Petronas Q4 Profit Skids 21%
Malaysian state oil firm Petronas said on Friday its fourth-quarter profit slid 21 percent as costs piled up, and warned it will have to chart a way through a volatile, challenging 2019 citing market uncertainties and geopolitical risks.Petronas, Malaysia's only Fortune 500 company, said October-December profit slipped to 14.3 billion Malaysian ringgit ($3.50 billion) from 18.2 billion ringgit in the same period a year earlier…
Oil Breaks Above $60
Oil rose above $60 a barrel on Monday, recovering some of the previous session's near-7 percent fall, although uncertainty over global economic growth limited the gains.Brent crude futures rose $1.84 to $60.64 a barrel by 1445 GMT, while U.S. futures gained $1.47 to $51.89 a barrel after Friday's sell-off, which saw both contracts hit 13-month lows."It is difficult to say whether $60 is the new normal…
Could US Sanctions Hit Iranian Crude Exports?
Oil prices are at more than three-year highs, driven by an expectation that renewed U.S. sanctions on Tehran over the country's nuclear program will disrupt Iranian crude flows.But without the Europe Union, or Iran's other big crude customers, joining the effort, as the EU did in 2012, it will be harder for Washington to hit Iran where it really hurts.U.S.
Oil Investment a Tricky Target for OPEC
It's "mission accomplished" for OPEC in its battle against bulging global inventories of oil, thanks to the production cuts it has had in place for nearly 18 months. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies a third of the world's oil, agreed to curb output by 1.8 million barrels per day jointly with 10 other producers including Russia until stocks returned to more normal levels.
BP Lifts Break-Even Oil Price
Lowest annual profit in at least a decade; raises breakeven oil price to around $60 per barrel. BP raised the oil price at which it can balance its books this year to $60 a barrel on Tuesday due to higher spending following a string of investments as annual earnings fell for a second consecutive year. After the average oil price fell to its lowest in 12 years at $44 a barrel last year…
Gazprom Neft Trims 2017 Output Estimates
Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft said on Tuesday it planned to increase oil production by 4.5-5 percent next year, less than it had intended before Russia joined a deal to cut global production with OPEC. "Certainly we planned (before the OPEC deal) to grow (output) more aggressively," the company's CEO Alexander Dyukov told reporters. Dyukov said Gazprom Neft expected…
President Warns Oil Fall Leaves Angola Short of Foreign Reserves
Angola is running short of foreign reserves to pay for imports because its national oil firm has not contributed to state coffers since January, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said. Remittances from Sonangol, which is now run by the president's daughter Isabel, represented 60 percent of total government revenues, but the firm halted payments after the price of oil fell, dos Santos said on Wednesday. "Our country lives upon imports, practically.
Novak Says OPEC Unlikely to Make Decision on Coordination
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that OPEC was unlikely take any decisions on coordinated action regarding the oil market at its meeting early next month. Some of the largest global oil producers, including Russia and OPEC's Saudi Arabia, failed to reach agreement in April to freeze oil production in a deal which was thought would help to speed up the market rebalancing by three to six months.
Producers Wary of Price Jump, Lock in Gains
Brent curve contango has come off heavily since January; producers sell future production to lock in price rise. Producers have been locking in recent gains across the crude futures price structure, selling forward contracts and potentially undermining further recovery because they do not trust a jump in front-month oil since January. Front-month benchmark Brent crude…
Azeri State Oil Fund's Assets Dropped 9.5% in 2015
Azeri state oil fund SOFAZ's assets dropped by 9.5 percent year-on-year in 2015 to $33.57 billion, the fund said on Tuesday. SOFAZ holds proceeds from oil contracts, oil and gas sales, transit fees and other revenue. It uses income from investments to pay for social spending and infrastructure projects. The fund's revenues reached 7.7 billion manats ($4.9 billion) in 2015, while its expenditure totalled 9.2 billion manats, SOFAZ said in a press release.
Colombia Cuts Oil Price View, More Austerity Likely
Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas on Monday cut the government's oil price forecast, saying this could spell more austerity measures in order to meet the country's fiscal deficit goal. He cut the estimate for this year's average oil price to $34.7 per barrel from an initial $50, adding that the tumble in oil prices will affect the Andean country's tax intake and economic growth.
Many U.S. Shale Firms Renew Loans
A number of U.S. shale oil and gas companies are securing unchanged or even increased credit allotments during their semi-annual loan reviews, defying expectations that banks would slash small firms' credit lines in response to low crude prices. According to a Reuters review of disclosures made by 19 independent U.S. shale oil and gas companies since Aug. 1, at least 11 have said their borrowing bases have been or will be maintained or increased.
SOCAR to Maintain Investment at $952 mln in 2015
Azeri state energy company SOCAR plans to invest about 1 billion manats ($952 million) in 2015, the same as last year, despite a decline in global oil prices, the state-owned company's vice president Suleiman Gasymov said on Wednesday. Investments will be used on the company's projects as well as on the repair of old wells and drilling new ones, Gasymov told reporters.
Oil Exporters Amass Record US Bond Holdings in Crude Price Plunge
The collapse in crude oil prices may have reduced revenues of oil exporters, but it has not soured their appetite for U.S. government debt. Saudi Arabia and other major oil exporters have increased their holdings of U.S. Treasuries to record levels in an effort to counter the effect of the 60 percent drop in oil prices in the last nine months. Global financial assets such as U.S.
Rosneft's Budget Based on $50 Per Barrel Oil Price
Russia's top oil producer Rosneft is basing its budget for this year on an average oil price of $50 per barrel, the company's Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said on Wednesday. "For 2015, we are using a conservative scenario - an average oil price of oil at $50 (per barrel)," Sechin said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to which journalists were invited.
Denmark's Budget Gap May Flirt with EU Limit if Oil Stays at $50
Denmark's government estimates its budget would lose 7.5 billion Danish crowns ($1.1 billion) if oil prices remained around $50 a barrel, according to a document submitted by the finance minister to a parliamentary committee. That figure, which takes into account the positive financial impact from lower oil prices, represents 0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and would push the budget deficit to 2.9 percent…
Qatar 2015 Budget Likely to be Based on $45 Oil
Qatar is expected to base its state budget for the fiscal year starting in April on an average oil price of $45 per barrel, down from $65 assumed in the current year's budget, a Qatari energy industry source told Reuters on Thursday. "This year's budget is based on $45 a barrel oil, which is conservative and will help keep growth on track," said the source, who is involved in reviewing aspects of the budget.
Azerbaijan's Economic Growth Slows Due to Weaker Oil Price
Azerbaijan's economic growth slowed to 3 percent in 2014, the country's president said on Monday, nearly half the level seen in the previous year due to the slump in oil prices. The oil-rich republic's 4.4 percent growth target for this year, announced in its budget in November, could also be at risk as it assumes an average oil price of $90 a barrel. Oil fell below $49 on Monday.
Global O&G Exploration Spending Expected to Slide 17%
The world's oil and gas exploration companies are expected to cut capital expenditures 17 percent this year as a deep slump in crude oil prices takes a toll on budgets, according to a survey by Cowen and Company released on Wednesday. The survey, based on an average oil price of $70 per barrel, estimates that global exploration and production expenditures will slide 17 percent to $571 billion.
Ecuador Cuts Budget After Oil Prices Plunge
Ecuador has cut its 2015 budget by 4 percent due to a drop in export income resulting from the plunge in crude oil prices, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, with cuts to be made to investments and to the government's operating costs. The original budget of $36.32 billion, based on an average oil price of $79.70 per barrel, has been cut by $1.42 billion to $34.89 billion.
