The Nordic country’s coalition government is currently heading towards a referral process to vote on overturning the ban, wherein it appears enthusiasm to overturn an existing uranium ban has defined some lawmakers’ worldview.

This follows a 2024 government-led inquiry which ultimately recommended the government start re-allowing Swedish uranium miners to extract the country’s natural resources.

(According to David Dalton, a writer for nuclear trade publication Nucnet, the inquiry has pointed towards Jan 1 2026 as a milestone for the ban to be overturned in legislation.)

The kicker here is that the ban doesn’t harmonise with Sweden’s energy security goals, given that it imports the uranium it uses to fuel its nuclear power plants.

The issue with that is Sweden’s energy generation mix is entirely one third nuclear and in a world where Russia has invaded Ukraine, European energy supply chains have all been re-drawn. Now it’s time for Sweden to do the same.

And that would bode well for Aura: it oversees its Hagan project in the country which it calls the fourth largest uranium project globally. (The company attaches a foot-note to that claim.)

Underpinning the company’s confidence is that it reports recent discussions with lawmakers in Stockholm ahead of what is expected to be a vote later this year, the conclusion of the inquiry process.

“The Swedish Government’s step towards lifting the uranium mining ban mark a transformational moment for the country’s energy future,” company chief Phil Mitchell said.

Aura plans to keep engaging with Sweden’s government throughout 2025, including a planned investor symposium event. The company will team up with Aussie-based privately-held Neu Horizon Uranium. which also has interests in Sweden, in collaborating on the country’s nuclear industry broadly.

AEE last traded at 13cps.

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What is perhaps most interesting is that FAR Limited, for now, says it’s not taking Woodside seriously: “[the company] has not accepted liability to Woodside in this regard,” the company concluded in its Wednesday disclosure.

Talk about a David and Goliath story. FAR Limited has a market cap of $45 million, and on March 31, 2025, it actually had less than $2 million in the bank.

This is clearly bad news for the company, but perhaps counterintuitively, the stock hadn’t really reacted too strongly as of 3pm AEST. Shares were down -4.17% to 46cps, around where it started the day.

That’s because the stock is highly illiquid – according to data provided by Market Index, less than $6,000 of shares have traded hands, most of that following the news.

So what’s going on? This stems back to January, when Woodside first informed FAR it might come knocking for cash later in the year. Now, here we are.

FAR sold to Woodside in 2021 its interest in the formerly titled RSSD Project, which energy watchers likely know better as Woodside’s Sangomar project.

Under the terms of that deal struck in 2021, FAR Limited was to take the heat if things went sour when it went to Woodside’s ability to have financial discussions with the Senegalese government that went in Woodside’s favour.

Senegal implements Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), which basically make the government something like a JV partner.

Maybe unsurprising for a West African nation, discussions with Woodside haven’t ended in Woodside’s favour.

The government of Senegal isn’t playing ball with white-owned Woodside; the latter advised FAR that “Woodside is unable to recover petroleum expenditure not directly linked to exploration activities.”

In other words, lost costs under that country’s corporate finance legislative ecosystem.

And because of that, Woodside’s now turning to FAR Limited for US$6M. After all, that term was in the contract struck between Woodside and the former in 2021.

Except that FAR Limited, in not accepting liability, has some of its own concerns around Woodside’s conduct, here.

(And that mightn’t be too shocking, seeing as without a loan or capital raise of some kind, the sum could bankrupt the company, going off its March 31 quarterly.)

“[In January, Woodside] stated that any indemnity obligation only arises if Woodside provides written notice of the claim stating in reasonable detail the nature of the claim and the amount claimed in respect of it on or before the first anniversary of first oil being sold. That time limit is approaching shortly,” FAR Limited wrote.

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“FAR has been seeking a range of information from Woodside in relation to the subject matter of the potential claim which remains outstanding. FAR has been reserving all rights it has under the Sale and Purchase Agreement and has not accepted liability to Woodside in this regard.”

Here, one can probably smell the beginnings of an eventual settlement.

But if that’s correct, we mightn’t have to wait too long.

Because FAR Limited, looking at its latest quarterly, absolutely hasn’t got the cash base Woodside do to endure a protracted lawsuit.

