BP Names Bernard Looney as Next CEO
Bernard Looney, who will replace Bob Dudley as chief executive of BP when he retires next year, faces the tricky task of navigating the energy major through a rising tide of environmentalism and the move to a low-carbon economy.BP on Friday appointed Looney, head of upstream, to succeed Dudley, who led the oil and gas company back to growth from near collapse in 2010.As CEO, Looney will be charged with continuing to adapt BP to the transition to lower-carbon energy as pressure from investors grows to meet targets under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.Looney…
BP CEO Dudley Planning to Step Down
BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley is drawing up plans to step down next year, ending a tumultuous decade at the helm of the oil and gas company that swung from near collapse in 2010 to rapid growth today, sources close to the company said on Monday.BP's first American CEO has indicated several times in closed discussions in recent years that he would like to retire at the age of 65, taking him into 2020.His retirement plans were discussed at BP's board meeting in the United States last week…
BP to Expand Emissions Disclosure
BP has agreed to broaden its disclosure on greenhouse gas emissions to show how it thinks future investments in oil and gas align with U.N.-backed climate goals, it said on Friday.Following talks with a large group of investors, BP also agreed to back a shareholder resolution on the measures at its annual general meeting (AGM), further evidence of the way the energy industry and investors are engaging on climate issues.The agreement with a group of investors with $32 trillion under management…
Equinor Bets on Offshore Wind
Norway's Equinor is focusing its green efforts on offshore wind, a goal it is already on its way to achieve, but some investors are concerned about the impact this shift will have on the company's bottom line.European oil and gas companies are diversifying their portfolio to include less-emitting sources of energy as a result of the Paris 2015 agreement, which outlines a shift from fossil fuels this century.Equinor, formerly Statoil, is betting on offshore wind, leveraging…
Shale Innovator Mark Papa Joins Schlumberger Board
Oilfield services company Schlumberger NV has appointed shale pioneer Mark Papa and energy researcher Tatiana Mitrova to its board of directors, according to a filing on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Papa, who built independent energy producer EOG Resources into one of the most profitable U.S. shale companies, currently heads Centennial Resource Development.His appointment comes just a few months after Helge Lund, former chief executive of BG Group and Statoil…
BP Names Former Statoil Boss Lund as Next Chairman
BP named Helge Lund, a former head of Norway's Statoil, as its next chairman on Thursday, as the British oil major looks to extend a period of rapid growth after recovering from a deadly oil spill in 2010.Lund, who also led BG Group during its acquisition by rival Royal Dutch Shell, will replace Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP for almost nine years, at the beginning of next year.The 55-year-old Lund steered Statoil through its transformation from a state oil company into a leading global player…
Schlumberger Says Lund Joins as a Director, Not CEO
Helge Lund, the former CEO of energy companies Statoil and BG, has become a director of oil services firm Schlumberger, the company said on Thursday. Schlumberger denied a Wall Street Journal report that Lund had been appointed the chief executive of the company. "Paal Kibsgaard remains the chief executive," a spokeswoman for the company told Reuters, adding that Lund had been appointed as a director. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis)
Statoil Gets Rare Respite from Green Lobby at AGM
WWF, Greenpeace give Statoil a break after greener shift. Norwegian oil company Statoil will face only muted criticism of its environmental record at an annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, in a rare respite caused by a small shift towards green energy. All major oil firms say they are working to protect the environment, but analysts say it is frequently hard to judge their sincerity. That makes the stridency of green activists' protests at AGMs one yardstick.
Shell Transitioning BG after $53 bln Deal
Shell completes $53 billion acquisition; looks o become top LNG trader, major offshore oil producer. Royal Dutch Shell on Monday sealed the $53 billion (36 billion pounds) acquisition of British rival BG Group to form the world's top liquefied natural gas company, even as slumping oil prices cast a shadow on the upcoming years of transition. The success or otherwise of the complex merger will define the legacy of Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, seeking to transform Shell into a more specialised group focused on the rapidly growing LNG market and deepwater oil production.
