London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Shell reported Interims this morning and they certainly beat my expectations with a clean 2Q number of $3.8bn down from $6.1bn on 2014 2Q. Obviously upstream was sharply down but even that figure was offset by lower costs and depreciation charges. Downstream was a fair bit better than I had expected, beating Q1 and showing an improved financial performance and higher refining margins which we had all spotted. Gearing is a respectable 12.7%, down a touch on this time last year. On dividends, the company scotched the bogey of any idea of a cut by saying that it would be ‘at least maintained’ and as for the share buy back it stays at $25bn between 2017-2020, not something BP could afford. As one might expect costs are coming down everywhere, this year operating costs are down by $4bn with more to come and as for capex it too is down, by $7bn or 20% to $30bn. Lots on the BG ‘combination’ which is moving ahead steadily and of course cost savings are at the forefront, bigger than previously expected with $2.5bn a year from 2018 onwards and $30bn of asset sales between 2016-18. The deal will reshape the combined company and with its mantra of ‘grow to simplify’ will downsize numbers of but increase the size of international projects as it takes on fewer,higher value projects. Shell says that it will remain prudent through the downturn with the capacity to pay ‘attractive’ dividends to shareholders over the long term.
As it revealed 6,500 job cuts, Royal Dutch Shell also delivered a second-quarter adjusted profit of $3.8b that was well ahead of consensus estimates of $3.4bn. The oil major also kept its dividend steady at $0.47 for both A and B shares.
North Sea oil and gas companies still focused on job cuts: Most oil and gas companies in the North Sea continue to be focused on job cuts as they remain concerned about activity levels in the area, a survey shows.
Total sells stake in North Sea gasfield to SSE in $900 million deal: French energy group Total is to sell a stake in one of the U.K.’s most promising natural gasfields to SSE, the British power generator, in a deal worth nearly $900 million that could herald a wave of North Sea asset sales
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.6% or $0.32 higher at $53.70 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.15% or $0.08, to settle at $53.38 per barrel, after the US Energy Information Administration reported a decline of 4.2 million barrels in the crude oil inventory to settle at 459.7 million barrels for the week ended 24 July.
BP warns oil prices will be lower for longer as its profits plunge tumble: BP’s Chief Executive has warned that oil prices will be “lower for longer” as he revealed that falling prices and a further multibillion-dollar charge relating to the Gulf of Mexico disaster had fuelled a $6.3 billion (£4 billion) loss for the second quarter
Chinese turmoil takes its toll on oil prices: Oil traded close to its lowest level in nearly six months amid fears over signs of a serious Chinese stock market rout
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.32% or $0.17 lower at $53.13 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.32% or $0.17, to settle at its lowest level since 30 January at $53.30 per barrel, amid concerns raised by constant glut in global oil supply. Meanwhile, API data revealed that US crude oil supply declined 1.9 million barrels for the week ending 24 July.
Low oil price and rising dollar hit Pemex Mexico’s national oil company records 11th consecutive quarterly loss
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.73% or $0.39 lower at $53.08 per barrel, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.11% or $1.15, to settle at its lowest level since 16 March at $53.47 per barrel, amid concerns from Chinese stock market rout and rise in the number of active oil rigs in the US.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.11% or $0.06 lower at $54.56 per barrel. On Friday, the contract declined 1.18% or $0.65, to settle at $54.62 per barrel, after Baker Hughes reported an increase of 21 oil rigs in the US to settle at 659 for the last week
The world's big energy groups have shelved $200bn of spending on new projects in a round of cost-cutting aimed at protecting investors' dividends as oil prices fell for the second time this year. The decline in Brent crude, which has more than halved in the past year, was triggered by Opec’s decision not to cut output in the face of a US supply glut and weaker than expected demand. (FT)
BP takes last $10 billion hit on Gulf oil spill: BP WILL take a $10 billion hit this week in what the FTSE 100 oil giant hopes will be the last big penalty for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010. The write-down, to be revealed in the £72 billion company’s second-quarter results, will be taken after it agreed an $18.7 billion payout a fortnight ago to settle all remaining claims with the federal government and five southern American states. The settlement brings the total cost of the disaster to $54 billion.
Oil prices ended lower last week, after the Energy Information Administration announced that US crude oil stockpiles registered an unexpected increase in the week ended 17 July. Meanwhile, speculation that Iran would soon flood the oil market pressured oil prices as well. Brent crude oil prices fell 4.3% to $54.620/barrel
Cuadrilla set to appeal fracking refusal decision: Shale gas company Cuadrilla said that it will not back down in its attempt to kick-start the U.K.’s fracking industry.
Oil and gas crunch pushes Russia closer to fiscal crisis: Russia has fallen into full-blown depression and faces a mounting fiscal crisis as oil and gas revenues plummet
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.45% or $0.25 higher at $55.52 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 1.53% or $0.86, to settle at its lowest level since April 2 at $55.27 per barrel, as the persistent glut in oil supplies continued to drag the crude oil prices down
Warning: Oil and gas services sector weakness could hit broader Scottish economy: Major weakness in the oil and gas services sector could hit the broader economy north of the Border, Scottish Chambers of Commerce has warned
Shell banned from Arctic oil drilling without emergency equipment: Royal Dutch Shell has been granted two final permits to explore for crude in the Arctic this summer, but the U.S. has banned the company from drilling for oil until emergency equipment arrives in the region.
Cairn Energy to vote against Vedanta offer: U.K.-based explorer Cairn Energy is set to vote against an offer by Vedanta Ltd to buy out minority shareholders in its former subsidiary Cairn India, according to people familiar with the situation.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading marginally higher at $56.13 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 1.6% or $0.91, to settle at $56.13 per barrel, after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a sudden increase in commercial crude stockpiles by 2.5 million oil barrels to reach 463.9 million barrels for the week ending July 17.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.89% or $0.51 lower at $56.53 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.69% or $0.39, to settle at $57.04 per barrel, amid a weaker dollar and hopes of a decline in crude inventory in the EIA report. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly oil report indicated that US stockpiles increased by 2.3 million barrels for the week ending July 17.
Crude supertanker operators cash in on oil market rout: For Owners of the supertankers capable of hauling more than 2 million barrels of crude around the world, the crash in oil prices has been good for business.
Increased Iran oil output puts other exporters under pressure: The lifting of sanctions against Iran is likely to prompt an increase in the Islamic Republic’s oil output and heap pressure on the finances of other hydrocarbons exporters
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.25% or $0.14 lower at $56.51 per barrel, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.79% or $0.45, to settle at its lowest level since April at $56.65 per barrel, amid concerns raised by the current global supply. Oil prices were also hit by a stronger greenback.