FAR last traded at 46cps.

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Those activities are backed, in part, by Export Finance Australia (EFA), which gave Vulcan some $210M late last year as part of a funding deal to underpin Phase One’s execution.

For those out of the loop, Vulcan Energy’s whole deal is that it’s a lithium company extracting from underground brines in Germany’s Rhine Valley; by a geological coincidence, those same brines coincide with geothermal energy – considered renewable – which Vulcan intends to export around the local area.

This dual value proposition has been the focus of Vulcan for years now, and the company’s notable for being one of the remaining lithium stocks on the ASX that has managed to eke out for itself a relatively decent valuation, surviving the lithium price crash – compared, at least, to its share price around $2.00/sh in January of 2024.

(That said, its share price was above $15 for a brief period in 2021 at the height of the lithium boom.)

Whether or not it can return to those levels depends, most probably, on re-pricing of lithium benchmarks. Analysts have long proposed we might see lithium oversupply dwindle in the late 2020’s which could support prices, but the world continues to produce a lot of it. Especially China.

In that view, Vulcan may stay at its current levels for the foreseeable future. But at least now it’s on the cusp of commercial lithium production – despite everything the last few years has thrown at the sector.

Vulcan was also the subject of a J Capital short sellers’ report a few years ago, which, using Australia’s strong defamation laws, it managed to get wiped from the web.

“All preparatory works have been diligently carried out by the team and safety checks assessed by authorities. Local stakeholders have also been extensively consulted, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” company CEO Cris Moreno said.

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“This development means Vulcan is one step closer to delivering our mission of establishing a sustainable, European-based lithium supply chain, delivering both baseload renewable heating and lithium production for electric vehicle batteries.”

VUL last traded at $4.25/sh.

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That comes from its exposure to a retail electricity business in the U.K., Octopus Energy. But the reason why it’s posting a loss is the interesting part.

In short: It’s at least half because of climate change. Namely, the U.K. is reporting the third warmest April since 1884. You could also say the third hottest April, but then you’d be exposed to technicality arguments about whether or not the U.K. is hot.

At any rate, a warming planet isn’t good news for Origin, at least not when things are meant to be cold. Octopus is losing the company up to $100M because homes in the U.K. have required less heating, given higher temperatures.

(To be fair: The company said around $50M of its loss was due to reduced heating demand; the company also pointed towards “continued investment” and “non-U.K. retail markets,” despite Octopus being in the U.K.)

At any rate, looking at the climate change angle, it’s not like the weather and energy markets aren’t already locked in a forever tango.

Ahead of hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico (or Gulf of America, apparently), U.S. natural gas prices often rise, given that production in the GOM/GOA is where the hurricane likes to sit.

Forecasts for hotter-than-expected winters in America and elsewhere often impact futures prices; the reverse is also true. Agriculture is not the only industry that bows before the radar. At least sometimes.

But clearly, a loss of up to $100M was too much for some Origin investors on Monday. It’s helped to tank the entire Utilities sector.

ORG last traded at $10.52/sh.

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“Two horizontal production wells have now been completed for production, and the dewatering process will commence imminently once the Company receives approval from the regulator,” the company wrote on Monday.

(To use a simpler term, a horizontal CBM well is also known as a fracking well.)

Shares jumped 18% in first trade, to 3.3cps, but before we hit 11:30am, some gains were pared off as investors appeared to get out while they could.

Regardless: It’s, if only due to a technicality, a history-making moment for Jade.

Also known as a fracking well, the technicality here is that Jade is set to commence a production well. A number of pilot wells have been sunk in Mongolia by the likes of Elixir Energy (now back in Queensland) and TMK Energy (these days, an illiquid penny stock).

What now remains for Jade – and its share price – is to lock in sales.

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“Jade continues to progress negotiations with partners on these near-term commercialisation opportunities, with a focus on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) capabilities to capture value,” Jade added – a sentiment backed by company chief Dennis Morton.

JGH last traded at 3.3cps.

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In fact, all four of those Australian stocks were among the top gainers of the day on the ASX intraday on Friday.

That’s quite a different situation from last week, when a majority of those stocks were the biggest fallers last Friday – even as uranium prices began to rise.

