Oil May Hit $100 but Volatility Will Grow, Say Energy CEOs
Benchmark oil prices could hit $100 a barrel and price volatility could also grow due to lower investments and the energy transition, the heads of top energy companies said on Tuesday."There is quite a chance to reach $100 but we could see again in the coming years some lows as we have been accustomed to volatility," TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said at the Qatar Economic Forum.Crude prices climbed on Tuesday to a more than two-year high above $75 a bar
Oil Profits Soar: Oil Majors Shed Pandemic Blues
Europe's major energy companies profited from a rise in oil prices to report big increases in first-quarter earnings on Thursday, putting the worst of the pandemic era slump in fuel demand behind them.Last year's demand collapse forced BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Equinor to slash their dividends and preserve cash as they to try to transform themselves into companies that can thrive…
Japan's Inpex Reduces 2020 Profit Guidance by 93%
Inpex Corp, Japan's top oil and gas company, on Tuesday cut its annual net profit forecast by 93% after first-quarter earnings slumped due to an oil price collapse and as the coronavirus pandemic choked off international energy demand.The group also warned it is re-evaluating all of its assets and may book impairment losses on some depending on the oil price outlook and a review…
Latest Gulf of Mexico Auction Signals Offshore Return
Major oil producers pushed up high bids at a Gulf of Mexico offshore auction to $121 million on Wednesday, a nearly seven-fold increase from a year ago, as their return to deep water exploration gained momentum. This compared with $18 million in high bids at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Outer Continental Shelf auction last summer. Winners will be announced after a 90-day review.
U.S. Shale Breakeven Price Pegged at $50
U.S. shale producers need a WTI oil price around $50 per barrel to break even, according to an analysis of financial statements for the second quarter. Fifteen of the largest shale oil and gas producers reported total net losses of $470 million for the three months between April and June when benchmark WTI prices averaged $48. Total losses were down from $3.7 billion in the first three months of the year and $7.4 billion in the same period in 2016…
US Shale Breakeven Price Revealed
U.S. shale producers need a WTI oil price around $50 per barrel to break even, according to an analysis of financial statements for the second quarter. Fifteen of the largest shale oil and gas producers reported total net losses of $470 million for the three months between April and June when benchmark WTI prices averaged $48. Total losses were down from $3.7 billion in the first three months of the year and $7.4 billion in the same period in 2016…
Renewed Slide in Oil Tests U.S. Shale Profits
U.S. independent oil and gas producers came close to breaking even during the first quarter of 2017 thanks to aggressive cost cutting and improvements in well productivity. Some shale producers claim they can drill wells profitably at prices well below $50 per barrel and in some cases below $40. But Harold Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources , a major producer in North Dakota and Oklahoma, has said oil prices need to be above $50 to be sustainable.
W. Africa Crude-Asian Tenders, Pending Export Plans Slow Trade
Physical trading in West Africa was muted as the market awaited tender results and the April-loading Angolan crude oil export plan. * The benchmark oil prices on which West Africa crude oil trades retraced some of Monday's losses as confidence in OPEC's cut plan rose. * Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said the country lost up to $100 billion in oil revenues last year due to militant attacks.
BP's Mad Dog Leads the Way Back to GoM
BP Plc's decision to move ahead with a $9 billion project to drill in the Gulf of Mexico is the first step toward major oil companies moving forward with U.S. offshore plans postponed during crude's price rout. Exploration and development of new wells in the Gulf slowed as crude prices cratered from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to a low of $26.05 early this year. The project, known as Mad Dog Phase 2…
Apache Expands CapEx as Oil Rebounds
Oil and gas producer Apache Corp said it had started deploying additional capital and expected spending this year to be at the higher end of its forecast range, given "modest signs of improvement" in oil prices. Apache, which reported a bigger-than-expected loss on Thursday, said it expected to spend at the high end of its 2016 capital forecast of $1.4 billion-$1.8 billion. U.S.
