Toronto stock prices fall before Powell's Fed comments
Canada's main index of stocks fell on Monday as mining stocks were hurt. Investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to speak later that day for clues about U.S. policies outlook. The Canadian market took its cues also from Wall Street where the benchmark S&P500 was down by over 0.1%. While all eyes were focused on Jerome Powell’s remarks at 1355 ET (Eastern Time), economists warned that a mistake made in setting the interest rate during the final phase of the Fed’s battle against inflation could harm the economy for the next year.
ConocoPhillips targets $50 bln free cash flow over next decade
ConocoPhillips unveiled a long-term plan on Tuesday to boost oil and gas production by about 3% per year, restrain annual spending to about $7 billion and return $50 billion to shareholders over the next decade.The announcement comes as investors, frustrated by weak commodity prices for 5 years, have been pressuring oil and gas companies to cut back on drilling and shore up cash to return to shareholders.The Houston-based company's shares were up a fraction at $57.15 in afternoon trading.ConocoPhillips has been one of the better-performing energy stocks…
Exxon Mobil Profit Sinks
Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a 21% drop in quarterly profit, its third period in a row of weaker year-over-year results, as sharply higher oil production was offset by weaker refining and chemicals business.Shares slipped 1.6 percent to $71.34 in early trading even though its 73 cents a share profit topped analysts' recently-lowered estimates. Analysts had reduced estimates to 66 cents per share after Exxon last month guided to lower year-over-year profit.Exxon’s weaker earnings mirrored those at rivals Royal Dutch Shell, Equinor and Total SA.
Oxy Plans to Sell Parts of Anadarko
Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum.It also quadrupled its debt - to $40 billion - at a time when investors are calling for spending cuts and higher dividends.That means the acquisition's success will depend on how quickly Occidental can sell off some of Anadarko's assets and focus on optimizing and integrating the assets it keeps - especially prime U.S. shale fields.Shedding debt will require selling assets when deals have been sluggish, said bankers and merger specialists. The number of U.S.
Baker Hughes Profits from Foreign Focus
Baker Hughes reported negative free cash flow for the first quarter at a time energy investors have been pushing companies to aggressively shore up capital for dividends and buybacks, sending its shares down as much as 8.5 percent.Oilfield service companies, including bellweather Schlumberger NV and Halliburton Co, are planning to spend less in 2019, following in the footsteps of oil producers who have cut budgets in response to shareholder pressure for capital discipline rather than spending to grow their top line.Baker Hughes on Tuesday posted negative free cash flow of $419 million…
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 billion offer that topped Chevron's $33 billion bid.Chevron's oil and gas production rose during the quarter, and profits in its U.S. exploration business jumped 15 percent from a year earlier.
ExxonMobil Misses Q1 Profit Estimates
Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a 49 percent fall in first-quarter profit that missed forecasts due to weakness across its major businesses that showed the turnaround at the company remains a work in progress.The largest U.S. oil producer posted its first loss in its refining business since 2009 on higher maintenance costs and reported lower profits in chemicals and oil and gas."It was a tough market environment for us this quarter," Exxon Senior Vice President Jack Williams said on a call with analysts.First-quarter profit fell to $2.35 billion…
US Shale Lifts Exxon, Chevron Profits
Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, two of the world's largest oil producers, on Friday posted improved quarterly earnings that benefited from double-digit percentage increases in production from the top U.S. shale field.Shares of both companies rose about 3 percent.The two U.S. oil majors missed the first stage of the shale boom in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico and have been investing billions of dollars to make up for lost time. They are betting their size and other businesses offer advantages smaller producers cannot duplicate.Combined…
ExxonMobil Profit Tops Estimates
Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts' estimates, pushing it shares up nearly 3 percent in premarket trading as its oil and natural gas output rose slightly on a year-over-year basis.The company's fourth-quarter net income fell to $6 billion, or $1.41 a share, from $8.38 billion a year ago. But earnings excluding the impacts of tax reform and impairments rose to $6.4 billion from $3.73 billion a year ago.Analysts had forecast a $1.08 a share profit excluding one-time items, according to data from Refinitiv.
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.
Exxon Mobil Profit Tops Estimates
Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts' estimate on higher prices received for its oil and natural gas but its production volumes fell on a year-over-year basis.The company's third-quarter net income rose 57 percent to $6.24 billion, or $1.46 a share, compared with $3.97 billion, or 93 cents per share a year ago. Analysts had forecast a $1.23 a share profit, according to data from I/B/E/S on Refinitiv.With crude up 44 percent in the quarter over a year-earlier, results at Exxon and other major oil companies are returning to levels not seen in four years.
