Equinor’s profits crash by 98% due to oil price slump
Norway’s Equinor saw its profits slide by 98% - a drop of £3.8billion – year-on-year as the Covid-19 pandemic and oil price crash took effect.
Coronavirus
Furlough scheme rollback would be ‘absolutely disastrous’ for North Sea workforce, union boss warns
Any moves to scale back the UK Government furlough scheme would be “absolutely disastrous” for the North Sea oil and gas sector, an Aberdeen union boss has warned.
Focusing on the future – what’s next for the oil and gas sector?
Despite the uncertainties raging around us, as an industry and as individuals we have adapted quickly to the challenges of lockdown. The return to normal may prove a longer, challenging but potentially rewarding path, believes Jon Clark, EY EMEIA Oil & Gas strategy and transactions leader.
WATCH: North Sea divers clap for carers as they prepare for a month in saturation
Rever Offshore has released a video of North Sea divers showing their appreciation for frontline workers as they prepare to spend a month in saturation.
Watch: Boris Johnson says UK Government ‘actively engaged’ on oil and gas sector deal
Boris Johnson has “assured” MPs that the UK Government is working on a sector deal for the crisis-hit oil and gas industry.
Oil rebounds to $30 but still too low for North Sea
Brent Crude’s rebound yesterday brought it up beyond $30, but the figure is still too low to make an impact for the UK North Sea.
UK oil firms ‘grappling’ between redundancies and furlough scheme
Oil and gas firms are “grappling” between putting workers on the government’s coronavirus furlough scheme or going straight to redundancies, according to experts.
TechnipFMC blames ‘volatile’ market as UK jobs expected to follow Norway cull
Oilfield services firm TechnipFMC is understood to be following up hundreds of job losses across its sites in Norway with scores of UK redundancies.
Restructuring set to be major feature in future
A wave of restructuring will wash through the North Sea oil industry as firms battle to make themselves “fit” for the new reality, a top accountant has said.
Jersey Oil and Gas eyes GBA farm-out later this year despite Covid-19
Jersey Oil and Gas has said it plans to launch a farm-out process later this year for its Greater Buchan Area in the North Sea, despite the Covid-19 and oil price crises.
CMS: Lockdown’s legal issues
We are all getting used to the challenges of the lockdown. As it becomes clear that this situation is going to continue for some time, we need to consider the legal implications of the stress caused to businesses by the double blows of Covid-19 and the oil price fall.
Houston feeling the oil price pain
The US oil industry has been shrinking in much the same way as the country’s car industry – and the price crash will accelerate the process, according to a top economist.
‘Great uncertainty’ for employers using Covid-19 furlough scheme
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the "Scheme") was announced on 20 March 2020 and opened to applications on 20 April 2020. By 23 April 2020 it had received 512,000 claims in respect of 3.8 million furloughed employees. However, a great deal of uncertainty remains around the application of the Scheme to businesses in the oil and gas sector.
A knee-jerk reaction ‘will be damaging’ for oil sector, says recruitment firm
The UK’s Job Retention Scheme has proved a lifeline for many employers and a way to ensure employment is protected while oil and gas firms deal with the double hit of Covid-19 and the drastic fall in oil price. The uptake figures demonstrate the need for the scheme, with over nine million people in the UK expected to be furloughed, yet the decisions to furlough staff have often been made quickly with little planning for the scheme ending.
Exclusive: 200 suspected Covid-19 cases evacuated from North Sea platforms during crisis
Around 200 North Sea workers have been evacuated with suspected Covid-19 symptoms over the last six weeks as the sector has attempted to manage the spread of the virus.
Total barely stays in profit amid ‘economic and oil crisis’, sets 2050 net zero target
Total barely managed to stay in profit for the start of 2020 as oil prices took a nosedive due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Neptune Energy ‘assessing impact’ of Covid-19 on Seagull schedule
Neptune Energy is “assessing the impact” Covid-19 will have on the delivery of its 50million barrel Seagull development in the UK North Sea.
Spending capital on M&A ‘the exception’ for now, experts say
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are almost completely off the table in the oilfield services (OFS) sector, investment experts have said.
Decommissioning: beyond the challenges of oversupply, pandemic and recession
After weathering the storm that was the price collapse of 2014, the oil industry has again been hit in recent months by two new blows almost simultaneously: oversupply (caused by the failure of negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Russia to agree on production cuts and the aggressive response of the former); and a demand shock (reflecting the economic impact of the Covid-19 lockdown).
Ithaca’s Delek under pressure to refinance loans
Delek Group’s reliance on restructuring its debt and selling its assets in order to cover its liabilities has led it to note some concerns that it would able to continue as a going concern in its annual report.
Weathering the storm
How can energy supply chain companies weather the perfect storm of the oil and gas price crash, Covid-19 lockdown and social distancing, pressure to fully decarbonise and, of course, Brexit?
Oil rises for a fifth day with output cuts easing glut concern
Oil was headed for the longest run of daily gains in more than nine months on signs the worst of the supply glut may be over as production cuts start to take effect.
Wood donates 10,000 face masks to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and care homes
The Wood Group has teamed up with cancer charity Maggie’s to provide thousands of face masks to health workers in Aberdeen.
Petrofac delays £11m decommissioning contract with Awilco Drilling
Petrofac has deferred an £11million decommissioning contract for Aberdeen-headquartered Awilco Drilling.
North Sea FPSO stocks up over concerns of ‘limited’ food supply
A North Sea operator has said it is increasing food stocks on its flagship production asset “in case supply becomes limited” due to the Covid-19 outbreak.