Apache said to get takeover approach for $18billion company
Apache Corp., the oil and natural gas company worth more than $18 billion, has received an unsolicited takeover approach, according to people familiar with the matter.
Oil & Gas
Speculators share Andy Hall’s optimism that oil prices at bottom
Andy Hall and Daniel Yergin think oil prices are bottoming out. Hedge funds agree.
Oil halts three-day decline near $45 as Saudis see demand growth
Oil halted its three-day decline near $45 a barrel as Saudi Arabia sees low prices spurring demand growth.
Darcy heading on upward trajectory after netting Statoil deal
An Aberdeenshire oil and gas well technology firm has received a major boost after netting a multi-million pound contract with Norwegian energy major Statoil. Darcy - which takes its name from Darcy’s Law, the foundation for the understanding of fluid flows in porous media – tested its new “sand control” technology on Statoil’s Statfjord field on the Norwegian North Sea earlier this year. Darcy will now supply its patented Endurance Hydraulic Screen technology to Statoil as part of a contract that is expected to run for seven years and is worth millions of pounds to the firm.
Coretrax opens fifth Middle East base in four years
Aberdeen-based oilfield service firm Coretrax has taken another step in its Middle East expansion plans with the launch a fifth base in the region in four years. Coretrax said it made the move to help satisfy increasing demand for its wide range of downhole tools and services. The firm said it had retained all of its clients since it entered the Middle East market in 2011.
Saudi Aramco looks to bridge gender gap
Saudi Aramco look to bridge the energy industry’s gender gap through the creation of Women’s Business Park.
144 new companies open in Abu Dhabi
Despite the oil price skimming $50, 144 new oil and gas companies were launched in the emirates in the past year.
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister says subsidy to stay
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said the Kingdom’s energy subsidies were safe despite depressed market conditions.
Oil oversupply could last five years, says OPEC rep
Oil markets will continue to be oversupplied for as long as five years as producers in the Middle East ramp up output, according to Mohammed Al-Shatti, Kuwait’s representative to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Energy entrepreneur sees £2million wiped-off shares
Energy entrepreneur Steve Remp was dealt a financial blow after £2million was wiped-off his shares in SeaEnergy.
Here’s another Canadian pipe Obama’s Keystone rejection may hurt
If President Barack Obama’s rejection of Keystone XL is a sign of things to come, TransCanada Corp.’s main rival might want to take note.
Saudi Minister says current oil price will spur demand growth
Oil demand will soon reflect the “attractiveness” of the current level of crude prices, and Asia will be a vital engine of economic expansion for decades, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said. OPEC’s chief joined him in seeing Asia as the main hub for growth.
Obama rejects proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline
US President Barack Obama has rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in a victory for environmentalists who campaigned against the project for more than seven years. Obama told a press conference the pipeline would not make a "meaningful long-term contribution to our economy". He said it would not reduce gasoline prices, and shipping "dirtier" crude from Canada would not increase US energy security.
Ex-BP engineer avoids prison in plea tied to 2010 Gulf oil spill
A former BP Plc engineer pleaded guilty to deleting text messages in what the US said was an attempt to hide spill rate estimates during the biggest offshore oil disaster in US history. Kurt Mix faced as long as 20 years in prison if convicted at trial. Instead, he was sentenced to probation and community service Friday as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Mix was the first of four men charged with crimes tied to the 2010 catastrophe and its aftermath.
North east oil and lubricant seller nets two new contracts
An Aberdeen-based oil and lubricant firm yesterday said its ability to deliver savings had helped it strike two new deals, one of which is worth nearly £800,000. Normac Oils will supply its products to oilfield services firm Archer and collective members of the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) under separate agreements. Normac declined to say which particular client had stumped up the £800,000.
Lithuania in talks with Gazprom over new gas supplies
Lithuania has started talks with Russian gas exporter Gazprom GAZP.MM on purchases for the next year as its long-term supply contract expires in December, Baltic news agency BNS reported. Gazprom said on Monday it would hold an auction later this year for gas deliveries to the Baltic States in 2016. Lithuania's Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT) plans to import up to 500 million cubic metres (mcm) of pipeline gas next year, Haroldas Nauseda, head of LDT's commercial department, told the parliamentary economic affairs committee this week.
