BP to Sell Petrochemicals Business to Ineos for $5B
British oil major BP will sell its global petrochemicals business to Ineos for $5 billion, a transaction delivering BP's divestments target a year earlier than originally scheduled.Brian Gilvary, BP’s chief financial officer, said: “With today’s announcement we have met our $15 billion target for agreed divestments a full year ahead of schedule, demonstrating the range and quality of options available to us.”Ineos will pay BP a deposit of $400 million and will pay a further $3.6 billion on completion.
BP Profits Fall 40%
BP's profits fell sharply in the third quarter, hurt by lower oil prices, but strong refining operations helped the company beat expectations even after taking a one-off $2.6 billion charge linked to asset sales.BP, like other big energy companies, has been hit by a sharp drop in oil prices as trade tensions between the United States and China have impacted global oil demand.The British oil company made its first net loss in more than three years in the quarter due to the one-off charge…
Chevron Profit Falls 27%
Chevron Corp's first-quarter profit fell 27 percent from a year earlier due to lower crude oil prices and weaker margins in its refining and chemicals businesses, but topped forecasts and signaled it is committed to buying smaller rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp.The No. 2 U.S. oil and natural gas producer this week found itself in a takeover duel for Anadarko, a smaller oil and gas producer, when Occidental Petroleum Corp made a $38…
Oil Majors Rush to Dominate US Shale
In New Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, Exxon Mobil Corp is building a massive shale oil project that its executives boast will allow it to ride out the industry's notorious boom-and-bust cycles.Workers at its Remuda lease near Carlsbad - part of a staff of 5,000 spread across New Mexico and Texas - are drilling wells, operating fleets of hydraulic pumps and digging trenches for pipelines.The sprawling site reflects the massive commitment to the Permian Basin by oil majors…
Oxy Sees 2019 Capex Range of $4.4 Bln to $5.3 Bln
U.S. oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp said on Monday it expects to spend $4.4 billion to $5.3 billion this year, depending on the price of crude oil.Houston-based Oxy spent around $5 billion in 2018. The company is one of the largest producers in the Permian Basin, the biggest U.S. oil field, and made the spending announcements Monday at the Goldman Sachs Global Energy Conference.U.S. producers are under pressure from investors to rein in expenses…
Phillips 66 Beats Street on Refining Margins
U.S. refiner Phillips 66 reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by robust gasoline margins due to lower crude costs. The company's shares were up about 1 percent at $79.75 in premarket trading on Friday. Adjusted earnings, excluding special items of $60 million, were $710 million, or $1.31 per share, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.25 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. However, the company's quarterly profit was hurt by lower earnings from its midstream and chemicals businesses.
Saudi Aramco to Prioritise Some Projects as Keeps Focus on Costs
Saudi Aramco will keep its focus on cost controls in the short term, with some projects delayed at the expense of higher-priority initiatives, the state oil group's magazine the Arabian Sun reported on Wednesday. The focus on costs comes as Saudi Arabia has been tightening its budget to cope with an expected lengthy period of lower oil prices, with its 2016 plans including spending cuts and reforms to energy and utility subsidies.
Exxon 3Q Profit Rises 3 pct
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Friday reported a 3 percent increase in quarterly profit on higher results in its refining and chemicals businesses. Profit in the third quarter rose to $8.07 billion, or $1.89 per share, from $7.87 billion, or $1.79 per share in the year-ago period. Oil and gas production fell 4.7 percent, the Irving, Texas company said.
Vitol Purchases Shell's Australian Downstream
Vitol SA has completed the acquisition of Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Australian downstream businesses, a statement from Vitol said on Wednesday. The acquisition led to the launch of Viva Energy Australia, which comprises of Shell's Geelong Refinery and 870 service stations, its bulk fuels, bitumen and chemicals businesses and part of its lubricants businesses in Australia plus a brand licence arrangement and a distributor arrangement for Shell Lubricants.
