2023 Outlook: The Offshore Service Vessel Market
The market for offshore support vessels has been through a rather rough few years since offshore exploration and production activity took a nose-dive in 2015 following the oil price crash the year before.The newbuild order boom that came with the ever-greener pastures imagined in the industry ensured that not only was the supply- and demand balance off by an insurmountable degree in the years that followed…
Schlumberger CEO Says Oilfield Growth Will Be at Structurally Lower Rate
Top oilfield service firm Schlumberger NV expects to return to 2019 level pre-tax margins by the end of next year, a sign the oil industry faces a long-haul to recover from the latest oil-price crash.Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch told an energy conference on Tuesday that industry growth will be at a structurally lower rate in the future.
KPMG Flags Oil Trader ZenRock's Questionable Deals
ZenRock Commodities Trading Pte Ltd is unlikely to continue its core oil trading businesses in the long term, its court-appointed supervisor KPMG Services said in a report that also raised concerns over transactions by the Singapore-based trader.ZenRock was placed under interim judicial management in May after one of its creditors HSBC…
Japan's LNG Investments Drive Faces Risk of Souring
Japan's banks and public agencies have funneled nearly $25 billion into liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects since 2017 but the investments may sour as prices plummet from the COVID-19 pandemic and as climate change risks rise, a new study shows.Spurred on by the government to boost energy security since the 2011 Fukushima disaster shut down the country's reactors…
Occidental Posts $2.2B Loss, Deepens Spending Cuts
Occidental Petroleum Corp on Tuesday swung to a first-quarter loss on writedowns and charges, and the troubled U.S. oil producer cut its budget for the third time since March in response to a historic oil-price crash.The company has been struggling with debt taken on in last year's $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum, an ill…
Aker BP Cuts Dividend by Two-thirds on Oil Price Slump
Aker BP will cut its quarterly dividend payments by two-thirds due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in crude prices, the Norwegian oil firm said on Wednesday after reporting a better-than-expected first-quarter core profit.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $666 million, compared with $539 million a year ago…
Chevron Cuts Spending, Says Asset Sales Lift Profits
Chevron Corp on Friday slashed its capital spending plans by another $2 billion as the coronavirus pandemic guts demand for oil and gas, while delivering a year-over-year 38% increase in profits.Global fuel demand has crashed by a third while many people shelter at home for an indefinite period. Major oil companies have largely reported…
Oil Price Crash, What Next?
A historic rout in oil markets sent U.S. crude prices plummeting to as much as minus $40 a barrel as traders rushed to get rid of unwanted stocks with storage capacity already overflowing amid a coronavirus-induced demand collapse.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery recouped some losses on Tuesday to be just in positive territory…
Oil Drops after Saudi Arabia, Russia Delay Meeting on Output Cuts
Oil prices slipped on Monday, after Saudi Arabia and Russia delayed a meeting to discuss output cuts that could partly alleviate oversupply in global markets as the coronavirus pandemic pummels demand.Brent crude slipped close to $30 a barrel in early trade and was at $33.45 by 0532 GMT, down 66 cents, or 1.9%. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 98 cents…
Subsea 7 Scores 'Sizeable' Offshore Wind Deal in Germany
Offshore installation and construction company Subsea 7 has said it has won a sizeable contract - meaning worth between $50 million and $150 million, for work on a wind farm offshore Germany.Subsea 7 said Friday the contract was with innogy Kaskasi for the Kaskasi offshore wind farm project, located approximately 35km northwest of Heligoland…
Shell Cuts Capex, Suspends Share Buyback
Oil major Shell lowered capital expenditure for 2020 by about $5 billion on Monday and suspended the next tranche of its share buyback plan, as the company tries to weather a hit from the recent oil price crash. The company said it would reduce 2020 cash capital expenditure to $20 billion or below from a planned level of around $25 billion…
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…
TechnipFMC: Record Orders, Backlog in Q2
Franco-American oil services company TechnipFMC received a record volume of orders in the second quarter, pushing its backlog of projects to a peak thanks to new liquefied natural gas projects, it said on Wednesday.The records could signal a rebound for the company created by a 2016 merger of France's Technip and U.S. rival FMC Technologies…
Aker Solutions Raises 2019 Forecasts
Norway's Aker Solutions ASA raised its 2019 revenue outlook on expected higher spending on the offshore oil services and reported better than expected first-quarter profits, lifting its shares on Tuesday.The upbeat sentiment on oilfield spending is a result of record cashflows accumulated by oil companies on the back of cost-saving measures…
Singapore's Offshore Industry Recovering
A big drag on Singapore's growth in recent years, the embattled offshore and marine industry, has broken a three-year losing streak. Yet industry executives aren't betting on a return to the glory days anytime soon.The industry, along with a top-class finance sector, has been a key pillar of Singapore's economic transformation into a first…
Schlumberger CFO Ayat to Retire Soon
Schlumberger NV Chief Financial Officer Simon Ayat plans to retire this year and a company insider has emerged as top candidate to replace him at the world's largest oil services firm, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.Stephane Biguet, currently vice president of finance, is the frontrunner to replace Ayat, according to…
Shell CFO Sees Oil Industry Cost Inflation
Royal Dutch Shell Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl said on Wednesday wages and services costs in the oil and gas industry around the world have started rising following a deep downturn since 2014."We are seeing wage inflation and inflation effecting the supply chain and we are actively managing it," Uhl told reporters in a conference call following the company's third quarter results."It is certainly getting a bit
Total Plans Biggest Exploration Drive in Years
Total is launching its biggest exploration campaign for years in 2019 as part of a turnaround plan that is ditching the company's focus on risky long-shots in favor of areas known to contain commercial levels of oil or gas.The French major aims to drill 23 wells this year, its senior vice president for exploration, Kevin McLachlan, told Reuters…
Baker Hughes Adjusted Profit Surges 85%
Baker Hughes, General Electric Co's oilfield services arm, posted an 85 percent jump in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, boosted by surging demand for its services.Unlike rivals Schlumberger NV and Halliburton Co, Baker Hughes has less exposure to the North American pressure pumping sector, where demand softened last year due to…
FLNG Market Oversupplied
Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) projects may have peaked already amid intensifying competition in the LNG space, a review of the global FLNG sector released by global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie has suggested.In a world requiring tight capital discipline, FLNG offers lower capital investment and manageable costs, particularly in frontier regions.