Rosneft offers Japanese companies chance to join Russian prospects
Russia's Rosneft, the world's top listed oil producer by output, has offered Japanese companies a chance to join projects in Russia's East Siberia and Far East, Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Friday. There is a huge potential for cooperation between the two countries, he said, in offering Japanese firms the opportunity to participate in the Verkhnechonskoye, Srednebotuobinskoye, Tagulskoye and Russkoye projects, as well as in other developments already in operation or yet to be launched. "We proposed to our Japanese partners deals with total reserves of six billion barrels and with a resource base of 100 billion barrels," Sechin told an industry symposium in Tokyo.
Suncor Energy ramps up hostile $3.3billion bid for Canadian Oil Sands
Suncor Energy Inc. is stepping up its hostile $3.3 billion bid for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. by asking Alberta regulators to strike down the target’s new shareholder rights plan aimed at preventing its takeover. The Alberta Securities Commission will hold a hearing on Nov. 26 to consider the so-called poison pill adopted by the Canadian Oil Sands board last month, Suncor said in a statement Friday. The hearing follows Suncor’s application for an order to cease the new rights plan. Canadian Oil Sands vowed to protect its shareholders. The Canadian Oil Sands shareholder plan calls for 120 days to consider bids. Because Suncor’s offer is open for acceptance only until Dec. 4, unless extended or withdrawn by Suncor, it would not be a permitted bid under the new plan, Canadian Oil Sands said last month.
US shale producers get ready for budget cuts in 2016
US shale oil producers have reduced the fat from their 2015 budgets after a 50% drop in crude prices. Shale companies including Devon Energy Corp, Continental Resources and Marathon Oil released their preliminary 2016 plans for spending. The cuts come after between 30% and 40% reductions earlier this year. Lower costs and improved productivity would allow them to hold shale oil production largely flat.
Naftogaz boss warns new pipeline could spell end for Ukraine’s gas transport business
The head of Naftogaz said a proposed new pipeline to pump Russian gas to Europe could spell the end for Ukraine’s gas transport business. In September Russia’s Gazprom formed a consortium with E.ON, BASF, Wintershall, OMV, ENGIE and Shell to develop the Nord Stream-2 pipeline. It would allow Russia to bypass Ukraine completely from 2019.
ONGC posts 11% second-quarter profit drop on slumping crude
Oil & Natural Gas Corp.’s second-quarter profit fell 11 percent as slumping crude prices eroded revenue at India’s biggest energy explorer. Net income fell to 48.4 billion rupees ($736 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 54.4 billion rupees a year earlier, the state-owned company said in a statement Friday. The average of 25 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey was 46.6 billion rupees. Sales gained 1 percent to 205.6 billion rupees.
Faroe Petroleum completes acquisition of Roc Oil
Faroe Petroleum has completed the acquisition of Roc Oil which holds a 12% interest in the Enoch and Blane interests in the UK North Sea. The company said the deal, which had an initial consideration of $17million, had now been reduced to $13.7million. The Enoch field is currently suspended but is planned to come back on stream in the second quarter of 2015.
Support for strike by Petrobras workers in Brazil is growing, unions claim
Support for a strike at Petrobras is growing according to Brazilian union leaders as workers show their opposition to privatisation of the state-owned oil company. A strike began last Sunday and has become the biggest stoppage in 20 years at Petrobras as workers back union efforts to rationalise the company and cut foreign participation in the oil industry. The focus of industrial action has recently changed to focus on nationalist and anti-capitalist demands rather than wages.
NPD grants start-up consent for Edvard Greig and Utsira pipelines
The NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) has granted start-up consents for the Edvard Greig oil pipeline and the Utsira high gas pipeline. Both of these transport solutions will become part of the Edvard Greig and Ivar Aasen fields on the Utsira High in the North Sea. The oil transport system includes a 94-kilometre long 16-inch pipeline from the Edvard Greig platform and a new Y-connection point, which has been installed on the Grane oil pipeline about four kilometres away.
ExxonMobil receives subpoena from NY attorney general over climate change claims
ExxonMobil is being investigated by the New York state attorney general as to whether it misled investors and the public about the risk of climate change and how it might have affected the company. According to reports, a subpoena was set to the oil company earlier this week, requesting emails, financial records and other documents. The investigation could look at ExxonMobil’s activities from as far back as the 1970s till this year.