Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, cut its spending plans by about 20%, joining global energy companies in trimming costs after a plunge in crude prices.
Woodside expects to spend about $6.2 billion in 2015 with low oil prices expected to continue for an “extended period,” the Perth-based company said today in a presentation after posting a 38% gain in full-year profit.
It wrote down the value of oil and gas assets last year by $196 million.
Eni SpA reported a 64% decline in profit caused by falling oil prices and losses on the fair-value interests in Galp and Snam.
Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter fell to 464 million euros ($529 million euros) from a year earlier, the Rome-based company said in a statement.
That was below the 597 million-euro average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue declined 10 percent to 26.8 billion euros.
A leading offshore firm has unveiled plans to build a supply base at a historic north-east airstrip.
Aberdeen-based Independent Oilfield Service (IOS) wants to upgrade its pipe yard at Longside Airfield to a fully-fledged offshore supply base.
It would have several large warehouses, separate office buildings and space for outside storage.
There is no “silver bullet” answer to the problems facing the North Sea as oil prices remain at around half the level they were last year, the boss of Wood Group has said.
But Bob Keiller, the chief executive of Wood Group PSN, pointed to the “higher cost culture” in the North Sea basin as one area that will need adjusted in order to ensure that jobs in the region remained sustainable.
His firm Wood Group was among the first to cut the rates it paid to independent contractors last year - not once but twice.
The Aberdeen Harbour Board’s newly-appointed chairman has said he expects his new role to be “challenging and exciting” and pledged his support for the port’s expansion plans.
Incoming chairman Alastair Mackenzie, a former regional director at risk management group Achilles, takes over from Chris Lloyd, who was chairman for the previous four years and a member of the board for six years in total.
China will have overtaken the US to become the largest single consumer of oil globally, according to oil major BP’s Energy Outlook 2035.
The company said ongoing economic expansion in Asia – particularly in China and India – will drive the continued growth for demand in the next two decades.
The current weakness in the oil market, which it said stemmed in large part from strong growth in tight oil production in the US, will take several years to work through.
However shale gas production, BP said, is likely to slow and Middle East production will gain ground once more.
The surplus in global crude supply is smaller than the 1.8 million barrels a day Kuwait estimated last month, and prices will continue to recover, Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said.
The Persian Gulf state producer plans by next year to add 40 more drilling rigs and raise production capacity to 3.15 million barrels a day, a 5% increase from today, Hashem Hashem, chief executive officer of state-run Kuwait Oil Co., told reporters at a conference in Kuwait City.
“We were expecting oil prices to recover in the second half, but they recovered faster than what we expected,” Al-Omair said Monday at the same event. “I expect oil prices to keep improving.”
Stronger oil and mining stocks ensured the London market maintained its lofty position today, despite jitters over the outcome of Greece debt talks.
The country’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says he remains hopeful of a bailout deal, even though there have been few signs of progress in the discussions with EU finance ministers.
The Athens stock exchange fell by 5% and the FTSE 100 Index dropped 22 points at one stage before recovering to stand 14.2 points higher at 6871.8.
Oil spill response will be the focus of an oil and gas industry conference in the Netherlands next month.
The Inerspill conference and exhibition in Amsterdam will run from March 24 to 26 and will reaffirm the importance of maintaining a focus in the event of such incidents.
Technical director of IPIECA, and Interspill chairman, Rob Cox said "significant progress" had been made since the Montara and Macondo oil spills.
An investigation has been launched after a North Sea worker was exposed to radiation.
The incident happened 145 miles east of Aberdeen on the Lomond Installation.
The worker, who is employed by offshore firm Sparrows, has undergone medical evaluations both offshore and onshore and has been confirmed as safe from any potential harm.
Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Cabinet spoke yesterday of the importance of protecting the north-east's oil and gas “success story" at a question and answer evening in Aberdeen.
Following a day visiting various businesses around the north-east and cutting the first sod of the long-awaited Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, the first minister and her Cabinet invited questions from the public .
Speaking to a crowd of hundreds at the Music Hall, Ms Sturgeon highlighted the importance of the oil and gas industry and how the Scottish Government is dealing with the crisis.
A North Sea employers’ body has dismissed a possible strike threat by unions as “premature”.
Talks between the Unite and GMB unions and the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA), which represents employers, broke down last Friday over proposed changes to rotations and holiday entitlement.
About 2,500 contractors will now be balloted on a range of responses which could even result in them downing tools.
Bill Murray, chief executive for the OCA, said the North Sea was going through “a challenging time” and savings were needed until the oil price picks up again.
The principal funder of a fraudulent lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador has reached a settlement agreement with the oil major.
