World Mining Exploration News

Why BHP Billiton could stand between the world’s leading mining industry. The answer is because it can find a lower debt balance with surprise $ 5.6 billion despite a large universe of operating and capital recession and challenging exploration program of $ 10.7 billion proposed for the current year.

After getting the sector lower gearing of 12.1 percent, BHP, which also announced that the 2008-09 results of the other day, and a very proud boast a healthy EBIT margin of 40.1 percent and 24.6 percent return on investment.

Avoid the pain in the form of increased debt that Rio Tinto’s acquisition will lead to, BHP enjoy financial strength, unmatched in the industry, which it is to use for “mergers and acquisitions opportunistic” and targeted “tier-I assets” exceptional quality, low cost and given to long-term exploitation. No doubt, BHP has a balance sheet that provides distinct competitive advantage against its counterparts in the mining industry.

Unlike people like Rio and Anglo American, BHP draw much strength from the hydrocarbon asset ownership. When he discovered the benefits of expanding the capacity of iron ore in the existing mine site, also remained strong in the pursuit to expand oil and gas affected. (more…)

As energy markets shrink, the same tactics that Russia used to build Gazprom into a fearsome economic and political power that could restore the country’s standing in the world are now backfiring, sharply eroding the energy giant’s earnings and influence.

Throughout his eight years as president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin pursued the strategic goal of dominating natural gas supplies to Europe and the pipelines that deliver them. His success was underscored in January, when for the second time in three years a pricing dispute with Ukraine disrupted the flow of natural gas, leaving hundreds of thousands in Eastern Europe shivering in the deep winter cold.

But in his zeal to monopolize gas supplies, Mr. Putin, who is now the Russian prime minister, committed Gazprom to long-term contract with Central Asian countries for gas at a cost far in excess of current world prices. Now that the world economic crisis has sharply curtailed the demand for gas, Gazprom is saddled with a glut of expensive Central Asian supplies that it is forced to sell at a loss. (more…)