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Mexico oil auction eases memory of previous sale flop: Despite the plunge in oil prices, Mexico banished the bitter memory of its oil tender flop by awarding more blocks than the government expected, to a range of companies on lucrative terms
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.85% or $0.41 higher at $48.78 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.29% or $0.14, to settle at $48.37 per barrel, amid mixed reports from the Energy Information Administration. The US crude stockpiles advanced by 4.0 million barrels for the week ended 25 September. However, the oil production dropped 40,000 barrels a day to settle at an output of 9.1 million barrels per day.
Trinity Exploration & Production facing uncertainty amid oil price fall: The auditors of the Trinidad oil and gas business developed by North Sea veteran Bruce Dingwall have highlighted material uncertainty about the firm’s ability to remain a going concern, after it incurred hefty losses amid the crude price plunge
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.89% or $0.43 lower at $47.80 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 1.88% or $0.89, to settle at $48.23 per barrel, amid hopes that data would indicate a further drop in the US crude oil production
Edinburgh oil and gas firm makes fresh discovery in Cameroon: Bowleven has made a second find in quick succession in West Africa. The Edinburgh-based oil and gas company said the Moambe well on the Bomono permit in Cameroon had encountered hydrocarbons, without giving any estimate of the potential size of the find.
Ben’s bear behind: Ben van Beurden is pulling Shell out of the Arctic after failing to find oil in commercial quantities off Alaska. A decade-long escapade on ice is over. The Chief Executive still hopes to lead Shell out of the frozen wastes to a brighter future. But that ambition is melting at the edges. Mr van Beurden had no power to influence the outcome of drilling at the Burger J prospect in the Chukchi Sea. But Shell has shown decision in signalling its withdrawal from the Arctic. It has other prospects there. It will not pursue them. At the same time, Shell has lost a notional 4.3 billion barrels of oil once believed to lurk at Burger J. The cost of tapping these had been estimated at anything from $55 to $100 a barrel. The BG takeover, also intended to replenish a dwindling production pipeline, was predicated on a price of $70 to $110 a barrel. Mr van Beurden has to juggle the need to secure future supplies with his obligation to keep up dividend payments costing north of $11 billion a year, according to S&P CIQ. Underlying earnings are heading south towards that figure. Shakespeare resolved all contradictions with stage magic in The Winter’s Tale, the play that includes the famous direction “exit, pursued by a bear”. Mr van Beurden, in contrast, is reliant on skill — and liberal helpings of luck — for a happy ending.
SWFs: oil be off now: Saudi Arabia is feeling the pinch from falling oil prices. The country’s sovereign wealth fund, Sama, has withdrawn between $50 billion and $70 billion from its investments over the past six months. That is near one-tenth of the fund’s total assets. This year, a study from Invesco said that nearly three-quarters of sovereign funds surveyed expected funding flows to fall in the future. Two-thirds of highly oil-dependent funds based outside North America expected outright withdrawals if the oil price stayed below $40 a barrel for two years. Specific losers from the shift are harder to establish. SWFs remain tight-lipped regarding their investments. A preference for more liquid assets would stimulate outflows from investments requiring longer term commitment, including private equity and emerging markets — SWFs have a weighting of one-tenth in the latter, says Invesco. Emerging market exchange traded funds have already been hit by retail outflows of $19 billion this year and institutional investors are the most underweight they have been in emerging market stocks since 2005, a BofA fund Managers’ survey finds.
Saudi Arabia feels pain of oil price war: Saudi Arabia is estimated to have pulled tens of billions of dollars from western fund Managers as it tries to cut its deficit amid a halving of the oil price.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.06% or $0.03 higher at $47.37 per barrel, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.59% or $1.26, to settle at $47.34 per barrel, amid demand concerns from slowing global economy.
Saudi Arabia has withdrawn tens of billions of dollars from global asset managers as the oil-rich kingdom seeks to cut its widening deficit and reduce exposure to volatile equities markets amid the sustained slump in oil prices. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency's foreign reserves have slumped by nearly $73bn since oil prices started to decline last year as the kingdom keeps spending to sustain the economy and fund its military campaign in Yemen.
