Price Drop Triggers Haggling Over Oil and Gas Deals
The collapse in oil prices to 21-year lows has led potential buyers of oil and gas fields to try and renegotiate deals already agreed at higher prices, with the first examples emerging of sellers having their hand forced.At a time when most oil companies are slashing budgets, dividends, and headcounts to preserve cash, sellers are facing a difficult choice between sweetening the deal or risking losing it altogether.Premier…
BP Cuts Spending by Quarter, Lowers Oil production
BP on Wednesday cut its 2020 spending plans by 25% and will reduce output from its U.S. shale oil and gas business in the face of the collapse in oil prices triggered by the coronavirus outbreak.BP and other big oil and gas companies are having to rein in spending sharply following the collapse in oil prices driven by a slump in demand because of the coronavirus crisis and a price war between top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia."This may be the most brutal environment for oil and gas businesses in decades…
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…
BP Spurs $10 Bln Divestment Target
BP will take charges of $2 to $3 billion in the third quarter, the British energy firm said on Friday, as it looks to reach divestments worth $10 billion by the end of 2019, a year ahead of schedule.In a statement, London-based BP said it expects to agree asset sales of $10 billion by end-year after its $5.6 billion sale of its Alaskan business to Hilcorp and divestments in U.S. shale gas.BP shares were down 1.1% by 0948 GMT compared with a 1.3% gain in the broader European energy index.The non-cash…
BP Exits Alaska with $5.6Bln Sale
British oil major BP Alaska announced that it is selling its entire business to Hilcorp Alaska, marking the exit from Alaska after six decades.The $5.6 billion sale includes Opens a New Window. interests in the Prudhoe Bay oil field, Point Thomson gas field and the trans-Alaska pipeline system, BP said in a release.Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said: "Alaska has been instrumental in BP's growth and success…
BP Exits Alaska in $5.6 Bln Sale
British oil major BP Plc on Tuesday agreed to sell all its Alaskan properties for $5.6 billion to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co, exiting a region where it operated for 60 years.The deal, which includes interests in the most prolific oil field in U.S. history at Prudhoe Bay, and the 800-mile (1,300-km) Trans Alaska Pipeline, is part of BP's plan to raise $10 billion over the next two years through asset sales to further strengthen its balance sheet…
Crude Oil Spill Near Port Sulphur, La.
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday it is responding to a crude oil discharge in Rattle Snake Bayou, southwest of Port Sulphur, La.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center that the well was reported to be leaking.It is unknown when the discharge began, and the amount discharged has not been determined. The well is rated to produce 5,476 gallons of oil per day.Responders are working to locate and secure the source of the discharge.
U.S. DOI Okays Hilcorp AK Offshore Oil & Gas Project
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ConocoPhillips: Slow & Steady Wins the Race
ConocoPhillips has beaten its 2017 asset sales target less than four months into the year, after shedding $30.8 billion worth of energy assets in six years. But instead of a chorus of cheers on Wall Street, Chief Executive Ryan Lance is facing investor skepticism that the company can deliver growth from remaining oil and gas fields. ConocoPhillips' most recent sales of Canadian oil-sands properties and U.S. natural…
ConocoPhillips sells San Juan basin Assets
ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S. independent oil producer, said on Thursday it would sell natural gas-heavy assets in San Juan basin to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co for about $3 billion. ConocoPhillips has been selling assets to reduce its exposure to profit-sapping natural gas assets and shore up its balance sheet. The assets, which span New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado, produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, about 80 percent of which was natural gas, ConocoPhillips said.
Gas Pipeline Leak Repairs Begun in Cook Inlet
Divers have begun repairing a leak from an 8-inch natural gas pipeline in the Middle Ground Shoal area in Alaska's Cook Inlet, Hilcorp Energy Co said on Monday. Endangered beluga whales and other marine mammals live in the inlet. The company shut two Alaskan oil production platforms two weeks ago after reducing pressure on a leaking natural gas pipeline in Cook Inlet. At the reduced rate, the leak is estimated to be around 85 to 115 thousand cubic feet per day, the company said in late March.
Texas $1 bln Carbon Project to Curb Emissions, up Oil Recovery
NRG Energy Inc and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp said on Tuesday they had begun operations at a $1.04 billion carbon capture facility at a Texas coal-fired power plant and were using the emissions to extract crude from a nearby oilfield. The facility, the largest of its kind in the world, is the latest in efforts by the power industry to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as pressure mounts from regulators, investors and consumers to stem climate change.
Abandoned Pipeline Spills Crude Oil in Barataria Bay
An abandoned flow line near Lake Grande Ecaille has reportedly discharged an estimated 4,200 gallons of crude oil, Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The pipeline belongs to Hilcorp Energy, and the source of the discharge was reported as secured, Monday. The cause of the incident is under investigation. The oil spill response organization Environmental Safety and Health has been contracted by Hilcorp Energy to conduct cleanup operations…
Hilcorp, Carlyle Form Oil and Gas Partnership
Carlyle's Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund, LP and Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Fund II, LP have agreed to invest up to $1.24 billion in the newly formed partnership called Hilcorp Energy Development LP. Oil and gas companies are increasingly looking to private equity firms as low commodity prices sap cash flow and access to capital markets is squeezed. U.S. crude oil prices are hovering around seven-year lows amid a global supply glut.
Hovercraft Creates Lifeline to Alaska Drill Site
About half a million barrels of oil is extracted each day from Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oilfields. One of its drilling sites, Endicott, is located on a spit of land connected by the gravel Prudhoe Bay road system and is normally accessible by truck – until recently, when the road was washed out. Faced with the dilemma of how to get workers, food and supplies to the work site, Hilcorp, a privately-held exploration and production companies in the U.S., turned to Crowley and its hovercraft, Arctic Hawk.
Alaska Investigates Oil Pipeline Breach
Investigators are reviewing the cause of an oil production pipeline breach on Alaska's North Slope where upwards of 4,000 gallons (15,100 liters) of fluid spilled, state officials said on Monday. The production facility is jointly owned by Hilcorp and BP Alaska, but it is operated by Hilcorp, which took over operations from BP in November when that company sold off some of its Alaska assets. The ruptured line sprayed the fluid - made up of oil…
BP cuts 275 AK Jobs, Divests in Oil Fields
BP will cut around 275 staff and contractor jobs in its Alaska operations in early 2015 following the sale of its interests in four oil fields in the North Slope area, it said on Tuesday. BP, one of the largest oil producers in Alaska, last April announced the sale of the fields to privately held Hilcorp, though it remains committed to developing Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America. BP has a total of 8,300 employees and contractors in Alaska, according to its website.
BP Gulf Spill Trial Set For January
The high-stakes penalty phase of BP's trial over its role in the 2010 U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill will start next January, court officials said on Tuesday, and billions of dollars could be on the line. Fines under the Clean Water Act could top $17 billion, an amount more than BP's profit in 2013, which after items was $13.4 billion. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans has considerable leeway and could assess a much smaller fine after the third and likely final stage of the trial…
