Origin Energy - Core Business

Core Business

Origin Energy is active in a number of sectors in the energy business:

• Oil and gas exploration and production - Origin has conventional oil and gas reserves in the Cooper Basin of South Australia and Queensland and in the Bass strait between Victoria and Tasmania and coalbed methane reserves in Queensland. Outside Australia, Origin operates the Kupe gas field in the Taranaki Basin of New Zealand.
• Retail - over three million retail customers of gas or electricity in Australia, New Zealand and the south Pacific, inclusive of the 800,000 customers of Sun Retail in QLD that were acquired in February 2007.
• Generation - generating electricity from natural gas including Osborne, Ladbroke Grove and Quartantine Power Stations in South Australia, Uranquinty in New South Wales, and in Queensland there is Darling Downs Power Station near Dalby, Mount Stuart Power Station in Townsville and Roma Power Station. Origin does not own any coal-fired power stations. Mortlake Power Station is being developed in Victoria.
• Contact Energy - Origin owns 52% of New Zealand electricity generation and retail company Contact Energy.
• Gas transportation and distribution - Origin had significant shareholdings in Envestra Limited (17%) and SEAGas pipeline (33%). These shareholdings were sold to APA Group during 2007, along with the assets of Origin Energy Asset Management. OEAM's major asset was its contract with Envestra for the maintenance of the Envestra natural gas distribution network.
• coal seam gas production and export is under development in conjunction with ConocoPhilips.

Origin is currently one of the largest residential solar retailers in Australia installing over 55MW of PV in the 12 months to August 2011. Of the large energy retailers Origin moved first and aggressively into the residential solar market. In July 2011 AGL, Origin's major competitor purchased small solar retailer Rezeko as a platform to complete in solar against Origin. AGL is yet to show success in residential solar. Origins biggest competitors in the space are True Value Solar and Nue Energy (by REC production).