By Angela Macdonald-Smith
January 14, 2008 07:40am
AUSTRALIA’S largest oil and gas producers lack growth opportunities to drive up share prices this year, according to brokers Credit Suisse.
Forecast earnings for Woodside Petroleum (wpl.ASX:Quote,News) and Santos (sto.ASX:Quote,News) do not support existing stock prices, while the premiums at which stocks are trading to valuations mostly preclude gains from mergers and acquisitions, the securities firm said.
Oil Search, Papua New Guinea’s biggest oil producer, is the best placed of the larger stocks for share price gains because of progress on a PNG liquefied natural gas venture.
Woodside, Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer, in November cut forecast output for this year by as much as 20 per cent.
Santos said in October it would scale back its 2008 drilling program in central Australia due to a lack of exploration targets.
Oil Search might benefit from progress on an ExxonMobil-led liquefied natural gas venture in Papua New Guinea, Credit Suisse said.
“We are marginally negative on the sector,” the analysts said.
“There is a lack of organic upside in the sector compared to 2004-05 when almost all companies had significant development portfolios.”
Woodside, 34 per cent owned by Royal Dutch Shell, dropped 67¢ to $50.85 on Friday. Santos fell 20¢ to $14.24 and Port Moresby-based Oil Search lost 18¢ to $4.73.
Analysts said the focus this year would be on developing, valuing and acquiring oil and gas reserves. Any revising of reserves higher would most likely result from progress on LNG projects and growth in coal-seam gas.
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,23048310-14334,00.html
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