Last Friday, I wrote that it appeared profit takers were moving in on uranium stocks, perhaps fully cognisant of the fact that future gains could be locked in as the market digested uranium price action on the NYMEX.

Just a short week later, it appears that may have been true.

But why are uranium prices rising in the first place? Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump is involved… because of course he is.

While it feels (to me at least) markets might be getting weary of Trump headlines – or perhaps paying closer attention to U.S. 10-year bond yields, heading for around 4.5% – there has been one story this week playing out in the background.

Trump’s attention has turned to the nuclear industry – and you bet, there’s an Executive Order for that. At least according to a report from Reuters.

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The news will surely be received well by shareholders exposed to ASX stocks working in the uranium space, especially if they’ve been holding since the start of last year when uranium briefly surpassed US$100/lb.

So will this be the trigger for a new valuation on the price of the nuclear energy feedstock mineral? That remains to be seen – but what is more or less certain is that anybody who took profits last Friday probably feels pretty clever a week later.

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Given it’s already making tanks to store liquefied (hydrogen) gas as part of its shipping vessel ambitions, Provaris is now looking at another kind of liquefied gas: carbon itself, climate change culprit number one.

Provaris has put the idea out there that it could exploit the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) market, given that it could just liquefy carbon dioxide instead.

The move is, perhaps, wise.

The company has been rocked by the vicissitudes of a post-COVID-19 world, and the changes to energy dynamics (and narratives) borne from it.

In the first year of lockdown, investors may remember fondly hydrogen was all the rage. The spirit of green hydrogen possessed Andrew Forrest’s body for a while; there was no shortage of talking heads claiming hydrogen gas will replace natural gas.

Forrest has since rolled his hydrogen spin-out back into his mainstay iron ore company. As part of that, 700 jobs had to go. But that’s besides the point when it comes to Provaris.

Hydrogen has effectively died in the water as an investment thematic, and that decline has hit Provaris hard. That’s evidenced nowhere better than the company’s share price over the last 5 years. When it was called Global Energy Ventures, back in 2021, the company was worth over 12cps. It’s now worth one cent.

(That’s what I mean when I call the stock “dormant.”)

While a pivot to (proposed) liquefied CO2 storage (and presumably sales), it hasn’t moved the company’s share price on Thursday. But it may be the kind of thing that could boost Provaris’s chance of acquiring further capital.

In its own words, Provaris noted the world is heading towards a reality of more fossil fuel production, not less – meaning investments in CCS technology are likely to continue.

Regular readers of mine will know I’m highly skeptical of carbon capture, because there’s no real evidence outside of advertorial materials that the technology can work at scale in 2025 – nobody has done it yet – but it remains the focal point of many universities, and, private (or public) companies looking to make it rich off a real climate change solution.

This, in my view, will always be a fantasy. Don’t forget Goldman Sachs is expecting the climate to hit +3C above pre-industrial averages, which prompted them to recommend investors go long on air conditioning stocks.

At any rate: It’s an interesting evolution for Provaris, and could be a good narrative for shareholders. Better yet, if the company can actually come up with a viable carbon capture solution, which I’ll concede isn’t impossible.

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But it could be a while off. Provaris only recently recommenced fabrication on the first of its prototypes, after its Norwegian builder tasked with manufacturing went bankrupt. Provaris was forced to buy it out.

(The company also had a somewhat fiery exchange with ASX compliance around a year ago, which you can read about here.)

PV1 last traded at 1cps.

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And one might be quick to assume, well, surely the price of uranium has dipped overnight. Right?

Except that it hasn’t. In fact, uranium prices are up +10% over the last month.

Check out the 1Y price action expressed as a line chart:

So why were four of the best-known uranium stocks dropping on Friday?

We were just discussing line charts before when it comes to uranium, but it’s worth also assessing what the companies charts together look like.

One immediately notices a pattern. Check it out:

So, that’s the first thing to note – when these stocks move, they tend to move in tandem. More or less. All companies except for Bannerman have market caps over $1B.

But that doesn’t explain why prices were falling on Friday.

