More Disruption and Uncertainty in Store for Petrochemicals
The impact of the coronavirus lockdowns on the oil, gas and chemicals industries’ integrated value chains is radically shifting relationships and profitability.It is also making planning virtually impossible, as BASF suggested last week.The environment around refining and chemical margins remains challenging, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden also said this week.“The…
BASF: Role of Oil & Gas Unit to Decline
CEO says focus of profitability drive to be on chems, agchems, but sees no reason to exit oil and gas activities. BASF, the world's largest chemicals maker, said its focus would be on boosting profitability at its chemicals and crop protection businesses as the contribution to earnings from oil and gas, hurt by low crude oil prices, diminishes further.
Nabors Posts Quarterly Loss as Oil Tumbles
Contract driller Nabors Industries Ltd posted a quarterly loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, as oil producers used fewer rigs amid persistently low crude oil prices. Net loss attributable to Nabors was $398.3 million, or $1.41 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $123.6 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier. Total revenue fell nearly 70 percent to $430.8 million.
Britain's Wholesale Gas Will Remain Cheap
UK gas prices to fall further into summer; Gas to oust coal as leading power plant fuel. British utilities are set to benefit from low wholesale gas prices this summer and beyond even if power companies opt to do a lot more switching from coal to gas to fuel their plants. British wholesale gas prices have fallen over 40 percent in the past year, as mild…
Anadarko Outbid by Private Equity in Asset Contests -CEO
Anadarko Petroleum Corp is encountering stiff competition from private equity firms that have billions to spend on oil and gas assets, the U.S. independent oil and gas company's chief executive officer said on Wednesday. A slide in crude oil prices of more than 50 percent from last year has stirred intense interest in private equity investors looking for opportunity in the downturn.
U.S. Budget Deal Includes SPR Drawdown
Congressional leaders proposed to sell 58 million barrels of oil from U.S. emergency reserves over six years starting in fiscal 2018 to help pay for a budget deal that ends mandatory spending cuts, according to a copy of the bill posted to a congressional website. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds more than 695 million barrels of crude in Texas and Louisiana, a bounty that U.S.
Green Plains Buys Idled Ethanol Plant in Virginia
Green Plains Inc has paid $18.25 million for the sole ethanol plant in Virginia, it said on Monday, the latest in a string of consolidations as vast supplies and low crude oil prices squeeze industry profits. Green Plains said it planned to spend another $6 million to $7 million for a corn oil extractor and other improvements at the plant, whose annual capacity is 62 million gallons.
Norway's Statoil Drops Upgrade of Mongstad Refinery
Norway's Statoil is dropping a planned upgrade at its Mongstad oil refinery in western Norway, it said on Wednesday, in another sign of oil companies cutting costs to cope with lower oil prices and difficult markets. Statoil had been working on a project for two years on how to expand production capacity at Mongstad in order to be able to process oil from the offshore Johan Sverdrup field from 2019.
Conoco Beats Street, Cuts CapEx
ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S. independent oil and gas company, reported quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations Thursday and said it would cut capital expenditure as low crude oil prices persist. The Houston-based company said it would cut 2015 capital spending to $11 billion from $11.5 billion, and also lowered its forecast for operating expenses.
Conoco Cutting Deepwater Spending
ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it will reduce future spending on deepwater drilling due to low crude oil prices while raising its dividend one cent. The largest spending reductions will come in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Houston-based company said it will terminate a three-year contract for an Ensco deepwater drill ship that was due to be delivered late this year.
India May delay Oil Company Share Sales
India hopes for about $3.5 billion from stake sale in ONGC, IOC. India is likely to delay share sales in state-run oil firms ONGC and Indian Oil Corp by up to six months as low crude oil prices have hit their value, denting the chances of raising about $11 billion from such sales this financial year, two government sources said. The government hopes to sell shares in these companies to raise nearly $3.5 billion…
Chesapeake Energy Reports Q4 Profit, Slashes Spending
Chesapeake Energy Corp on Wednesday said it would slash its 2015 spending in response to low crude oil prices and reported a fourth-quarter profit compared with a year-earlier loss as results were boosted by hedging gains. Chesapeake reported a profit of $586 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with a loss of $159 million or 24 cents per share in the same period a year earlier.
