North American Energy IPOs Set to Rebound in 2018
Higher oil prices and a positive earnings outlook for energy companies are expected to fuel a rebound in North American oil and gas initial public offerings in 2018, with bankers betting investors will remain optimistic about the sector even if the broader stock market remains volatile. IPOs in the United States and Canada could reach their highest in four years, and oilfield services companies are seen leading the recovery, given their pressing capital needs. More than a dozen energy companies are lining up to list this year, including several private equity-backed U.S.
The Energy Patch: where rights offerings are "sexy" again
Energy businesses that are trying to exit bankruptcy are finding a saviour in some of their own creditors, which have been scooping up newly issued stock from the companies at hefty discounts. More than a dozen so-called rights offerings have raised billions of dollars over the past 18 months, according to data compiled by Reuters, to help revitalize these energy companies in return for large fees and juicy investment returns. But those benefits have not been equally shared among all the creditors providing the cash.
Crescent Point Set for Win on Legacy Acquisition
Crescent Point Energy Inc is poised to prevail in a shareholder vote on its proposed acquisition of energy producer Legacy Oil + Gas Inc, according to a source familiar with the matter. Such a vote will bring an end to uncertainty surrounding the deal since hedge fund and activist shareholder FrontFour Capital Corp said earlier this month that it will vote against the proposed acquisition. The final votes will be counted at Legacy's annual meeting on June 30 in Calgary.
U.S. Oil Train Traffic mostly from Midwest to East Coast
U.S. oil trains delivered more than 13.5 million barrels of crude oil from the Midwest to the East Coast in January, according to government data that gives a first of its kind snapshot of such shipments. The data from the Energy Information Administration is the first if its kind from the independent statistics arm of the U.S. Energy Department. Oil producers in North Dakota have relied on oil trains to reach East Coast refiners eager to process the light, sweet crude from that energy patch.
U.S. Drivers to Face Delays at Rail Crossings due to Oil Shipments
Runaway oil production could slow road traffic as drivers face longer delays to cross train tracks in many congested regions, a U.S. study released on Friday predicted. Oil, coal and grain shipments are taxing the national rail grid as the deliveries of those commodities are expected to climb along with commercial shipments in the coming years, according to the report from the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress. Freight movements on the tracks are due to rise 51 percent over 2007 levels by 2040…
Lawyers: Dangers Ignored in Canadian Train Casualty
Shippers wrongly moved explosive gas as part of a crude oil delivery that derailed and killed 47 people in a Canadian town last year, lawyers seeking to represent the devastated town in a class action lawsuit are expected to argue in a proceeding that starts on Monday. Several tank cars exploded with surprising force when the cargo from North Dakota's Bakken energy patch jumped the tracks and detonated in downtown Lac Megantic, Quebec, last July. Since that deadly mishap, U.S.
Tougher Rules Not Needed For N. Dakota Oil-By-Rail Cargo
Crude oil from North Dakota's energy patch should not be subject to tougher regulations because the cargo is no different than other crude oil, an industry trade group said on Tuesday. After a series of train derailments and fiery explosions involving crude originating from North Dakota's Bakken fields, U.S. officials have warned that Bakken crude could be more volatile than crude oil from other regions. Even rail industry officials have said the crude is more akin to flammable gas.
North Dakota Fuel Does Not Need Special Handling
Despite some fiery mishaps involving fuel from North Dakota's Bakken energy patch, cargo from the region does not need special handling when it moves on the tracks, the leading voice for U.S. refiners said on Wednesday. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the trade group for the country's refiners, funded a third-party study of Bakken fuel that concludes the product is being handled properly. "Bakken crude is as safe to transport as other crude oils and is well within the safety standards for current rail car designs…
Oil-by-rail Shippers Withholding Important Data
Oil-by-rail shippers have mostly ignored officials seeking data by officials trying to prevent dangerous mishaps on the tracks, the U.S. Department of Transportation said on Friday. Regulators are eyeing North Dakota's energy patch, known as the Bakken, which was the origin of several doomed shipments such as this week's derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia in which 15 tank cars jumped the tracks, causing a fire. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx last week urged many Bakken shippers to share data with authorities on fuel moving on the tracks.
Oil Traffic may Delay US Fertilizer Shipments
Increasing use of railroads to ship crude oil could disrupt fertilizer cargo this spring as Midwest farmers prepare for planting, U.S. agriculture leaders warn, even as one railroad said on Monday it will take steps to ensure timely deliveries. The planting season is nearly at hand in states such as the Dakotas and Minnesota, where soybean, wheat and corn growers will lay millions of tonnes of fertilizers like nitrogen and potash that mostly arrive by train. Those supplies are not stockpiled near the fields and the farmers rely instead on steady deliveries by rail.
US Urges Rail Sector to Agree on Safer Tank Car
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Wednesday asked oil-by-rail leaders to create a tank car fit to carry the kinds of fuel involved in recent fiery derailments even as he dodged lawmaker questions about when such a plan would be ready. Rail shipments of oil have been on the rise in regions that lack sufficient pipelines such as North Dakota's Bakken energy patch, where production is nearing 1 million barrels per day and roughly 72 percent of that fuel moves on the tracks.
