Apache’s latest figures reveal another big write-down
Lower oil prices have blown a £100million-plus “impairment” hole in Apache North Sea (ANS)’s latest accounts.
Oil & Gas
Energy North goes into liquidation
Non-profit Scottish industry trade body Energy North has gone bust.
Sir Frank Chapman to stand down as Golar chairman
Former BG Group boss Sir Frank Chapman is to stand down as chairman of natural gas producer Golar to focus on other interests.
BNK increases production
Unconventionals producer BNK Petroleum increased production but still made a loss in the second quarter of 2015.
Oil’s worst-ever summer signals price rout is nowhere near done
If crude’s slump back to a six-year low looks bad, it’s even worse when you reflect that summer is supposed to be peak season for oil. US crude futures have lost 30 percent since the start of June, set for the biggest drop since the West Texas Intermediate crude contract started trading in 1983. That beats the summer plunges during the global financial crisis of 2008, the Asian economic slump in 1998 and the global supply glut of 1986. It even surpasses the decline of 2011, when prices fell as much as 21 percent over the summer as the U.S. and other large oil-importing nations released 60 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles to make up for the disruption of Libyan exports during the uprising against Muammar Qaddafi.
Russia’s Rosneft plans to increase oil output
Russia's Rosneft, the world's top listed oil producer by output, plans to increase production, Chief Executive Igor Sechin told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday, according to the government's website. Rosneft oil production was slightly down last year to 4.1 million barrels per day from 4.2 million bpd in 2013, due to lower output at mature fields.
Malaysia’s Petronas says operations won’t cover 2015 dividend
Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) PETR.UL on Friday said cash from operations will cover neither capital expenses nor committed dividends for 2015, forcing the state-owned oil firm to draw on reserves and further cost savings. Petronas contributes almost half of Malaysia's oil revenue. But weak global prices have depressed income, leaving the country with a devalued currency and at risk of a credit-rating downgrade, while debts mount at state investment fund 1MDB. "We will have to persevere with more austerity measures," said Petronas President and Group Chief Executive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin at an earnings briefing.
Maersk exec says recovery in oil drilling years away
The market for offshore drilling rigs is likely to remain weak for another two years as a slump in oil prices hurts exploration investments, while much-needed industry consolidation remains a distant prospect, the head of Denmark's Maersk Drilling said. With demand plunging and new capacity coming on the market, the cost to an oil company of renting deepwater drilling rigs has fallen by more than half in the last two years, from a peak around $650,000 per day to a current level of around $300,000. Competitors Fred. Olsen Energy FOE.OL, Diamond Offshore Drilling DO.N, Transocean RIGN.VX and Seadrill SDRL.OL have all recently warned of weak markets ahead.
Lamprell chief to retire
A search is underway to find a new chief executive for rig designer and builder Lamprell after James Moffat announced his retirement.
Prosafe wins $164million contract for new semi-sub to Petrobas
Semi-submersible provider Prosafe has signed a contract with Petrobras for the provision of the new Safe Eurus accommodation vessel for safety and maintenance support offshore Brazil.
BP facing huge penalties for manipulating gas prices
BP could face millions of dollars in fines and surrendered profits after a US judge said it had manipulated the Texas natural gas market in 2008.
Lansdowne comes up dry in Celtic Sea
Lansdowne Oil and Gas, the independent oil and gas company focussed on offshore Ireland, has drilled a dry well in the Celtic Sea.
ONGC said to seek $900 million stake in Rosneft Vankor field
Oil & Natural Gas Corp. is seeking through its overseas unit to buy a stake in Russia’s second-largest oil producing development from OAO Rosneft, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. ONGC Videsh Ltd. is in discussions to purchase a share of the Vankor oil field in East Siberia, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are ongoing. The New Delhi-based company is seeking to pay $900 million for the stake, which will secure about 3.5 million metric tons of oil a year (about 70,290 barrels a day), and expects to sign a deal as early as next month, one of the people said.
Ship disruptions persist at Tianjin as some oil cargoes barred
Shipping and logistics companies reported delays and disruptions after the deadly blast at the Chinese port of Tianjin as some oil cargoes were still barred from one of its wharves. Freight companies including Auckland, New Zealand-based Mainfreight Ltd. and Japan’s Sankyu Inc. said the blast will cause delays or impact their businesses. Ships at Tianjin Port’s North wharf other than those carrying crude and hazardous products can enter and exit normally, according to a post from the official microblog of the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration at 10:44 a.m. local time Friday. Tianjin is the 10th-busiest container port globally and has become a northern gateway for ore, coal, automobiles and oil into China, the world’s biggest user of energy, metals and grains. About 17 percent of the nation’s ethylene imports, 15 percent of its wheat deliveries and 30 percent of steel exports in the first half of 2015 were transported via the Tianjin customs area, government data show.
