US energy deals fall to $12 billion in Q3 after a year-long frenzy
Enverus, a leading analytics firm, said that U.S. oil deals slowed dramatically in the last quarter as a result of fewer firms being offered and a consolidation wave lasting ten months. Andrew Dittmar, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence research, reported that the quarter ending Sept. 30 saw the lowest number of deals in six quarters. After 2023, when $192 billion was spent on deals in West Texas and New Mexico's Permian Basin, the biggest shale formation in the U.S.
Sources say that Brazil's Petrobras will reduce its investments for 2025.
Three sources said that Brazil's Petrobras will reduce its planned investments next year despite the government's request for the state-run company to increase CAPEX. Initial estimates from the firm suggest that spending may be reduced to $17 billion. Petrobras didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Petrobras' current strategic plan for 2024-2028 includes investments of $102 billion. This is a 31% rise over the previous plan. The increase comes amid…
The US has imposed preliminary new tariffs on solar imports from Southeast Asia
The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday anti-subsidy, countervailing duty on solar cells imported from Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. A preliminary decision published on Commerce's site shows that the agency has calculated tariff rates ranging from 0.14% to 3,293.61% depending on the company for solar cells from four Southeast Asian countries. Next year, a final decision will be taken. This announcement is the second of two preliminary decisions that the Commerce Department will be making this year on a trade case filed by Hanwha Qcells in Korea…
Occidental delays CrownRock output goals, turns to debt reduction
Occidental Petroleum said on Thursday that it would focus on reducing debt and catching-up with production goals promised before a much anticipated expansion of the cash distribution program. The U.S. Oil Producer posted better than expected second quarter results on Tuesday, thanks to strong production in Colorado and lower operating costs. This, combined with a one-time high midstream earning, sent the shares up by 1.54% during afternoon trading. The company has not been able to produce the 170…
US Prepares Renewal of Chevron's Venezuela License Without Broader Terms
The U.S. Treasury Department is getting ready to renew in the coming days Chevron Corp's license to operate in Venezuela, but likely without the greatly expanded terms the U.S. oil major sought, four people close to the talks said.The last U.S. energy producer in Venezuela asked President Joe Biden's government in March for a license that would allow it a greater say in its joint ventures with Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, a first step to reviving output and controlling where oil is sent.In a reversal of earlier hopes for a broadly expanded authorization…
US Interior Dept Revokes Trump Energy Policies, Focuses on Climate
The U.S. Interior Department on Friday sought to erase the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuels legacy from the nation's public lands by revoking a suite of policies that boosted drilling and mining and ordering that climate change be put at the forefront in future agency decisions.The moves come as the Democratic Biden administration moves rapidly to implement policies aimed at decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050.Republican former President Donald Trump…
Schlumberger CEO Says Oilfield Growth Will Be at Structurally Lower Rate
Top oilfield service firm Schlumberger NV expects to return to 2019 level pre-tax margins by the end of next year, a sign the oil industry faces a long-haul to recover from the latest oil-price crash.Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch told an energy conference on Tuesday that industry growth will be at a structurally lower rate in the future.
