Oils main feature in Australia

Press, 2 June 1981, Page 22

Oils main feature in Australia

The shares of oil explorers and producers provided the main interest of a firm Australian share market last week. The Sydney all-ordi-naries index rose 7.5 points to 713.8, helped by a 60c rise by BHP to $14.85. The oil index rose 20.3 points to 928.8. Western Australia’s Blina No. 1 oil strike proved to have more in common with the North Sea than ever this week — a drill stem test recovered dirty salt water. The disappointing test saw Vamgas shares drop from $14.20 to $12.80 at one point on Friday before finishing at $13.60 —60 c down on the day

but still 30c above the previous week’s close. The shares traded as high as $15.10 earlier in the week after the report of a 905 bpd oil flow at the well and a comment by Occidental Petroleum’s chairman (Dr Armand Hammer) that the Canning Basin strike was his company’s most important find since the North Sea. Woodside, with a 53 per cent stake in Vamgas, shed 10c on the week to finish at 238 c. WMC proved among the few stocks with Canning Basin interests to hold on to its gains, finishing 34c higher at 560 c ahead of the start-up

of its June drill programme. However, the downturn in Canning issues was more than made up by renewed interest in companies involved in the oil and gas hunt in the Amadeus Basin in Central Australia.

Moonie led the Amadeus stocks with a 350 c rise to $14.50 and Magellan put on 170 c to 950 c; Amadeus gained 45c to 230 c and Transoil picked up 14c to 174 c. Shale oil stocks were pushed back into the limelight by Esso Australia’s decision to press on with the development of the Rundle shale oil deposit. However, the inclusion of

new escape clauses in Esso’s agreement with its co-ven-turers, Central Pacific Minerals and Southern Pacific Petroleum, kept investors wary.

Southern Pacific finished the week 5c stronger at 95c after top sales 'at 110 c and Central was unchanged at 250 c after sales at 265 c. E.R.A. featured elsewhere in the alternative energy sector with a 15c rise to 165 c after the company reported a 12.4 per cent increase in the estimated size of (he Ranger uranium ore body. Heavyweight miners were little changed, although background support was provided by an upturn in gold prices on Friday and a decision by the Chase Manhattan bank to lower its prime rate to 20 per cent from 21.5 per cent. However, the cheerier news failed to lure overseas buyers back to the market after holiday week-ends in the U.S. and U.K.