Power Up: The coal investment tap is down to a drip

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Despite the most fervent wishes of the coal lobby, the past weeks have not been kind to the sector with the world’s seven largest advanced economies agreeing to stop international financing of coal projects in a bid to cap emissions.

With South Korea having already agreed to do the same, this leaves China as the only major non-G7 economy as a potential source of finance for coal projects – not exactly reassuring for proposed projects in Australia given the poor relations between the two countries.

The UK, France and Italy have already committed to phase out coal power generation by 2025 while Canada and Germany have set 2030 and 2038 as their respective dates to do the same.

Market forces are doing the same in the US, which has seen gas and renewables edge out coal.

It’s not just G7 and major economies either.

The Lowy Institute’s Climate Poll 2021 also demonstrated that the majority of Australians – about 63 per cent of respondents – support a ban on the opening of new coal mines.

Six in 10 Australians also favour reducing coal exports to other countries while 74 per cent believe that benefits of taking further action on climate change would outweigh its costs.

Not all fossil fuels have been impacted by the poll, which found that 58 per cent supported the government’s gas-fired recovery plans.

Coal’s case has certainly not been helped by an explosion at the coal-fired Callide Power Station in central Queensland, which caused mass power outages on Tuesday.

Oil remains stable

Oil prices have remained stable after last week’s fall as upbeat demand expectations offset concerns that Iranian oil is about to return to markets.

However, the latter is looking increasingly unlikely after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was no indication that Iran is willing to comply with nuclear commitments.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs noted that expectations oil demand will improve as Europe and the US reopen could see the benchmark Brent crude hit US$80 per barrel in the fourth quarter of the year.

Here’s how a basket of ASX stocks with exposure to oil, gas, uranium and coal are performing>>>
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Small cap energy plays

Bounty Oil & Gas (ASX:BUY) +16%

Bounty and its joint venture with Advent Energy have appointed Xodus Group to prepare the Environmental Plan for the drilling of the Baleen-1 well in the offfshore Sydney Basin.

Baleen-1 will evaluate the potential of the early Permian sandstones at the location for carbon storage.

Central Petroleum (ASX:CTP) +14%

Central has reached a binding agreement to sell a 50 per cent interest in its Amadeus Basin producing assets to New Zealand Oil & Gas (ASX:NZO) for $85m.

The sale of the stakes in the Mereenie oil and gas field, Palm Valley gas field and Dingo gas field will cover its JV expenditure obligations for near-term development and growth activities across the sale assets.

These include two exploration wells, Palm Valley Deep and Dingo Deep, that include options for their completion as producing wells as well as two development wells that are currently progressing at Mereenie.

Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) +10%

Pure Hydrogen has been progressing its goal of becoming a one-stop shop for hydrogen, signing a term sheet for Pure Haul to provide transportation services this week.

It had signed an MoU with H2H Energy last week to provide supply and maintenance services at its refuelling outlets.

These are all parts of its ambition to develop a network of hydrogen refuelling hubs on the east coast of Australia that will be supplied by large-scale hydrogen plants.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Pure Hydrogen is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

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