By Andrew Callus LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Some of the western world's topoil companies this week abandoned output targets, missed profitforecasts and promised a tight rein on spending after turning indisappointing quarterly results. Thursday's slew of industry results saw Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil disappoint market analysts. Thepair are two of the industry's top three investor-controlledcompanies in the world. Thethird, Chevron, is due to report on Friday. Shell did what several of its peers did some time ago -abandon a promise to increase production growth so that it can meet its financial targets for cash flow growth and spending. The earnings reports follow a profit miss from industrynumber four BP on Tuesday. Only Total, Europe's No. 3 behind Shell and BP,impressed investors with its first quarterly rise in productionin three years. "It's a difficult time for the big integrateds. They are notseeing production growth, refining margins are deteriorating andcosts are going up. That's not a good combination," said Brian Youngberg, oil analyst with Edward Jones in St Louis. In contrast, smaller U.S. producers, which tend to have moreof their operations in the United States and relatively moreexposure to shale deposits, reported surging output. That islargely thanks to the drilling method known as hydraulicfracking that has unlocked oil and gas from shale deposits. SHALE OUTPUT SURGES FOR SMALLER PRODUCERS Among the smaller U.S. firms, ConocoPhillips reported a better-than-expected profit and raised its full-yearproduction forecast. It said its output from the Eagle Ford shale field in Texasalmost doubled to 121,000 BOE per day. Conoco's combined oil andgas production in the Eagle Ford shale field, the Bakken shalefield in North Dakota, and Permian Basin in Texas rose 47percent in the second quarter. Apache Corp, which reported a higher quarterlyprofit that matched Wall Street's expectations, sold its Gulf ofMexico shelf assets last month to focus more on onshoreproduction. It said its North American onshore liquidsproduction rose 42 percent to 175,000 barrels per day in thequarter. "We expect Apache to have an improved asset mix that willdrive more predictable production growth and strong returns,"Chief Executive Steve Farris said in a statement. Chesapeake Energy Corp's new Chief Executive DougLawler said the company was reviewing its partnerships andassets as the second largest U.S. natural gas provider tries tosimplify its structure and improve financial discipline. The company, which experienced a severe liquidity crunch in2012 after spending heavily for years to acquire drillingacreage, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as itproduced more crude oil than Wall Street targeted. Its sharesrose 7 percent to the highest level in more than a year.
UK dividends calendar - next 7 days
Monday 24 June | |
Aberforth Split Level Income Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd | dividend payment date |
Coca-Cola HBC AG | dividend payment date |
Gemfields Group Ltd | dividend payment date |
Jersey Electricity PLC | dividend payment date |
M&C Saatchi PLC | dividend payment date |
Manx Financial Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Niox Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Shell PLC | dividend payment date |
Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund Ltd | dividend payment date |
Tuesday 25 June | |
Kingfisher PLC | dividend payment date |
Wednesday 26 June | |
CRH PLC | dividend payment date |
Tharisa PLC | dividend payment date |
Thursday 27 June | |
abrdn Equity Income Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC | dividend payment date |
B&M European Value Retail SA | ex-dividend payment date |
Berkeley Group Holdings PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
BlackRock Smaller Cos Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
BP Marsh & Partners PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
British American Tobacco PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
British Smaller Cos VCT PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Burberry Group PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Caledonia Investments PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Cardiff Property PLC | dividend payment date |
Chelverton UK Dividend Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Concurrent Technologies PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd | ex-dividend payment date |
discoverIE Group PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
F&C Investment Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Foresight Enterprise VCT PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Franchise Brands PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Helical PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
JPMorgan Global Emerging Marktes Income Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Lowland Investment Co PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Mears Group PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT PLC | dividend payment date |
Norcros PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Octopus AIM VCT 2 PLC | dividend payment date |
Octopus AIM VCT 2 PLC | special dividend payment date |
Panther Securities PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Personal Assets Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Premier Foods PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Renewi PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Residential Secure Income PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Serica Energy PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Sirius Real Estate Ltd | ex-dividend payment date |
Tatton Asset Management PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
TR Property Investment Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Urban Logistics REIT PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Value & Indexed Property Income Trust PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Vertu Motors PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Virgin Money UK PLC | ex-dividend payment date |
Friday 28 June | |
AJ Bell PLC | dividend payment date |
Albion Technology & General VCT PLC | dividend payment date |
Alliance Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Anexo Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Balanced Commercial Property Trust Ltd | dividend payment date |
BlackRock World Mining Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
BP PLC | dividend payment date |
British Smaller Cos VCT2 PLC | dividend payment date |
Card Factory PLC | dividend payment date |
CT UK Capital & Income Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Develop North PLC | dividend payment date |
Diversified Energy Co PLC | dividend payment date |
Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Eleco PLC | dividend payment date |
Empiric Student Property PLC | dividend payment date |
Energean PLC | dividend payment date |
Equals Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Fair Oaks Income Ltd | dividend payment date |
Fair Oaks Income Ltd Realisation | dividend payment date |
FDM Group Holdings PLC | dividend payment date |
Foresight VCT PLC | dividend payment date |
H&T Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Henderson European Focus Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
HICL Infrastructure PLC | dividend payment date |
Hilton Food Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Imperial Brands PLC | dividend payment date |
JLEN Environmental Assets Group PLC | dividend payment date |
JTC PLC | dividend payment date |
Keller Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Keywords Studios PLC | dividend payment date |
Learning Technologies Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Lords Group Trading PLC | dividend payment date |
LSL Property Services PLC | dividend payment date |
Microlise Group PLC | dividend payment date |
NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd | dividend payment date |
Nexus Infrastructure PLC | dividend payment date |
On the Beach Group PLC | dividend payment date |
One Media iP Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Premier Miton Global Renewables Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Renewables Infrastructure Group PLC | dividend payment date |
RM Infrastructure Income PLC | dividend payment date |
Sage Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd | dividend payment date |
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Spectra Systems Corp | dividend payment date |
Spectris PLC | dividend payment date |
SSP Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Temple Bar Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Tesco PLC | dividend payment date |
Triple Point Social Housing REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Ultimate Products PLC | dividend payment date |
Utilico Emerging Markets Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities PLC | dividend payment date |
Victrex PLC | dividend payment date |
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com | |
A full 14-day events calendar is provided each day with a subscription to Alliance News UK Professional. | |
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |