Natural gas producers ask Harris for answers on the battleground state
Drillers from Pennsylvania, an energy-rich state, called on Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris this week to explain her stance on natural gas. The energy industry touts it as a clean fuel but climate activists claim that the fuel is a threat to global warming. In January, President Joe Biden froze new LNG export permits to examine their environmental impact.
Exxon Probe Faces Uphill Task
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman faces an uphill climb in building a case against Exxon Mobil Corp for not writing down assets amid the oil-price slump because of the broad leeway that energy companies have enjoyed reporting under U.S. rules, accounting experts said. Schneiderman is investigating Exxon's accounting practices and why the oil giant has not taken writedowns even while oil prices have fallen…
Rockefeller Fund hits Exxon, Sheds Fossil Fuels
The Rockefeller Family Fund said on Wednesday it would divest from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and "eliminate holdings" of Exxon Mobil Corp, saying the oil company associated with the family fortune has misled the public about climate change risks. Though only a sliver of the endowment's modest $130 million in assets is invested in fossil fuels, the move is notable because a century ago John D. Rockefeller Sr.
Mansion Sales, Discount Dining: Oil Woes hit Houston's Rich
Prices for mansions in Houston's swankiest neighborhood have tumbled in lock step with crude prices. The Houston Opera has offered free season tickets to patrons who lost their jobs in the oil bust. A fancy restaurant offers cut-price dinners. Twenty months into the worst oil price crash since the 1980s, well-heeled residents of the world's oil capital…
Marathon Oil Slashes Capex 50%, Has Quarterly Loss
Marathon Oil Corp, a U.S. shale exploration company, on Wednesday slashed its 2016 spending 50 percent and swung to a loss as the company's results were hurt by a steep decline in crude oil prices. Marathon said it plans to spend $1.4 billion this year, a reduction of more than 50 percent from 2015. Marathon, based in Houston, has a net loss of $793 million…
Pioneer Natural Posts Quarterly Loss, Cutting Rig Count 50%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co, a U.S. shale oil company, on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss compared with a year-earlier profit and said it would slash by half the number of rigs it operates to 12 in response to the collapse in crude prices. Dallas-based Pioneer posted a fourth-quarter loss of $623 million, or $4.17 per share, compared with a profit of $431 million, or $2.92 per share, in the year earlier period.
Linn Energy CEO Eligible for $6.9 mln Award
The chief executive officer of Linn Energy LLC, a U.S. oil and gas company that is exploring strategic options and looking for ways to fix its balance sheet, is eligible for a $6.9 million cash award this year, according to a regulatory filing. Linn Energy, a master limited partnership (MLP) which has been hit hard by the more than 70 percent drop in crude prices, said in a filing with the U.S.
ConocoPhillips cuts Dividend, Lowers CapEx Budget
Lowers 2016 budget to $6.4 bln from $7.7 bln. ConocoPhillips further lowered its capital budget for 2016 and slashed its quarterly dividend as a relentless fall in crude oil prices takes a toll on the largest U.S. independent oil and gas company. Shares of ConocoPhillips, which also reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, were down 4 percent at $37 in light premarket trading on Thursday.
Barometer of Shale Oil Industry's Health Warns Agony to Worsen
The latest blow to the energy industry's collective psyche has been inflicted by National Oilwell Varco Inc, with the giant oilfield equipment maker warning the pace of drilling and fracking will only slow more as 2016 drags on. A 70 percent drop in crude prices since mid-2014 has affected not only NOV but dozens of others throughout North America's oil patches…
Exxon's Q4 Profit Tumbles, Crude Prices Hurt
Exxon Mobil Corp on Tuesday reported a 58 percent drop in quarterly profit as low oil prices hurt results at the world's largest publicly traded oil company. The Irving, Texas company reported that fourth-quarter profit slid to $2.78 billion, or 67 cents per share, from $6.57 billion, or $1.56 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Exxon said its oil and gas output rose 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
Anadarko Posts Quarterly Loss, Expects to Slash Capex 50%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Monday reported a larger quarterly loss as low crude prices took a toll and the U.S. oil company said it expects to slash capital spending about 50 percent this year to conserve cash. Anadarko, based in Houston, reported a net loss of $1.25 billion, or $2.45 per share, compared with a loss of $395 million, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
U.S. Shale Firms Cut CapEx Again
Three major U.S. shale oil companies have slashed their 2016 capital spending plans more than expected in a bid to survive $30 a barrel oil prices, with one of them saying prices would need to rise more than 20 percent just to turn a profit. The cuts on Monday from Hess Corp, Continental Resources and Noble Energy ranged from 40 percent to 66 percent.
Hess Slashes 2016 Capital Spending 40%
Hess Corp, a U.S. oil company with operations in North Dakota's Bakken Shale, said on Tuesday that it planned to cut capital spending by 40 percent this year because of the sharp downturn in crude prices. The New York-based company said it expected to spend $2.4 billion in 2016, down from $4 billion in 2015. "We have significantly decreased our 2016 capital and exploratory expenditures…
Exxon Sees Less Carbon but Higher-Cost Emissions
Exxon Mobil Corp on Monday said efficiencies and increased use of renewable fuels will cut by half the carbon intensity of the world's economy by 2040 but climate policies will increase the cost of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company's latest long-term outlook. Exxon and others in the oil industry have been under increasing pressure…
Sub-$30 Oil Fans Fears of U.S. Shale Endgame
Across oil fields from Texas to North Dakota fears are growing that crude's plunge below $30 a barrel is more than just another market milestone and marks a countdown to an endgame for many shale producers that so far have braved the 18-month downturn. Oil prices tumbled by more than a fifth this month to 12-year lows 70 percent below mid-2014 levels and traders brace for more declines as world production keeps outpacing demand.
West Texas Snow Impacts Crude Output
A snowstorm dumped around two feet (60 cm) of snow in parts of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico over the weekend, crimping some crude output and leaving roads dangerous for trucks heading to and from oil wells, forecasters and companies said on Monday. Snow had stopped accumulating by Monday afternoon but "travel continues to be impacted as most roads are slick and snow-covered…
BP Buys Devon's New Mexico O&G Assets
BP Plc on Friday said its U.S. onshore unit has acquired all of Devon Energy Corp's oil and gas properties in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico for an undisclosed price. BP expects to take over operation of the 480 wells spread across 33,000 acres in the first quarter of 2016 after receiving required government agency approvals, it said. Battered by a crude downturn that has stretched for more than a year…
Hilcorp, Carlyle Form Oil and Gas Partnership
Carlyle's Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund, LP and Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund II, LP have agreed to invest up to $1.24 billion in the newly formed partnership called Hilcorp Energy Development LP. Oil and gas companies are increasingly looking to private equity firms as low commodity prices sap cash flow and access to capital markets is squeezed. U.S.
Next Exxon CEO Likely to be Internal Candidate
Exxon Mobil Corp's appointment of the head of its refining business as its new president makes him the probable successor to Chief Executive Rex Tillerson and was designed to avoid raising eyebrows on Wall Street, analysts said on Monday. The new president, Darren Woods, 50, a 23-year company veteran, and exploration and production executive Jack Williams, were named to Exxon's expanded five-member management committee in 2014.
Zombies Appear in U.S. Oilfields as Crude Dips Lower
Drained by a 17-month crude rout, some U.S. shale oil companies are merely hanging on for life as oil prices lurch further away from levels that allow them to profitably drill new wells and bring in enough cash to keep them in business. The slump has created dozens of oil and gas "zombies," a term lawyers and restructuring advisers use to describe companies that have just enough money to pay interest on mountains of debt…
