Forex News Australian Energy & Resources Minister Martin Ferguson sends clear signal government won't back down on plan to remove tax break on condensate that Woodside Petroleum (WPL.AU) says formed basis of North West Shelf JV; says tax concession, which had meant first 30 million bbls of condensate produced was exempt from crude oil excise, was only intended as sunrise industry incentive, but has now been in place 24 years.
Indicates other sunrise developments may need tax breaks more than North West Shelf, which now "mature and profitable"; "We have a new generation of gas projects such as Gorgon, the Browse projects, and Sunrise that are struggling to get off the ground." Also says government will more rigorously apply commerciality test to offshore petroleum retention licenses; flags possible tax breaks to boost oil and gas exploration in frontier areas, noting Australia lightly explored for petroleum, particularly in frontier areas. Comments may disappoint Woodside investors; company has been lobbying hard for government to rethink plan; shares down 0.6% at A$59.20 while S&P/ASX 200 +1.0%.
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