James Russell DeLeon has withdrawn financial support from the Ecuador litigation and as a result Chevron has agreed to release all claims against him.
The company had brought claims against Mr DeLeon in Gibraltar where he maintains a residence for his role in funding and advancing the Ecuadorian lawsuit.
An oil train with 109 cars derailed near a West Virginia town Monday, causing as many as 15 tankers to catch fire and a state of emergency to be declared in two counties.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin issued the emergency for Kanawha and Fayette counties as CSX Corp., the train’s operator, worked with emergency responders at the scene in frigid conditions.
One person was being treated for potential smoke inhalation after the derailment, while no other injuries were reported, according to the Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad and a state official.
Wood Group will reduce costs by more than $30million this year in light of the declining oil price.
The company said it will keep a tight rein on costs and apply "tougher filters" to potential acquisitions.
Despite the reduction in costs, Wood Group's revenue rose 7.8% to $7.6billion and profit after tax also saw a boost from $300.5million the previous year to $336.3million.
US and European suppliers to the oil industry are still able to seek work in Russia’s Arctic despite sanctions designed to limit their involvement because the rules don’t apply to foreign subsidiaries.
Schlumberger Ltd., based in Houston and the world’s largest oil services company, and Baker Hughes Inc. have used units based outside the US to bid for business in Russia’s Arctic, according to a Russian government website.
Offshore projects in the Arctic are among those targeted by US and European sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
A shortage of coal-seam gas, needed to feed about $60 billion of export projects in eastern Australia, may prompt the developers to reduce shipments in the long term, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.
The liquefied natural gas developments in Queensland state face a potential shortfall of 4,500 to 9,000 petajoules over two decades, or as much as 30% of the supplies needed, Sydney-based analysts Mark Samter and Martin Kronborg said today in an interview.
While a deal to bring Arrow Energy Ltd.’s gas into the plants developed by companies including Santos Ltd. and BG Group Plc would fix the problem, getting it to the projects would be expensive, the analysts said.
Apache North Sea boss Jim House insists the UK oil and gas industry still has a bright future but he has also joined the growing clamour for Chancellor George Osborne to usher in new tax breaks.
Mr House, region vice-president and managing director at Apache North Sea (ANS), told the Press and Journal yesterday there was “no better time” than now to radically overhaul a fiscal regime which was not helping oil and gas firms.
The current system is not fit for purpose, he said, adding that the industry itself also needed to change following the sharp slump in oil prices.
Oil and gas technology firm EFC Group is on course to reach its 2016 turnover target of £30million a year early.
EFC said yesterday it received orders for £40million-worth of its products last year, an increase of 130% year on year.
The company, which has offices in Aberdeen, Leeds, Houston and Singapore, also said it boosted staff numbers to 160 from 54 between 2010 and 2014.
Commercial talks between Gazprom and China have been advancing after the chairman of the Russian energy company’s management committee met officials.
Alexey Miller had talks with Zhang Gaoli, the first vice premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China took place in Beijing.
A US oil and gas firm has mounted action against two energy companies over an alleged breach of obligation.
Target Energy Limited’s subsidiary TELA Garwood LP has filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court, in Houston, Texas, against Victory Energy Corporation and Aurora Energy Partners.
The law suit charge alleges that Aurora, acting through partner, Victory, breached an obligation to purchase some of TELA Garwood’s interests in the West Texas Fairway Project.
Drilling firm Paradigm Drilling Services has received a £5million cash injection from two new investment partners as they look to expand in the region.
The company has received the investment package from Buckthron Partners and Suadi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV)’s corporate venturing branch, Suadi Aramco.
Paradigm said it hopes to employ ten new members of staff to their team of 52 within the next six months.
Lundin Petroleum has spudded an exploration well on the Gemini prospect of the Edvard Grieg field.
The company’s subsidiary Lundin Norway said well 16/1-24 in PL338C will investigate the hydrocarbon potential of the prospect.
It will test the reservoir properties and hydrocarbon potential of Lower Paleocene aged sandstones of the Ty formation.
Early figures from research company IHS have shown discoveries of oil and gas reserves dropped to their lowest level in at least two decades in 2014.
The preliminary numbers suggest the volume of oil and gas found was the lowest since around 1995, not including shale and other reserves onshore in North America.
It has been estimated that new finds of oil and gas will have been around 16billion barrels of oil equivalent last year.
Transocean said its current chief executive Steve Newman has stepped down from his role.
The company said both Mr Newman and the board of directors had mutually agreed that he will step down as well as resigning as a director.
Ian Strachan, chairman of the board, will step in as Transocean’s interim chief executive officer.
