Gould Elected to Oxy Board of Directors
US based oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum announced on Thursday that former Schlumberger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gould has been elected to its Board of Directors effective March 1, 2020.Gould has more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He started his career at Schlumberger in 1975 and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the oilfield services giant from 2003 to 2011. Following his tenure at Schlumberger, Gould served as non-Executive Chairman of multinational oil and gas company BG Group from 2012 until its sale to Royal Dutch Shell in 2016. He served as interim Executive Chairman in 2014.
Schlumberger Names Olivier Le Peuch as COO
Schlumberger NV on Friday named Olivier Le Peuch as chief operating officer, setting him up as a possible successor to Paal Kibsgaard for the top role at the world's largest oilfield services company.Le Peuch has previously served as the president of Schlumberger's oilfield equipments making unit Cameron Group.The appointment marks the formal beginning of CEO succession, wrote Jefferies analyst Brad Handler in a note."That process comes earlier than we expected given Paal's age and the recent downturn", he added.Kibsgaard, 51, assumed the CEO role in 2011, succeeding Andrew Gould.
Schlumberger Names Le Peuch as Chief Operating Officer
Schlumberger NV on Friday named Olivier Le Peuch as chief operating officer, setting him up as a possible successor to Paal Kibsgaard for the top role at the world's largest oilfield services company.Le Peuch has previously served as the president of Schlumberger's oilfield equipments making unit Cameron Group.The appointment marks the formal beginning of CEO succession, wrote Jefferies analyst Brad Handler in a note."That process comes earlier than we expected given Paal's age and the recent downturn", he added.Kibsgaard, 51, assumed the CEO role in 2011, succeeding Andrew Gould.
Aramco to meet in Shanghai to Prop up IPO
Saudi Aramco's board will meet in China in May for the first time in seven years, industry sources said, as the state-owned energy firm seeks to lure Chinese and Asian investors to its giant share offering. The board of directors would gather in Shanghai on May 10 to discuss the firm's business plans, investments and preparations to sell up to 5 percent of Aramco in 2018, the sources said. An annual report of the company's activities for the previous year is usually issued after the board meeting. The board, which gathers twice a year, often meets abroad but only once before had a meeting in China, in 2010.
Deepwater Projects Survive, Even with Low Oil Price
Deepwater seen working in Brazil, Gulf of Mexico; long-cycle projects require $60-$80/bbl oil price. The deepwater oil industry is not dead, even after the brutal drop in oil prices in recent years, but activity will focus on regions such as Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico where resources are large and costs low, executives said on Tuesday. Sanctioning of multi-billion dollar projects, that take years to develop and which drove oil supply growth earlier this decade, ground to a near halt since the oil price collapse in mid-2014 as companies dealt with a sharp drop in revenue. U.S.
BG Shareholders Give Shell's $52 bln Acquisition Final Nod
BG Group shareholders overwhelmingly approved Royal Dutch Shell's $52 billion takeover on Thursday, clearing the way for the two firms to create the world's biggest trader of liquefied natural gas (LNG). BG will now merge with Shell on Feb. 15, nearly two decades after the company was born from British Gas and just a few months after it reached record oil and gas output thanks to new projects in Australia and Brazil. At a meeting in London, 99.53 percent of BG shareholders voted in favour of the merger, a day after 83 percent of Shell's shareholders approved the deal first announced on April 8 last year.
BG Chief Welcomes $70 bln Shell Offer with 'Mixed Emotions'
BG Chief Executive Helge Lund on Tuesday welcomed with "mixed emotions" Royal Dutch Shell's $70 billion takeover bid, which came only two months after he took office. Speaking at BG's annual general meeting in Reading, England, the former Statoil boss said there is still much to do before the transaction can complete but that Shell's bid, at a 50 percent premium to BG's share price on April 7, maximizes BG's value while removing potential risks. "This is a strong deal for our shareholders," he said. Lund took office on Feb. 9 with a mandate to turn BG around after a string of profit warnings and delays on major projects.
Time, and Oil Prices, Ticking for Shell-BG Deal
Rising oil prices are putting Royal Dutch Shell under pressure to execute its landmark $70 billion deal to buy rival BG as soon as possible before investors in BG start to take a more critical look at the terms. Announced three weeks ago, the deal was seen as a bold bet by Shell on the oil price recovering to $80-$90 per barrel within three years, justifying a 50 percent premium the Anglo-Dutch giant agreed to pay for BG in the biggest oil merger of the decade. The cash and share deal followed a relatively low oil price of around $55 per barrel during the first three months of 2015.
Lund to Start Earlier as BG Group Chief
BG Group plc informed today that Helge Lund will join the Company as Chief Executive and an Executive Director with effect from February 9, 2015. This is ahead of the previously announced start date of March 2, 2015. Lund’s start date has been brought forward following agreement last week from his former employer to release him from his contractual commitments. Andrew Gould, who has been serving as interim Executive Chairman of BG Group since April 2014, will return to his role as Non-Executive Chairman with effect from February 9, 2015.
First LNG Loaded from QCLNG Project in Australia
BG Group began loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility to the vessel Methane Rita Andrea December 28. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper, which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January. QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island. The project will expand further with the startup of the second train in the third quarter of 2015.
BG loads First QCLNG Cargo
BG Group today announced that it has been loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility since 28 December. The vessel being loaded is the Methane Rita Andrea. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January. QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island. "This is an immense achievement which demonstrates the company's ability to deliver a highly complex LNG project.
BG Group Sells Australian Pipeline for $5b
BG Group plc has agreed to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary QCLNG Pipeline Pty Ltd to APA Group, Australia's largest gas infrastructure business, for approximately $5 billion. QCLNG Pipeline Pty Ltd owns a 543 kilometer, large-diameter underground pipeline network linking BG Group's natural gas fields in southern Queensland to a two-train liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at Gladstone on Australia's east coast. The sale of this non-core infrastructure is consistent with BG Group's strategy of actively managing its global asset portfolio, the company said. The pipeline was constructed between 2011 and 2014 and has a current book value of $1.6 billion.
LNGL Extends Gladstone Lease
* LNGL has signed a non-binding memorandum of intent (MOI) for gas supply with Tri-Star Petroleum Company (Tri-Star). Liquefied Natural Gas Limited yesterday announced that its 100% owned subsidiary, Gladstone LNG Pty Ltd has agreed to a Variation to the Agreement for Lease with the Gladstone Ports Corporation until 31 March 2016 in two phases. The first phase is an extension of the term from 1 November 2014 to 31 March 2015, with the Company paying an Option Fee of $500,000 and the second phase, at the Company’s election, is a further extension to 31 March 2016, with the payment of a further Option Fee of $1 million.
BG Group to Delay LNG Terminal on Canada's Pacific Coast
British oil and gas producer BG Group Plc will delay until the next decade a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal on Canada's Pacific coast, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting the head of the company's Canadian unit. "We'd always said (construction would begin) as early as 2016, but we now recognize it'll likely be later, with commercial operations likely beginning early in the next decade," BG Canada President Madeline Whitaker said in an interview with the Journal. Kim Blomley, a spokesman for BG Group, said he could not immediately confirm if the project had slipped into the next decade…
BG Pay Vote Highlights Shareholder Unease
A third of BG's shareholders voted against the energy company's remuneration report on Thursday highlighting investors' unease over its bosses' pay following its warning about lower output and the CEO's sudden departure last month. Some 33 percent of shareholder votes cast were against the group's remuneration report. BG has begun a major review of its assets after Chief Executive Chris Finlayson quit after just 16 months in the job. The oil and gas group has also warned that output would be at the lower end of its target range this year due to problems in Egypt.
CEO Finlayson Resigns from UK's BG Group
The chief executive of UK oil and gas group BG Group, Chris Finlayson, has resigned with immediate effect for personal reasons, the company said on Monday. Non-executive chairman Andrew Gould will take over as interim executive chairman, BG Group said. "The board felt that it was in the best interests of the Group to accept Chris' resignation and seek fresh leadership," said Gould, who will revert to the position of non-executive chairman once a new CEO is appointed. BG also said its full-year production target was expected at the lower end of its guidance of 590-630 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day due to ongoing output problems in Egypt.