In my view, the reason four uranium stocks were the top fallers on Friday even as uranium prices increased wasn’t due to anything but good old trader psychology: people profit taking on a Friday.

That implies investors see further upside for the stocks, and should uranium commodity prices continue to rise, that theory could very well be true.

(Conversely, some sellers today may have a more bearish outlook, and so withdrew money expecting shares to decline.)

At any rate, profit taking appears to be the key suspect.

And what’s driving that? Well, a world that seems less intense than it did a few weeks ago.

Trump has inked a trade deal with the UK; he’s paused the high tariffs on China for 90 days and both countries appear to be moving to tariff brackets of still-dramatic-but-far-less-so ranges like 30%-40%.

The softened stance on China led to beliefs a basket of commodities would be in high demand again, given China’s nature of the world’s hungriest economy.

Then there were recent deals made in the Middle East by Trump which have included fresh discussions with Iran around its nuclear program.

One must also consider that Canada and Kazakhstan are major uranium producers; in the current environment, it’s looking like countries could end up with lower tariffs than first declared on April 2.

Regardless of where you see the next six months going, add all of that together, and it’s a sensible time to take profits.

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Who the buyer is – which is, to me at least, what’s most interesting here – wasn’t disclosed. And who the buyers is, seeing as the Government of Cuba have a larger hand in this project than Melbana does, wouldn’t really matter for the company.

(Still, the mind is left to imagine.)

At any rate, the company (or the Block 9 project) currently has over 15,000bbl sitting in a government-led Cuban storage facility 50km away by road, and Melbana predicted on Monday a shipment will be ready next month.

Assuming the shipment will be for all oil in storage, that implies around US$960,000 (A$1.48M) in sales, using a Brent Crude price of US$64bbl, and assuming it’s that straightforward.

Oil sales aren’t that straightforward, and the price the Cuban government scores for each barrel could be below or above US$64bbl, but let’s stick with this back-of-the-envelope number.

Melbana has a 30% stake in the project, and assuming that translates to a like-for-like 30% take of proceeds, that means Melbana ends up with around A$450K.

What the unfamiliar cynical investor may wonder is how long it took Melbana to get 15,000bbl in storage – in other words, how fast the Alameda-2 wells are flowing.

At least some familiar investors on HotCopper were pleased with the news. For those unaware, Melbana Energy has long commanded a strong base of user interest, which is at least partially because it’s an Australian oil company operating in Cuba.

The stock, however, has not reflected such strong interest in recent times. A string of technical issues and repeated delays – as well as raising – have left the stock with a few red flags that mightn’t be doing it justice. (There are 3.4B shares on issue, for one.)

MAY last traded at 2.8cps.

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The market liked the news: shares were up nearly +2% (1.89%) in the first fifteen minutes of trade according to Cboe live pricing data. That could be because 1 year returns are down nearly -30%, and that wasn’t dramatically impacted by Liberation Day tariffs, either.

The name of the game behind its divestment decision, Ampol said on Tuesday, is simplification. For those who aren’t in NSW, where Ampol’s retail electricity business is based, the service station operator has also offered household power in recent years.

In mid-April, the company released a Q1 update where it pointed to a “productivity program to reduce nominal costs by $50M in 2025.” With this, it hopes to deliver a stronger 2HCY25 performance.

(With this sale, Ampol nets A$65M.)

So why is the company bailing on the household power offering specifically?

In its words, the divestment “leverages learnings generated over the last four years” – which sounds a lot like it hasn’t been too compelling of a money maker.

The company also offers a retail electricity component in NZ; in that jurisdiction, Meridian Energy will be taking on the retail electricity business off of Flick, Ampol’s subsidiary. The company hopes to work with Meridian as an “alliance.”

In Australia, gas and pipeline giant AGL will be taking on the business, but has no obligation to carry across Ampol staff, or, its EV charging business.

And that EV charging business is now what Ampol appears to be keen to keep. At least for now, as part of its simplification of its electricity assets – or ‘Energy Solutions’ arm.

It also wants to keep a focus on ‘renewable fuels’ – think biodiesels – which many majors have exited out of in recent years. One is left to wonder what kind of R&D tax benefits may or may not be associated with such a position.

ALD last traded at $25.76/sh.

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Elixir, to remind, has been active in QLD for around two years when it moved back into Australia, taking a partial step away from its Nomgon project in the Mongolian Gobi Desert.

The company has had most success, if you measure it in terms of shareholder response, at the Daydream-2 well in QLD where gas has been flowed before.

Then again, gas flow expectations were missed in a crucial update in October last year, which caused shares to halve. But that’s beside the point.

With new management at the helm, investors are likely now keen to see what direction Elixir will head in. And the wording of the company’s plans for 2025, in a summary created by itself, may cause more cynical shareholders to pause for reflection.

Here’s what the company wrote on Monday of its own strategy: “Elixir’s strategic plan is built around a fast-follower approach in Queensland’s Taroom Trough, strategically positioning itself to leverage surrounding development activity and investment to drive rapid advancement.”

If that sounds delightfully vague, you aren’t alone. This finance journalist joins you. Still, a clear three point list was provided. In short, Elixir will secure long-term land rights in the Taroom; “[prove] the presence of commercially viable reserves” in Permian sands, and, collaborate on early production opportunities.

While stage three sounds a lot like a farm-in, it will be stage two that investors watch most closely: proving commercially viable quantities of gas exist underfoot at Taroom.

But the timeline of this plan was made complicated by a comment on capital expenditure from the company.

“Each phase is supported by a specific work program and associated capital requirements. Given the significant investment in neighbouring areas, Elixir’s assets may increase in value without immediate activity on its part,” Elixir wrote.

“As such, the company will progress through each phase only when the appropriate cost of capital is available.”

EXR last traded at 2.5cps.

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Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia has effectively been at the head of OPEC+ policy to reduce the amount of oil hitting international markets.

To some, this was a clear attempt to drive prices back to US$100/bbl for Brent Crude. This is the level where some analysts predict oil needs to sit in order to let the Saudi Kingdom deliver its often over-excessive infrastructure projects like NEOM and ‘The Line.’

(Projects which are perhaps not too absurd when one considers Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is still in his thirties.)

But it appears the Kingdom has given up on that goal. Not helping matters is that a number of OPEC+ member nation-states defied the rules at times anyway.

(The key reason the policy never really worked?: the oil production scale-back nearly perfectly aligned with China’s economic doldrums – the Red Dragon just wasn’t buying.)

Now, over the weekend at the latest OPEC+ meeting, the cartel has agreed to further boost oil production in June – and Brent Crude prices have taken a significant hit.

In fact, they’ve fallen below US$60/bbl.

This would be all well and good if it wasn’t for the fact traders don’t look to the Brent Crude price as an indicator of future profits for energy producers.

This trend tends to hit the most established companies the hardest, which then trickles down to the mid, small and nano caps.

Companies to keep an eye on could include:

This isn’t the first flagged OPEC+ production boost, either. Earlier this year in March OPEC+ flagged production boosts, which helped push oil to multi-year lows at that time, too.

And now it’s happened again.

In this most recent iteration, the OPEC+ member nation-states have agreed, in June, to respectively ramp up production by some 410,000 barrels of oil per day – meaning every 2.5 days or so, another million barrels hit the market.

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So, is Liberal leader Peter Dutton right in claiming nuclear is crucial for Australia’s future energy needs? Or, Is Labor’s Anthony Albanese being responsible in saying the costs and historical risks outweigh the reward.

Hear from the experts at this week’s WA Mining Club May event at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

The panellists you’ll see in this debate filmed by HotCopper are:

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

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Pine Ridge – which is an in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium project located in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin – has now grown by around 85%, with 937 claims successfully staked across a territory of approximately 7,045 hectares (ha), or 17,408 acres.

These additional claims are comprised of previously unclaimed Federal mineral parcels, and bring the total area of the project to 15,130 ha (37,387 acres).

Managing director Andrew Ferrier said the expansion provided GUE with a strategic opportunity to make use of the region’s strong geological profile.

“Historical exploration, together with our own modelling of redox fronts, confirms the significant exploration upside,” he said.

“This additional staking is a critical step in unlocking the full value of Pine Ridge and accelerating our broader growth ambitions within the Powder River Basin.

