Local councils can get blamed for a lot of things, sometimes with good reason, but also unfairly from time to time. Clearly, the price of oil and the operational decisions of major energy firms fall well outwith the remit of elected representatives at the town house. However, there are two key areas in which the industry has made it clear that Europe’s oil capital needs improvement.
The oil and gas sector is vital to Scotland and it is important we have the skilled workforce required to strengthen our overall ambition as a major centre for energy activity. The oil and gas UK study highlights the need for the UK Government to continue to put in place measures to sustain long-term investment in the UKCS and for industry to work with our colleges and universities to ensure they are delivering the skilled workforce they need and deliver the best value out of the public investment that we provide for the training of the current and future workforce. But unfortunately the Autumn Statement last week failed to provide the oil and gas industry with the tax measures it both requires and deserves.
Investing in new plant has paid off for Saltire Energy after the oil drilling equipment rental firm posted a 10% rise in revenues. Accounts filed at Companies House showed that the Portlethen-based company turned over £36.3million in the year to 30 June, up from just under £33million in the previous 12 months. Pre-tax profits edged up by 3% to £17.7million after a rise in the costs of distribution and sales, including the investment in new rental gear. Writing in the directors’ report, chief executive Mike Loggie said: “The group’s rentals have continued to show considerable growth.
Turnover at Enermech broke through the £200-million barrier for the first time last year and is on course to hit £260million this year after the mechanical engineering group unveiled a further six crane contracts together worth more than £34million. Figures published yesterday showed that revenues grew by 40% during 2013 to reach £202.5m. International expansion reined in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), which climbed by a more-modest 21% to hit £14.2m.
Marine-technology company Nautronix more than doubled its profits last year following a number of contracts wins and the launch of new technologies. The Dyce-based firm said sales of its new £1million NASDive diving communication system grew 53% in the first year of its launch. The company said it expects the technology, which is so advanced that divers can Skype call their family from beneath the ocean, will be bought by firms replacing their older diver communications systems as well as new customers.
A search is underway for a new chairman at Asco Group following the surprise departure of both the oilfield services firm’s chief executive and chairman. The Aberdeen-based company remained tight-lipped last night over the details of why chief executive Derek Smith and chairman Billy Allan were exiting the business. It said that Mr Smith was leaving to “pursue other opportunities”, while Mr Allan had “indicated his intention to step down”, but made no further comment.
Mexico authorized preliminary bidding rules for new offshore blocks as the country prepares for an investment deluge in its recently opened oil industry. Oil regulator CNH approved rules today for 14 shallow-water exploratory blocks that will be auctioned to private companies by the end of July, according to a live feed of the meeting. In a separate vote, the agency also approved production-sharing contracts for the winners.
Oil major BP said deeper cuts could be made to its 2015 budget on the back of OPEC’s recent position and falling oil prices. The company has already announced up to $1billion in restructuring costs as it cuts thousands of jobs across its global oil and gas business. BP head of upstream, Lamar McKay, announced the company’s future plans at a meeting of investors in London.
Leading supermarkets have cut the cost of their petrol again. Asda, which reduced its petrol by 2p a litre last Saturday, knocked another 1p a litre off its petrol today. This means its petrol will cost no more than 114.7p a litre, with diesel remaining unchanged at 119.7p a litre Morrisons, which took 2p a litre off its petrol and diesel yesterday, said it was reducing its petrol by a further 1p a litre.
The demand for global energy is set to increase by 35% by 2040, a report has suggested. The report released today ExxonMobil claims growth in the global middle class, expansion of emerging economies and a rising population will contribute to the rise.
Britain’s trade deficit narrowed by more than expected in October after the falling price of oil helped to trigger a drop in the value of imports. The deficit in goods and services narrowed to a seven-month low of £2 billion from £2.8 billion in September and better than City forecasts for £2.4 billion. The improvement in the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was largely driven by a fall in the value of oil imports following the recent drop in the price of Brent crude to well below 100 US dollars a barrel.
CNOOC has signed three production sharing contracts with KUFPEC for three blocks in the South China Sea. The three blocks are located in the Yinggehai Basin.
