dateline Resources 0.105 -28% 62,441,707 $414,441,555 DGR DGR Global Ltd 0.003 -25% 1,225,000 $4,174,784 MTB Mount Burgess Mining 0.003 -25% 492,539 $1,406,811 RAN Range International 0.002 -25% 4,050 $1,878,581 WGR Western Gold 0.051 -23% 1,376,233 $14,149,167 RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.022 -21% 5,330,601 $20,564,694 PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 2,693,864 $7,937,639 AJL AJ Lucas Group 0.005 -17% 7,861 $8,254,378 EAT Entertainment 0.005 -17% 151,516 $7,852,716 FBR FBR Ltd 0.005 -17% 736,437 $34,136,713 PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.003 -17% 2,000,011 $6,828,269 TEG Triangle Energy Ltd 0.003 -17% 713,575 $6,267,702 MKL Mighty Kingdom Ltd 0.011 -15% 12,021 $6,319,842 OSLDA Oncosil Medical 1.020 -15% 7,725 $13,819,740 ODE Odessa Minerals Ltd 0.006 -14% 910,604 $11,196,728 SP8 Streamplay Studio 0.006 -14% 277,925 $8,969,552 EXT Excite Technology 0.010 -14% 1,372,089 $22,799,061 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Titanium Sands (ASX:TSL) has finalised a corporate funding solution for the Mannar heavy mineral project, whereby CPS Capital Group will provide up to $600,000 in loan funding in two tranches. The funding will be used to finalise environmental studies, advance an industrial mining licence for the project, and for general working capital. ADX Energy (ASX:ADX) has tapped David Gilbert as non-executive director, replacing John Begg as he steps down from the board of directors. Gilbert has held senior positions in companies based in Austria and Romania, locations highly relevant to ADX's operations as the company holds projects in both countries. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Titanium Sands and ADX Energy are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