Enbridge Completes 40 pct of Line 3 Work, Tops Profit Estimates
Enbridge Inc said on Friday it had completed 40 percent of replacement work on its massive Line 3 pipeline and reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit by reining in costs.Canada's largest pipeline operator won a key approval in June to replace the 1,031-mile (1,660-km) long pipeline, which began service in 1968 and operates at half its capacity.A replacement would allow the pipeline, which runs from Alberta in western Canada to Wisconsin in the United States, to return to approved capacity of 760,000 barrels per day.The…
Canada Dreams of Oil Exports to Asia, but California Beckons
The nationalization of a crude oil export pipeline in western Canada has buoyed long-standing hopes for crude exports to markets beyond the United States - but the most likely destination for much of that oil is California. Faced with declining production from Latin America and rising prices for higher-grade crudes from the Middle East, the Golden State is importing more oil from Canada - much of it via the Trans Mountain pipeline, which Kinder Morgan Canada last month sold to Ottawa for C$4.5 billion ($3.5 billion). The Canadian government has pledged to "immediately" start work on the C$7.4 billion Edmonton-to-Vancouver expansion…
GE Profit Tops Estimates
General Electric Co posted quarterly results that topped expectations on Friday, as earnings from aviation, healthcare and transportation offset weak power and oil-and-gas profits, sending shares sharply higher. GE affirmed its forecast for 2018 earnings and cash flow, and said it expects to book as much as $10 billion in proceeds from divesting industrial assets this year. Those comments eased concern that GE would post poor results. GE's profit reflected 7-percent revenue growth and vigorous cost cutting. Revenue rose in aviation, oil-and-gas and healthcare, offsetting declines in power, transportation, lighting and renewable energy.
Exxon, Chevron Shares Plunge
Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp posted rare quarterly earnings misses on Friday as cost cuts and rising oil prices failed to offset weakness in international refining operations, sending shares of both companies plunging. Investors were expecting the companies to deliver sharp gains due to stronger crude prices and a rebounding global economy. But excluding U.S. tax benefits, both fell short of expectations, casting a cloud over the U.S. oil industry just days after the nation's output surpassed a milestone 10 million barrels per day. Rising expenses hit Exxon, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell last quarter.
Halliburton Warns of Slower Growth as US Rig Count Drops
Oilfield services giant Halliburton Co on Monday warned of slower growth at its oil well drilling and evaluation business, reflecting a steady drop in rig counts in the United States. The outlook suggests Halliburton's current-quarter might not be as strong as its latest quarter, echoing warnings on Friday from its two bigger rivals, Schlumberger NV and Baker Hughes. Halliburton's shares fell about 1.5 percent. Schlumberger was down 1.5 percent, while Baker Hughes fell 4 percent. North American revenue from Halliburton's drilling and evaluation business is likely to fall in step with the average U.S.
Exxon's Big Bet on Brazil Oil Could Signal Major Pre-salt Role
Exxon Mobil Corp's big bet on Brazil's offshore Campos basin shows its willingness to pay up to replenish its reserves and may pave the way for hefty bids in October auctions in the country's rich pre-salt areas, analysts said. Marking a return to Brazilian exploration after a five-year absence, Exxon took eight blocks in the coveted basin, one of Brazil's most productive, at an auction on Wednesday. Six were taken in partnership with state-run Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras). The auction's record take included an Exxon bid of 2.24 billion reais ($704 million) for one block, Brazil's highest-ever such bid.
Exxon Mobil profit disappoints Wall Street, Chevron shines
Exxon Mobil Corp posted a rare earnings miss on Friday, the only international oil producer to do so last quarter, as production slipped in its African and Canadian operations. Exxon's results were overshadowed by rival Chevron Corp , which easily exceeded Wall Street's expectations with a double-digit percentage increase in production. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Statoil ASA this week delivered profits that topped expectations also. Chevron for years has downplayed profits to spend heavily on megaprojects in Australia, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.
Canadian Banks Not over the Worst Impact from Oil Crunch
Canada's banks are not over the worst of the impact from the oil crunch and face further hefty losses as energy firms struggle to pay back loans and consumers in oil-producing regions suffer, analysts and investors say. The country's biggest five lenders, including Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia, all set aside more funds to cover bad loans to oil & gas firms in the second quarter but their provisions remain relatively low compared to U.S. peers. Although Scotiabank, which has the biggest exposure to the oil & gas sector among Canadian banks at 3.4 percent of its total lending…
Exxon Probe Faces Uphill Task
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman faces an uphill climb in building a case against Exxon Mobil Corp for not writing down assets amid the oil-price slump because of the broad leeway that energy companies have enjoyed reporting under U.S. rules, accounting experts said. Schneiderman is investigating Exxon's accounting practices and why the oil giant has not taken writedowns even while oil prices have fallen, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The price drop of more than 60 percent since 2014 has forced many integrated oil producers around the world to write down the value of their wells…