Santos Flags $560 Mln Impairment Charge on Virus-led Oil Slump
Australia's Santos said on Tuesday it will book non-cash impairments of up to $560 million after tax, joining a number of global energy majors forced to write down assets after a coronavirus-induced slump in oil prices.The country's second-largest independent gas producer expects to record non-cash charges of between $490 million and $560 million after tax in its 2020 interim results, it said in a statement.Most of the impairment charges relate to Santos's Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in its Cooper basin fields in Queensland…
Chevron CEO Sees Continued 'Choppy Economic and Price Activity'
The chief executive of U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp on Monday said the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has it planning for "choppy" oil prices and economic activity globally.Chevron said on Monday it would buy oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc for about $5 billion in stock, the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crisis started."The crystal ball is cloudy right now," Mike Wirth said in an interview. "There’s so much uncertainty on the trajectory of the pandemic…
Shell Restarts Operations in Vaca Muerta Block
Oil company Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Tuesday it had resumed activities at its Bajada de Añelo block in Argentina's Vaca Muerta area after seismic activity in the region led to a halt late last week."Shell Argentina resumed its activities on Pad 22 of the Bajada de Añelo block, after determining that the conditions for a safe and sustainable return to work were guaranteed," the company said in a statement.The oil firm said on Saturday it had suspended activities after seismic movements in an area of Argentina's Neuquén province near the Andes mountains bordering on Chil
Guyana Seeking Oil Buyers
Guyana has invited companies interested in purchasing the first three deliveries of the government's share of the country's looming oil production to present bids this week, the government said in a statement on Sunday.The government will later seek proposals from companies interested in a longer-term contract to market Guyanese crude, the statement said.U.S. oil companies Exxon Mobil and Hess Corp – part of a consortium that has discovered more than 6 billion…
Equinor: Bahamas Spill Estimated at 119,000 Barrels of Oil
The oil spill at Equinor's Bahamas storage terminal is estimated at 119,000 barrels, the Norwegian company said on Wednesday, more than a month after a massive hurricane swept through the region.The South Riding terminal had 1.88 million barrels of oil stored when Hurricane Dorian ripped the roof off several tanks. While Equinor had reported extensively on the spill, this was the company's comprehensive estimate of pollution at the site. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik Editing by Chris Reese)
Petrobras May Reconsider Dividend Policy
Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA may reconsider its dividend policy, Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco told Brazilian newspaper Valor on Wednesday.In an interview with the paper, Castello Branco said he may cancel quarterly dividends payments, to accelerate the reduction of Petrobras' debt levels.The Petrobras CEO also said the company expects capital expenditures of $16 billion this year, 23 percent higher than expenditures last year.
Petrobras 2018 Production Shy of Target
Petroleo Brasileiro produced an average of 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in Brazil last year, the oil company said in a statement on Tuesday, just below the company's target of 2.1 million bpd.Petrobras' total production of oil and natural gas was 2.63 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), with 101,000 boe/d produced abroad, it said. The company had targeted 2.7 million boe/d.In its statement, Petrobras said it expected to produce 2.8 million boe/d in 2019.(Reporting by Luciano Costa; editing by Chris Reese)
Oil Majors Face Climate Target Pressure by Investors
U.S. and Norwegian oil majors Chevron and Equinor have become the latest target of activist investors moving to force five of the biggest oil companies to commit to fixed emissions targets and align with the Paris climate agreement.The effort, part of a wave of climate-related proxy resolutions planned for spring 2019 annual shareholder meetings, is being led by investor groups Follow This, As You Sow and Arjuna Capital.The Paris climate agreement, adopted by almost 200 nations in 2015…
ExxonMobil Shareholders Want GHG Reduction Goals
A number of institutional investors in ExxonMobil Corp have said they will file a shareholder resolution which calls on the world's largest oil company to set targets for lowering its greenhouse gas emissions.The call, led by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) and the Church Commissioners of England (CCE), comes in the wake of shareholder moves at other major energy firms seeking to make them more responsive to climate change and its impact on the business.The statement released on Sunday by the CCE asked Exxon to disclose, for the first time, short, medium
Oil Slips 2 Percent
Oil prices dropped about 2 percent on Friday, weighed down by a falling U.S. stock market, while weak economic data from China pointed to lower fuel demand in the world's biggest oil importer.Brent crude futures for February delivery fell $1.16 to $60.29 a barrel, a 1.9 percent loss, by 1:15 p.m. ET (1815 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.24 to $51.34 a barrel, a 2.4 percent loss.Global benchmark Brent was set for a weekly loss of about 2.2 percent…
Chevron Will Boost Capital Spending in 2019
Chevron Corp plans to spend $20 billion next year on oil and natural gas projects, the second-largest U.S.
Tellurian to Start Building LNG Export Plant in 2019
U.S. liquefied natural gas company Tellurian Inc said on Wednesday it expects to start construction on its Driftwood LNG export terminal in Louisiana in the first half of 2019 and begin operations in 2023.Chief Executive Meg Gentle said in the company's third-quarter earnings that Tellurian will announce partners in the $27.5 billion project by the end of 2018.Driftwood is one of dozens LNG export projects under development in the United States seeking customers…
Petrobras Sells Stake in Africa Unit
Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA will sell its 50 percent stake in a Nigerian oil and gas exploration venture to a consortium led by top oil trader Vitol for $1.53 billion, the latest step in the state-controlled oil company's debt reduction drive, according to a securities filing on Wednesday.The other 50 percent stake in Petrobras Oil and Gas BV, also known as Petrobras Africa, is owned by Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual, which in a Wednesday filing confirmed a Reuters report that it would likely hang on to its portion after previously mulling a sale.Petrobras…