Halliburton Signals Better Demand for Fracking Equipment
Halliburton Co indicated that demand for its fracking equipment was returning, despite the fewer number of rigs at work, as high-intensity shale drilling soaked up all the available capacity in the market. Halliburton is the world's largest provider of equipment used in hydraulic fracturing or fracking - the process of pumping water and chemicals, known as proppants, into shale rocks to extract oil and gas. U.S.
Halliburton Expects Uptick in N.America Rig Count
Halliburton Co, the world's No.2 oilfield services provider, reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and said it expects to see a "modest uptick" in North American rig count in the second half of the year. Shale oil companies have started putting rigs back to work, encouraged by a near 70 percent jump in U.S. benchmark oil prices since hitting a 12 year-low of $26 in February.
Asian Oil Refiners Cut Output to Fight Oversupply, Low Margins
Oil refiners in Asia are processing less crude as they grapple with margins that plunged to five-year lows after the region was flooded with supply of refined products and as slowing economic growth hits demand for fuels. Asian refiners typically increase utilisation rates from July after carrying out regular maintenance in the second quarter, building stocks of fuels such as diesel and gasoline to meet demand that peaks in summer.
Canada Crude-Grades steady as post-wildfires ramp-up speed questioned
Canadian cash crude differentials remained steady on Friday as market players questioned how fast crude volumes would come back online after wildfires slashed production in northern Alberta's oil sands region. Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for July delivery last traded at $12.25 per barrel below benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. That was 15 cents wider than Thursday's settle of $12.10 per barrel below WTI.
China's Saudi 2016 Crude Contracts Unchanged
Saudi Aramco to ship 1.1 mln bpd contract crude to China in 2016; share of China crude imports at 15 pct, down from 20 pct in 2012. Saudi Arabia has extended annual crude oil contracts with China for 2016 at almost unchanged volumes for a third year, as Chinese buyers bet on abundant global supplies and low prices to widen their purchase options, senior oil sources said. The kingdom's…
Colombia Sees $60 Oil, Won't Cut Output
Colombia will not curtail oil output this year, despite a plunge in the crude price and global supply outstripping demand at a near-record pace, its finance minister said on Tuesday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which supplies about a third of the world's oil needs, has signalled the onus is on non-OPEC producers to cut output to deal with the fall in price to six-year lows below $50 a barrel .
Fitch Downgrades BP on Oil Price, Spill
Ratings agency Fitch on Monday downgraded its outlook on BP's long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to negative from stable citing a possible rise in debt as a result of lower crude prices and liabilities over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Macondo Prospect was the oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico where BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in April 2010. The company…
Oil Declines in Thin, Volatile Trading
Global benchmark Brent crude oil closed down nearly a dollar a barrel Friday after a day of choppy trading despite expectations of new investments in the new year, as strong mid-day rallies in crude fizzled. Brent was down 91 cents at $56.42 a barrel. Earlier, it touched a post-2009 low of $55.48, having averaged around $110 a barrel between 2011 and 2013. Front-month U.S. crude for February delivery settled down 58 cents a barrel at $52.69…
Supply Glut Drags Oil to New 5-Year Low
Brent crude reversed early gains Friday to fall to a fresh post-2009 low below $56 a barrel, as a glut of oil that has halved prices since June overshadowed investor positioning at the start of the year for a possible eventual recovery. Brent has slumped to its lowest in more than five years as top exporter Saudi Arabia and other large Gulf producers continue to pump oil amid fast-growing U.S.
Brent Retreats Again as Supply Glut Prevails
Brent crude pared early gains to trade near $57 a barrel on Friday, as a glut of oil that has halved prices since June overshadowed investors repositioning at the start of the year for an eventual recovery. Brent has fallen to its lowest since 2009 as top exporter Saudi Arabia and other large Gulf producers have declined to cut production in the face of fast-growing U.S. shale oil output…