Iran’s president has said the sharp fall in oil prices is the result of “treachery”, in an apparent reference to regional rival Saudi Arabia, which opposed production cuts to lift prices. Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting the fall in prices is “politically motivated” and a “conspiracy against the interests of the region, the Muslim people and the Muslim world”. “The people of the region will not forget such conspiracies, or in other words, treachery against the Muslim world.”
President Energy's well in the Santa Rosa Fomraiton has spudded. The Lapacho x-1 well has "very encouraging" hydrocarbon shows encountered throughout the gross formation thickness with hihg background gas of 20% and trip gas of 48%.
Serinus Energy has spudded a second exploration well in Romania. The Moftinu 1001 well has been drilled within the 765,000 acre exploration block known as Satu Mare Concession. Logs indicated a net pay of 17 metres at depths ranging from 730 to 900 metres.
KMG EP said its planned production for next year is expected to be down 3% from 2014 due to a decline at PetroKazakhstan (PKI). It updated its board of directors at a meeting earlier this week in which it assumed a 2015 budget based on a Brent oil price of $70. The company also said it had not yet received an approved schedule for deliveries to Russia for 2015.
Petroquest has made a discovery at its Thunder Bayou prospect in Louisiana. The company said it logged 490 gross feet of high quality pay within the primary Cris R2 objective. Petroquest has a 50% working interest and 37% net revenue interest in the well.
Brent crude oil fell to another 5-year low near $65 a barrel in volatile trade yesterday, sliding for a sixth consecutive session on signs of a growing supply glut. Prices briefly reversed losses to trade higher ahead of the US open, with some investors betting the 40%-plus price slide since June was overdone. But as US equity markets opened lower oil prices quickly came off again, with traders refocusing on how fast-growing US shale output has hurt the ability of Opec to manage supply.
A group of 21 Chinese firms are taking legal action against CNOOC and ConocoPhillips for losses incurred due to oil spills. The bid, which is calling for more than $22.8million in compensation, was made after there were leaks at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in 2011. The spills polluted 6,200 square km of water in the Bohaj Bay area and the field was finally sealed in October this year.
An offshore helicopter was forced to return back to shore after a passenger became unwell. The Bond S-92 was heading to the Balmoral Platform when an emergency call was issue around 9am. A spokeswoman for Bond confirmed the helicopter was diverted.
Oil major BP said it expects to incur restructuring charges of $1billion over the next five quarters. The company will present its future strategy to investors in London following an announcement earlier this week that job cuts would be made. Chief executive of BP Upstream, Lamar McKay, and a senior members of the management team are set to outline its changing position on the back of falling oil prices.
John Floren’s plans to dismantle two petrochemical plants in Chile and rebuild them in Louisiana didn't include paying welders and pipe fitters more than $100 a hour, almost 20% more than expected. That’s one reason the project has run at least $300 million over budget, said Floren, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Methanex Corp. (MEOH) A growing surplus of cheap natural gas from shale drilling is driving a boom in the U.S. chemical industry, which uses gas as a raw material for plastics, fertilizer and paints.
Brent resumed its decline as an Iranian official predicted a further slump in prices if solidarity among OPEC members falters. West Texas Intermediate in New York also erased yesterday’s gains. Futures slid as much as 1.6% in London after snapping a five-day losing streak. Crude could fall to as low as $40 a barrel amid a price war or if divisions emerge in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said an official at Iran’s oil ministry.
We at Oil & Gas UK recognise that there will be changes in employment patterns, and these will affect employment across the sector. It is worth pointing out the 9% decline in employment will be across the UK - not just Aberdeen or Scotland. The forecast reduction in oil and gas industry jobs comes from an anticipated decline in capital expenditure over the next five years.
Oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips confirmed it will cut up to 230 jobs in its North Sea operations after completing a review of its business. The Houston-based firm, which is poised to take over as the biggest oil producer in the North Sea in terms of production volume by the end of this year, said staff numbers in the UK would be cut from 1,649 staff and contractors to 1,419 my March of next year. The cuts will fall predominantly on Aberdeen where the firm employs around 1,100, including 700 permanent staff and 400 contractors.