It makes sense for Woodside - a company that's ex-growth that's l... by Ric Ronge

It makes sense for Woodside - a company that's ex-growth that's looking for the next leg.

Ric Ronge

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Categorized in : Energy

You're getting more output for a lower price. It's just one issue that's making production a bit stickier than you would expect.

There's a huge environmental liability around closing some operations, that doesn't stop them from putting things on care and maintenance. That still takes tonnes out of the market.

It's probably the last thing the company needs, given it's struggling to generate earnings, it's on track to pay dividends out of debt, and then they've got this liability, in dollars and in terms of their ability to operate as a responsible citizen, it's very material.

Given Glasenberg's reputation and large personal stake in Glencore, the company is unlikely to offer meaningfully over what the market believes, rightly or wrongly, Rio is worth, but I think it is foolish to underestimate Glencore, given the success of the company to date.

Quality operations are making a fist of the tough environment, and they're doing better than the market's expecting, so that's a great outcome.

It's a pretty strong set of results, and they're giving the market what they're wanting. It should be really well received.

It's all about returns. If (the big miners) can do it, why wouldn't they? There are very few commodities for all these companies where they can grow and generate a meaningful return.