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Wednesday
31 Jan 2024

Origin Doubles Down on Renewables as Energy Transition Gathers Steam

31 Jan 2024  by reuters   
Origin Energy (ORG.AX), opens new tab on Wednesday posted a slump in second-quarter revenue from its stake in the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project on easing oil and natgas prices, and highlighted investments made in battery projects and UK firm Octopus Energy.

The investments come in as Origin, the country's top power producer, transitions towards greener forms of energy after a $10.6 billion takeover for the company fell through.

Shares gained as much as 1.2% to A$8.4 and hit their highest in nearly three weeks.

The utility company is currently constructing a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) project at Mortlake power station in southwest Victoria where it is investing A$400 million.

Last month, Origin increased its stake in UK-based renewable energy firm Octopus Energy by 3% to 23% following an investment of 280 million pounds ($355.32 million).

Origin, whose shareholders rejected a takeover bid from Brookfield-led consortium in December, said revenue from APLNG fell 28% to A$591 million ($390.12 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with A$821 million a year earlier.

LNG prices, which predominantly remained low last year, have extended their drop as ample inventories and mild winter in the Northern Hemisphere outweighed geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea.

Origin's average realized price for LNG was $11.88 per metric million British thermal unit (mmBtu) in the quarter, down from $15.94 per mmBtu a year earlier.

Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking expects challenging days ahead for the firm.

"Energy demand has dropped globally with economic slowdown. This combined with several internal issues reported in the company will make it very challenging for them," Smoling said.

Total production for the quarter from the LNG project fell 4% sequentially owing to shipments from the facility coming to a halt after a loaded tanker docked at the site lost power during the quarter.

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