US House panel finds BlackRock and other asset managers reluctant to join climate initiative
According to a report published on Friday by the Republican-led U.S. Congress committee, top asset managers in the United States were concerned that signing up for an industry climate initiative would make them look like they worked too closely together and attract regulatory scrutiny. This is the latest report released by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Republican majority in a probe that they claim has revealed fund firms and activists were part of a “climate cartel” which colluded through shareholder organizations to reduce emissions.
US House panel finds BlackRock and other asset managers hesitant to join climate initiative
According to a report published Friday by a Republican led U.S. Congressional Committee, top asset managers in the United States are concerned that signing up for an industry climate initiative will make them look like they're working together too closely and attract regulatory scrutiny. This is the latest report released by the majority of the Republican panel as part of an investigation they claim has revealed that fund firms and activists were part of a 'climate cartel' who colluded through shareholder groups pressing for emissions reductions.
Occidental's 1PointFive receives funding up to $500 mln by US DOE
Occidental Petroleum’s carbon capture unit 1PointFive announced on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations had committed up to 500 million dollars to support the development of the South Texas Direct Air Capture Hub (DAC). BlackRock, one of the largest asset managers in the world, had funded this facility previously. Occidental’s first large-scale DAC plant represents a pivotal trial in terms of economics for a technology…
Exxon CEO Woods message to future shareholders activists: Follow the rules
Exxon CEO Darren Woods warned activist shareholders on Tuesday not to follow those who had filed a climate related shareholder proposal with the largest U.S. Oil Company. Woods said that Exxon was prepared to repeat this exercise against those who, he claimed, might "abuse the proxy proposal procedure". We hope that we won't need to take this action again in the future. Woods added that if people continue to abuse this process, they will be held accountable.
Investors on Board as U.S. Oil Majors Dismiss Wind and Solar Projects
Top U.S. oil firms are doubling down on drilling, deepening a divide with European rivals on the outlook for renewables, and winning support from big investors who do not expect the stateside companies to invest in wind and solar. Among a dozen U.S. fund managers contacted by Reuters from companies overseeing about $7 trillion in assets, most said they prefer oil firms to generate returns from businesses they know best and give shareholders cash to make their own renewable bets. With oil and gas prices jumping this year, the U.S.
ADNOC Inks $600 Mln Deal with GIC
Abbu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) said on Wednesday it signed a $600 million pipeline infrastructure investment agreement with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.The deal follows previous investments by BlackRock, KKR and the Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions and Benefits Fund in the Abu Dhabi oil giant's pipeline infrastructure, bringing the combined investments to a total of $4.9 billion, ADNOC said.(Reporting by Asma Sharif and Davide Barbuscia, editing by Sylvia Westall)
Adnoc Signs USD4bln Pipeline Deal
Abu Dhabi State-Owned Oil Company Adnoc has sealed a $4 billion midstream pipeline infrastructure deal with BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, and private equity firm KKR & Co.The Middle East national oil company said that the transaction includes the creation of Adnoc Oil Pipelines, which will lease Adnoc's interest in 18 pipelines and give rights to transport crude and condensates from Adnoc's onshore and offshore concessions over 23 years.BlackRock and KKR will form a consortium to hold a 40% stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines…
DNO Makes Hostile Bid for Faroe Petroleum
Norway's DNO has launched a hostile bid to buy all of Faroe Petroleum in a deal valuing the London-listed company at around 608 million pounds ($781 million), sending Faroe shares up by a quarter.DNO, which already owns 28 percent of Aberdeen-based Faroe, returned to the North Sea last year after years of expansion in the Middle East focusing on Iraqi Kurdistan, with the aim of growing via acquisitions and other investments.Shares in Faroe shot up 26 percent to 158.4 pence by 1415 GMT, above the 152p cash offer price.
Oil Majors Spending 'Sweet Spot' to Last to 2020
Big Oil is today in a spending sweet spot as years of cost cuts and rising oil prices converge but investments will need to rise after 2020 to boost output, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, said on Tuesday.Oil and gas giants such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP are generating as much cash at today's oil prices of around $70 a barrel as they did in 2014, before crude spiraled down from over $100 a barrel to lows of below $30 a barrel.As they emerge from the deepest downturn in decades…
Siccar Point Energy Confirms Cambo Well Test Success
Siccar Point Energy has successfully concluded well testing operations on the 204/10a-5 appraisal well in the Cambo field, north-west of Shetland.A vertical pilot hole was initially drilled confirming over 100ft of oil column and a higher than anticipated net pay of 58ft. Extensive logging and coring were conducted confirming a high-quality multi-Darcy reservoir with 23 API oil and petrophysical properties better than anticipated.A 1612ft horizontal section was then drilled to conduct an extended well test.