BG Shareholders Give Shell's $52 bln Acquisition Final Nod
BG Group shareholders overwhelmingly approved Royal Dutch Shell's $52 billion takeover on Thursday, clearing the way for the two firms to create the world's biggest trader of liquefied natural gas (LNG). BG will now merge with Shell on Feb. 15, nearly two decades after the company was born from British Gas and just a few months after it reached record oil and gas output thanks to new projects in Australia and Brazil. At a meeting in London, 99.53 percent of BG shareholders voted in favour of the merger…
Shell Names Top Exec to Head BG During Integration
Royal Dutch Shell's top executive planning the integration of BG Group will become transitional CEO of BG after expected completion of the $48 billion acquisition next month, company sources said. The appointment of Dutchman Huibert Vigeveno to oversee the complex merger of the two global businesses comes as no surprise. Vigeveno was appointed last August to spearhead the joint Shell-BG integration committee along with BG's Sinead Lynch, and had previously headed Shell's operations in China and had also worked for the Anglo-Dutch company in Brazil…
Shell Plans to Complete BG Merger by Feb. 15
Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it planned to complete its proposed $53 billion takeover of BG Group by Feb. 15, outlining plans for further spending cuts next year in the face of low oil prices. Shell also lowered the capital spending plan for next year for the combined group by $2 billion to $33 billion, saying it would bolster its ability to weather the industry's downturn and to maintain dividend payments. Shell said the addition of the BG business, especially its offshore oil production in Brazil and liquified natural gas facilities in Australia…
FERC Nod for Lake Charles LNG project
BG Group today announced that the Lake Charles LNG export project has received approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate a natural gas liquefaction and export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. FERC approval is the key remaining regulatory consent for the Lake Charles LNG project, which BG Group is developing with Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE: ETE) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP). Energy Transfer owns an existing LNG regasification facility in Lake Charles, which will be converted to a liquefaction facility.
BG Starts Commercial Ops from QCLNG T2
BG Group announced today that commercial operations began from the second train at its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) plant. QGC, BG Group's Australian subsidiary, has also assumed control of Train 2 from Bechtel Australia, which built the facility. BG Group now has full control of both LNG trains and associated facilities at QCLNG. By mid-2016 the integrated project is expected to reach plateau production, producing enough LNG to load around ten vessels per month combined which is equivalent to exporting around eight million tonnes per year.
BG Joins World Bank Initiative on Carbon Pricing
BG Group today announces it has joined the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), an initiative which brings together over 85 governments, corporate and civil society organisations to collaborate on carbon pricing systems and policies. The Group's entry to the CPLC coincides with the company's decision to also make public the internal carbon screening values it uses when reviewing investment decisions. BG Group has been valuing carbon internally for a number of years…
Shell to Retain Four Senior BG Execs post-Merger
Royal Dutch Shell plans to retain four members of BG Group's executive team after the companies' planned merger next year, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday. The memo indictates that the planned $70 billion takeover of BG by Shell remains on track. Shell this month sought to ease investor concerns over the deal by announcing costs cuts and benefits that would make it work despite lower oil prices. According to the Shell document, BG's Chief Operating Officer Sami Iskander will become executive vice president for joint ventures.
Oil Chiefs: No Common Position on Carbon Pricing
Executives of ten of the world's largest oil and gas companies decided on Friday not to take a common position on the price of carbon because of differences among the groups' members, and countries ahead of a climate summit in Paris in December. "Carbon pricing has been the most difficult for us," Helge Lund, Chief Executive of BG oil and gas group told journalist in Paris. "The world itself is not united on carbon pricing. We thought the right thing to do was not to take a common position as a group," said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
Top CEOs Back Climate Change Bid
The chief executive officers of 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies - which together provide almost a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply nearly 10% of the world’s energy - today declared their collective support for an effective climate change agreement to be reached at next month’s 21st session of the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change (COP21). In their milestone declaration, the CEOs of the 10 companies that currently make up the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) – BG Group…
BG Ships First LNG from QCLNG, Australia
BG Group plc today announces it has started up and loaded its first LNG from the second production train at the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility in Australia. The first LNG from Train 2 set sail on the Maran Gas Posidonia. At plateau production, expected mid-2016, both trains at QCLNG will be producing enough LNG to load ten vessels per month combined, exporting around eight million tonnes per year. Since production from the first train commenced in December 2014, 27 cargoes have been shipped.
Oil, Gas Majors Call for Carbon Pricing
Major oil and gas companies, BG Group plc, BP plc, Eni S.p.A., Royal Dutch Shell plc, Statoil ASA and Total SA, today announced their call to governments around the world and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to introduce carbon pricing systems and create clear, stable, ambitious policy frameworks that could eventually connect national systems. These would reduce uncertainty and encourage the most cost effective ways of reducing carbon emissions widely.