Taqa reports progress on on cost-cutting
North Sea oil producer Taqa said yesterday it was on course for annual savings of more than £260million after shedding 22% of its global workforce. It also reported higher profits from the UK North Sea after a boost from fiscal changes aimed at reducing the burden of taxation on operators and encouraging investment Grant Gillon, the Middle East firm’s new chief financial officer, said a transformational programme put in motion against a “challenging” backdrop of lower oil prices was achieving results. The Scottish engineering graduate also said Taqa’s financial position was strong after a recent refinancing of £2billion of existing credit facilities on improved terms.
Iran targets 45 oil and gas projects in plan to boost output
Iran has selected 45 oil and gas projects to show international companies at a conference in London in December when new oil contract models will be discussed ahead of exploration auctions to double the country’s crude output.
Petro Matad to begin seismic survey in Mongolia
Petro Matad has awarded a 2D seismic contract to Khet for its central Mongolian asset.
Tap appoints new company secretary
Australian producer Tap Oil has appointed Michele Ryan as its new company secretary and general counsel.
Galicia Energy to sell Ukraine licence
Galicia Energy has reached an agreement in principle to sell its the licence for its Ukraine oil and gas asset.
ONGC sees rise in profit after cutting discounts on crude oil to refiners
Indian explorer Oil and Natural Gas corp (ONGC) has reported a 14% increase in quarterly net profit. The rise was seen as the company significantly cut its discounts on crude oil to refiners after global oil prices fell. The company's net income for the first fiscal quarter rose to 54.59billion rupees from 47.82billion rupees a year earlier.
Six workers killed after helicopter crash in Nigeria from oil platform
A helicopter carrying at least 12 people from an oil platform has crashed into a lagoon killing at least four people, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA) said. The helicopter, which was operated by offshore energy transportation specialists Bristow Group had been flying from a rig when the incident happened shortly before it was due to land. Officials in the country said a rescue operations was continuing.
Russia’s Gazprom Neft Q2 net profit up 47%
Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of state gas producer Gazprom, posted 73.2 billion roubles ($1.14 billion) in net profit for the second quarter, up 47 percent year-on-year, thanks to the weak rouble, the company said on Thursday. Gazprom Neft, one of a few growing Russian oil firms by output, said its revenue was at 423.2 billion roubles compared to 429.3 billion roubles a year ago.
Oil majors’ $60 billion cuts don’t go far enough as crude slides
The $60 billion of oil-industry spending cuts this year won’t be enough as crude languishes near a six-year low. The world’s biggest producers will need to trim investments by a further $26 billion to meet sacrosanct dividend payments, according to Jefferies Group LLC. Capital spending will have to fall 10 percent next year, Banco Santander SA says. Oil companies are bracing for “lower for longer” prices as a global supply glut persists, dragging crude to the lowest close since March 2009 in New York on Tuesday. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which has reduced spending 20 percent this year, has “more levers to pull” should the market weaken further, according to Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden.
Thailand’s PTT to buy LNG from Shell, BP via long-term contracts
Thai state energy firm PTT PCL has won approval to buy a total 2 million tonnes a year of liguefied natural gas (LNG) from Shell Eastern Trading (PTE) and BP Singapore PTE Ltd in long-term contracts, the energy minister said on Thursday. Shell Eastern and BP will supply 1 million tonnes each to state-controlled PTT from 2017, Energy Minister Narongchai Akrasanee told reporters after a meeting of the ministry's policy and planning office. As part of the 15-to-20 year contracts, PTT will import 0.5 million tonnes of LNG from Shell Eastern and 0.317 million tonnes from BP in April 2016, Narongchai said.
South Korea’s GS Caltex to trim refinery runs in Sept on falling margins
South Korea's GS Caltex Corp is expected to cut refinery runs further in September after trimming throughput by nearly 3 percent in August to combat weak margins, traders said on Thursday. The country's second-biggest refiner by capacity after SK Energy has cut throughput to about 720,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far this month versus July. But traders said GS Caltex was likely to keep refinery runs at or above 700,000 bpd as demand for jet fuel and kerosene could increase towards year-end on heating fuel demand in winter.