Mitsui, Mitsubishi buy $2 Billion stake in Browse project

Mitsubishi Corp, Japan’s biggest trading company, and Mitsui & Co have agreed to buy a 14.7 percent stake in Woodside's Browse LNG project for the amount of $2 Billion. 

The Mitsui and Mitsubishi venture, Japan Australia LNG Pty, also agreed to take delivery of 1.5 million metric tons of LNG annually from Browse, they said today in a statement. Its shares rose to the highest in almost seven months in Sydney trading.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Coleman said in August that Woodside may sell stakes in the Browse and Pluto LNG ventures to help fund more than $70 billion of planned projects to meet Asian demand. The company could get $1.6 billion selling 16 percent of Browse, Citigroup Inc. estimated in January.

“$2 billion for the stake is a very good value” for Woodside, Philipp Kin, an energy analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, said by phone today. “My question would be what is the price for the LNG contract, what are the potential trade- offs, if any.”

Theiss and Bechtel win Wheatstone contract

Theiss and Bechtel have won a $450 million contract on Chevron's Wheatstone project. The contract covers the bulk and final finish earthworks for the plant, stormwater drainage system and access roads around the project.

This contract is the fourth that Theiss has signed on the Wheatstone project. They are contracted with various other international partners across Wheatstone and the Gorgon project.

Thiess managing director Bruce Munro welcomed the contract and said it reinforces the company’s productive and ongoing relationship with Chevron. “Thiess is excited to be at the forefront of providing critical infrastructure needed for this rapidly growing industry,” he said.

Preparation works are scheduled for completion early 2014.

Buyers confirmed for Roy Hill Project

Japanese trading house Marubeni Corporation has confirmed that it will purchase part of the 30 per cent stake of Roy Hill.

Under agreements to purchase, Marubeni would buy 12.5 per cent, Korean steel maker POSCO 15 per cent and STX Corporation 2.5 per cent in subsidiary Roy Hill Holdings, Marubeni announced yesterday.

The stake in the project had been put up for sale early last month. Hancock Prospecting chairwoman Gina Rinaheart described the sale as a ''strategic alliance".

Hancock Prospecting will still hold a 70 per cent stake in the project.

''We are delighted that POSCO and STX as our initial Roy Hill investors have increased their shareholding and we welcome Marubeni into what is the most advanced integrated independent iron ore project in Australia,'' Mrs Rinehart said.

''We are also pleased to finalise this strategic alliance with companies whose countries need our iron ore and with the mutual determination to make this project a success.

''The confidence and commitment which such major international companies have placed in Roy Hill, at a time of global economic uncertainty, speaks volumes for the robustness and integrity of this project, which will remain as the only independent world-class Pilbara iron ore project with West Australian majority ownership.''

Monadelphous banks $220m worth of contracts

Monadelphous has secured multiple contracts in Western Australia and Queensland to the combined total of $220m.

The contracts cover construction work on Rio Tinto's Cape Lambert Port expansion project in WA, and various facilities for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal at Gladstone in Queensland.

They also cover maintenance work with Woodside Petroleum at its Pluto LNG project at Karratha and with Chevron at its LNG projects on Barrow Island and Thevenard Islands.