Pope Warns Energy Bosses of Global Destruction without Fuel Shift
Pope Francis warned that climate change risked destroying humanity on Saturday and called on energy leaders to help the world to convert to clean fuels to avert catastrophe."Civilisation requires energy but energy use must not destroy civilisation," the pope told top oil company executives at the end of a two-day conference in the Vatican.Climate change was a challenge of "epochal proportions", he said, adding that the world needed an energy mix that combated pollution…
Siccar Point Confirms Cambo Well Spud and Shell Deal
Siccar Point Energy has started drilling a final appraisal well on the Cambo field, north-west of Shetland, with results expected this summer. The Aberdeen based production, development and exploration company, has also confirmed the completion of a sale and purchase agreement with Shell UK Limited, on 01 May 2018, for a minority interest of the acreage, 125 km north-west of Shetland. Shell has acquired a 30% non-operated working interest in UKCS…
Subsea 7 Makes Hostile Bid for McDermott
Offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 has made an unsolicited offer worth about $2 billion for U.S. rival McDermott, potentially breaking up the U.S. company's agreed deal with onshore engineering firm Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I).The deal could make Oslo-listed Subsea 7 the market leader in supplying and installing subsea equipment for oil and gas firms with a combined market share of 24 percent, followed by TechnipFMC with 20 percent and Saipem with 15 percent…
Mexican Presidential Front-Runner Eyes Pemex Reforms
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the leftist leading the race to win Mexico's presidency in July, will root out corruption at Pemex and also aims to slim down the state-owned oil and gas company, his pick for finance minister said on Thursday. In an interview with Reuters, Carlos Urzua, a respected economist trained at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Lopez Obrador was not resolved to end oil and gas auctions started under the current government, but Urzua said major financial investors he had met with were worried about the energy reform.
Siccar Point Announces Sale
Siccar Point Energy (“Siccar Point”) has announced that on March 28, 2018, a Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed with Shell UK Limited (“Shell”) under which Shell will acquire a 30% non-operated working interest in UKCS licences P1028 and P1189 (incorporating the Cambo discovery) and a 22.5% non-operated working interest in P1830 (including the Blackrock prospect), both located 125 km north-west of the Shetland Islands. A final appraisal well…
Some Investors Sense Opportunities in Big Oil
Link between oil prices and energy stocks disrupted; uncertainty remains over crude revival, electric car effect. Investors are gaining confidence - up to a point - that 2018 will be the year of oil stocks. While shares in top energy companies have risen since mid-2017, they have failed to keep step with recovering crude markets, opening up a historically unusual performance gap. Big oil stocks have also underperformed broader equity indexes. Uncertainty…
London Court Adjourns Dana Gas Sukuk Trial
A London High Court judge has adjourned hearings on whether the United Arab Emirates' Dana Gas must redeem $700 million of Islamic bonds when they mature at the end of this month, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. High Court judge George Leggatt is expected to resume the hearings by Nov. 13, the sources said. In a complex case that is being fought in British and UAE courts, Dana is refusing to make payments on the sukuk on the grounds that changes in Islamic finance over recent years have made the bonds unlawful in the UAE.
BlackRock's Largest Fund Boosts Energy Stakes
BlackRock Inc's largest mutual fund hiked its exposure to "select names" in energy as the sector has lagged this year, one of its portfolio managers said on Thursday. "The underperformance of energy stocks even as oil prices have stabilized creates opportunities for investors," wrote Russ Koesterich, a manager of the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, in a note. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt
Blackrock, Lightsource Target UK Solar Power Portfolio
Asset manager Blackrock and solar energy firm Lightsource have agreed to jointly create a 1 billion pound ($1.3 billion) portfolio of solar power assets in Britain over the next three years, the two companies said on Tuesday. The partnership, called Kingfisher, will initially include 25 of Lightsource's British solar assets with a combined capacity of 156 megawatts (MW), which have already secured government subsidies for their power production.
Norway's $975 bln Wealth Fund Should Improve Ethical Stance
Norway's $975-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, should be more forceful in promoting its ethical agenda and influencing the thousands of companies it invests in, a report commissioned by non-governmental organisations said on Monday. The fund, which invests the proceeds of Norway's oil and gas production for future generations, already has rules that stipulate, for example, that it cannot invest in firms that produce landmines or nuclear weapons, or derive more than 30 percent of their turnover from coal.