“We’re also pleased to advance this next phase of work in partnership with Snow Lake Energy, whose commitment reflects the strength of our growing portfolio and shared confidence in the Project’s potential.”

GUE shares have moved up since this news, and at 13:01 AEST, they were trading at 5.9 cents – a rise of 3.51% since the market opened.

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The $17.5 billion asset has an expansion capacity up to 27.6 Mtpa, and is set to position Woodside as a global LNG powerhouse, delivering around 24 Mtpa from its portfolio in the 2030s—representing over 5% of global LNG supply.

The company expects the project to book around $2 billion in revenue at full capacity, contributing $8 billion to coffers over the next decade.

The investment has an internal rate of return above 13% and am expected payback period of seven years.

Stonepeak will invest $5.7 billion toward the project, accelerating funding through 2025 and 2026, while Woodside’s share of total capital expenditure is estimated at $11.8 billion.

Woodside emphasised that its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets remain unchanged following the decision.

CEO Meg O’Neill says Louisiana LNG is a “game-changer” that bolsters Woodside’s portfolio by adding US low-cost gas assets to its Australian base, offering marketing opportunities across the Pacific and Atlantic basins.

The project, the largest single foreign direct investment in Louisiana’s history, is anticipated to support around 15,000 jobs during construction and highlights the project as the first greenfield US LNG project final investment decision since July 2023.

Woodside has been trading at $20.40 at the time of writing.

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In an announcement titled “Retirement of Non-Executive Chairman,” the company on Monday announced the exit of NEC John Harrison, who has “provided leadership and guidance to the executive team over the past 4 to 5 years.”

“The Company also wishes to advise that former Managing Director and CEO, and now Technical Advisor, Wayne Heili, ceased working with the Company effective from the 25th of April 2025,” Peninsula added on Monday.

In effect: two fairly important heads at Peninsula gone in one day.

Take a look at the announcement yourself (or read it for yourself here.)

Also worth noting is that Peninsula didn’t consider this information market-sensitive. But perhaps more important is that it follows a few janky weeks for the Wyoming-based uranium player.

Right now, the company’s shares are suspended as the market still waits for the stock to downgrade, again, its 2025 production guidance.

And it isn’t a voluntary suspension, either. The ASX itself has forced the stock into suspension given that it missed the deadline. (If this sounds familiar, consider that’s what happened to Star Entertainment in not-too-ancient-history.)

It’s perhaps not hard to see why the company doesn’t want to issue a further downgrade. Its share price already sunk -13% one day in January when it downgraded guidance for the first time.

PEN last traded at 62cps; shares remain suspended.

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DISCLAIMER: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated an individual in the role of CEO had quit on Monday April 28. HotCopper apologises to the reader for any inconvenience.

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The deal will operate under a fixed monthly invoicing model; there are additional revenue opportunities through ad-hoc call-offs during the year.

The agreement follows ACE’s ‘ACE365’ model deployment across client assets in 2024.

The proprietary model positions monitoring equipment with on-demand manpower and has proven effectiveness in reducing costs and enhancing offshore safety by minimising personnel exposure to hazardous environments.

The client also granted ACE ‘Super-User’ status for emissions monitoring technology, a designation that approves the use of the technology across the client’s global operations.

The tick of approval has opened a pathway for ongoing negotiations on potential contracts for emissions monitoring around the world.

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ACE Managing Director Marc Whitton said, “Amid challenging times for the U.K. sector, where operators are under increasing pressure to reduce costs across all aspects, ACE stands out as a provider of alternative solutions that are not only safer and of higher quality, but also more cost-effective.”

SRJ has been trading at 2.3 cents in late morning trades.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about SRJ Technologies Group and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

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Let’s start with the stock price action. Shares were up +2.7% to $5.64/sh in early afternoon Thursday trades, with one-week performance reflecting +5.6% returns.

Growth on the year-to-date metric, however, shows a different story – STO shares are down nearly -16% since January 1 and nearly -27% year-on-year.

Trump’s implementation of global tariffs, like most other companies, hit the share price harder than anything Santos on its own could have done. That would be a shame for shareholders, surely – the stock price jumped in January of this year as a court basically greenlit the company’s NT Barossa gas play.

