Paul -
Thank you for the link. It puts Australia's "resource tax" into perspective.
The new mineral resource tax does not apply to all minerals. It applies only to iron ore and coal. Gold, copper, nickel and uranium miners all are off the hook. And at 30 per cent, it sits well below the 40 per cent petroleum resources rent tax introduced by the Hawke government in 1986. Australia, like many other Countries already impose a tax on Oil & NG so the new tax does not make their petroleum tax any higher.
Still no mention about Canada. Hopefully, if they ever consider increasing and/or adding any new "resource" taxes, they will float a trial balloon. I still remember the 'Halloween Massacre' on the Royalty Trusts - no warning.
Didn't realize HES had exposure to Australia NG; From the article you posted:
Hess plans to make a decision by the year-end on whether to fund a five-well drilling program that’s expected to start in 2013, he said. Any partnership accord to develop Falcon’s additional holdings in the Beetaloo region, about 600 kilometers (373 miles) south of Darwin, would probably be reached after Hess commits to the drilling plans, he said.The five wells may cost about $50 million, Macaulay estimated, saying those expenses have yet to be determined. Hess has paid the company $20 million and agreed to fund $40 million of initial work that started last year, Falcon said in July. So, maybe I will just hold onto my HES shares and focus on my small E&P basket of stocks.
FWIW, I checked out the most recent presentation for Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) (Q1-2012) and according to pg-10-. Total Supply Costs (per barrel of Oil) range from $45/barrel-$55/barrel. (Note: Pg-18- show the cash flows they generate for each barrel as this varies with the price of oil).
goo.gl
SU at the margin only is really profitable when Oil is well above $70.00/barrel. So, perhaps the real "Value" is to accumulate shares (ie all their proven reserves) when/if Oil prices "crash" and short term SU speculators throw out their shares at bargain prices. It's just a matter of time to see that we are again at "peak oil" pricing and $100/barrel Oil seems cheap again.
EKS |