Shell will stop further exploration activity in offshore Alaska. The oil major announced on Monday it had found indications of oil and gas in the Burger J prospect, but not enough to warrant further exploration. As a result of that, as well as the high costs associated with the project and the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska, the oil giant has decided to stop exploration in the area. Shell Upstream Americas director Marvin Odum said the company continues to see potential in the basin and the area is likely to be strategically important for Alaska and the US. "However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin." The company said it expected to take financial charges as a result of this announcement and an update will be provided with the third quarter results.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.93% or $0.45 lower at $48.15 per barrel. On Friday, the contract climbed 0.89% or $0.43, to settle at $48.60 per barrel, after Baker Hughes reported that the number of active US oil rigs fell by 4 to reach 640 for the week ended 25 September
Brent oil prices gained last week, after the US crude oil inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels for the week ended 18 September, as reported by the EIA. Brent crude oil prices rose 2.4% to $48.60/barrel.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.08% or $0.04 higher at $48.21 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.88% or $0.42, to settle at $48.17 per barrel, after moving between gains and losses, on reports that global oil glut is contracting amid a drop in US crude supplies.
Giant West of Shetland oil and gas fields near start of production: Premier Oil has said it is now making good progress with the delayed development of the giant Solan oil field West of Shetland, which it expects to bring onstream later this year.
Total: the right cut?: Big energy groups with massive balance sheets and earnings from every stage of the production chain should smooth out the ups and downs of the commodity price cycle, delivering “bond proxy” returns. Investors reward such dependability by applying a lower discount rate to those returns — giving higher share-price valuations. So far, bread and butter is taking precedence over jam. Total’s Managers said on Wednesday they would reduce capital expenditure by about $3 billion in both 2016 and 2017, but refused to countenance a cut in the dividend. Shares in the French oil major rose, outperforming rivals. That is not a problem for Total just yet. Its production growth profile for 2016 and 2017 is still better than many peers. Its reserve replacement ratio has averaged 124% over the past five years. It is not overleveraged. It is cutting operating costs and extending a scrip dividend option to save cash (at the expense of some dilution). But output in 2017 will now be 21% up on 2014 levels, rather than 30% previously envisaged. Total’s Managers must be hoping that oil prices have stabilised by then — allowing them to avoid a dividend cut altogether, rather than merely postponing one
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.67% or $0.32 higher at $48.07 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.71% or $1.33, to settle at $47.75 per barrel. However, the EIA reports revealed a decline of 1.9 million barrels in crude oil stockpiles for the week ended 18 September.
Faroe Petroleum sees opportunities in North Sea amid oil and gas sector malaise: The Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, Graham Stewart, has said there is no sign the crude price will increase any time soon but highlighted the opportunities the downturn in the oil and gas sector has created for some firms.
Wood Group diversifies in response to crude price slump: Wood Group has moved to reduce its dependence on the beleaguered oil and gas industry by acquiring an English automation specialist that focuses on sectors such as car and food production
KKR moves into oil and gas in Europe: KKR, the American private equity giant, is set to invest hundreds of millions of dollars buying up European oil and gasfields, as it seeks to take advantage of depressed valuations in the industry after the collapse of world oil prices.
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.53% or $0.26 lower at $48.82 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.33% or $0.16, to settle at $49.08 per barrel, after the API reported that crude oil supplies fell sharply by 3.7 million barrels for the week ended 18 September.
Have you got news of lpg prices- shell's main business?
Oil price rebounds as Opec forces U.S. drillers to cut back: Oil prices are back on the rise after more evidence emerged that Opec’s war on its supply rivals is taking affect
At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.76% or $0.37 lower at $48.55 per barrel, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 3.05% or $1.45, to settle at $48.92 per barrel
Low oil prices risk $1.5tn of projects Industry operators expect investment in new projects to drop up to 30%, says a Wood Mackenzie report