(That was a second court win for the company after the ‘Crocodile Man‘ debacle involving a now-infamous case involving the Environmental Defenders’ Office.)

At any rate, with that market decline now firmly visible on the charts, STO chief Kevin Gallagher was quick to reassure on Thursday.

“Whilst the current market environment is challenging, our focus in 2025 remains clear: operating our base business safely and reliably, bringing our development projects online within guidance and staying focused on cost of supply,” Gallagher said.

“When the Barossa and Pikka projects come online, production is expected to increase by more than 30 per cent by 2027.”

Santos also claims to have injected nearly 700,000 tonnes of “CO2-equivalent” underground at Moomba.

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STO last traded at $5.67 a share after jumping 3.3%.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Santos and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

This phase includes front-end engineering and design and will advance on a staged commitment basis to mitigate risk amid market volatility.

Karoon’s updated contingent resource estimates for Neon have also been materially improved, with 1C increasing by 59% to 59.8 million barrels, 2C rising 44% to 86.5 MMbbl, and 3C up 21% to 108.0 MMbbl.

The initial development phase will target 60–70 MMbbl. Additionally, 2U prospective resources of 6.7 MMbbl have been recognised inaugurally.

The “Define” phase comprises three stages and has an initial capital commitment of US$7 to $10 million, which is to be funded from the company’s cash reserves.

This stage focuses on FPSO selection, development planning, and market engagement.

A farm-down process, crucial to making a final investment decision, will commence in Q2, with a data room to then open in the third quarter.

Revised capital estimates for Phase One1 development stand between US$900 million ($1.4 million) and US$1.2 billion ($1.89 billion), with the first oil targeted for early 2029 and a peak production rate of 40,000–50,000 barrels per day.

Under a model of US$65/bbl of Brent oil, the Karoon project is likely to score a payback period of approximately two years and an IRR of more than 20%.

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Karoon presently owns 100% of the Neon project and plans to farm down a 30–50% interest. The company targets an FID by mid-2026, contingent on securing a partner and preferred market conditions.

At the time of writing Karoon Energy has been trading at $1.24.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Karoon Energy and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

That news was stashed in an announcement called “Preparing the Path to Development,” but clearly, the market liked the news.

Replacing Young will be the former CEO of Strike Energy (ASX:STX) Stuart Nicholls, who was recently pointed at by Strike as the source of shareholder pain for that stock in a recent presentation.

(If you missed it, I discussed that in episode five of the HotCopper podcast.)

Young’s departure from Elixir comes after years of developing a gas fracking play in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, and then more recently, pivoting back to an onshore Australian project in QLD’s Taroom Trough.

Just days before Young stepped down, it’s worth considering, Elixir farmed out its Diona project to XState Resources (ASX:XST), which for all intents and purposes needed a project on its books to continue trading on the ASX at all.

It’s likely fair to say Young’s departure announcement on Monday was taken with a fair dose of shock for some shareholders. Sentiment on what the move could mean for price action divided the HotCopper forums.

“The board has reluctantly accepted Neil’s resignation but is excited by the appointment of Stuart Nicholls as his replacement, effective immediately. Neil will remain engaged by the Company as an advisor for at least three months to ensure a smooth transition,” the company wrote on Monday.

“Although such things are always poignant, I’m confident the time is right for me to move on from Elixir to new pastures,” Young himself wrote, which could have rubbed some the wrong way seeing that EXR’s 1Y returns are down -73%.

“I’m also very pleased to be passing the baton onto a leader of Stuart’s great energies, talent and enthusiasm – I know of no one better qualified to deliver our next stages of growth and value realization,” Young added.

Some Strike Energy shareholders may disagree though.

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For his part, Nicholls wanted Elixir’s investors to look towards a short-term horizon – in other words, don’t sell yet.

“I intend to build value with urgency and prioritise the securing of long-term tenure of the Company’s assets, invest in relationships with our neighbouring operators to build collaboration, increase technical knowledge and ultimately reduce operational cost,” incoming CEO Stuart Nicholls wrote.

It sounds like he’s been watching a lot of election campaign speeches.

EXR last traded at 2.7cps.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Elixir Energy and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.