Japan's Inpex Reduces 2020 Profit Guidance by 93%
Inpex Corp, Japan's top oil and gas company, on Tuesday cut its annual net profit forecast by 93% after first-quarter earnings slumped due to an oil price collapse and as the coronavirus pandemic choked off international energy demand.The group also warned it is re-evaluating all of its assets and may book impairment losses on some depending on the oil price outlook and a review of project plans.It will make an announcement on that once it has determined any financial impact, it said.Inpex is now predicting a net profit of 10 billion yen ($93 million) for this calendar year…
New Offshore Acreage Licensing to Drop 60% in 2020, Rystad says
Newly licensed offshore oil and gas exploration acreage is likely to fall by about 60% and onshore acreage by 30% compared with 2019 levels, Rystad Energy has said, as the Norwegian energy market analytics company expects more than half of the world’s planned licensing rounds to be canceled this year due to the combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the low oil prices."This year was slated to be another remarkable year for exploration with about 45 countries launching at least 52 lease rounds, about 60% of them in offshore areas.
Oil Price Controls Subsea Market Growth
The subsea market in 2019 will experience year-on-year growth for the first time since 2014. But the positive outlook is vulnerable to any significant decline in oil prices over the next few years, according to analyst Rystad Energy.“We expect the subsea market to thrive during the coming years, but market growth will be at risk if the oil price falls to $50 per barrel,” says Henning Bjørvik, an analyst on Rystad Energy’s oilfield service team.Rystad Energy, the independent energy research and consulting firm headquartered in Norway…
Rising Investment Drives Spectrum's Revenues
Seismic surveyor Spectrum's fourth-quarter revenue surge reflects a shift among oil firms towards more exploration, its chief executive told Reuters. Spectrum on Wednesday reported preliminary sales of $46 million for the October-December period, an increase of 31 percent from the $35 million it reported for the same quarter of 2016. "The fourth quarter was significantly better than the fourth quarter of 2016, and I think that will be reflected for the rest of the industry also. And we believe the fourth quarter of 2018 will be even better," Chief Executive Rune Eng said.
Statoil to Step Up Offshore Norway Exploration
Norway's Statoil will ramp up its search for oil and gas deposits on the Norwegian continental shelf next year, the company said on Friday. Oil companies are stepping up efforts to find more oil and gas offshore after cutting exploration budgets following the oil price drop since 2014, meaning more work for owners of drilling rigs, such as Transocean or Seadrill. Majority-state owned Statoil is emerging from the downturn as one of the most active offshore explorers. "We are looking at drilling 25 to 30 wells in Norway in 2018.
Venezuela Oil Output Hits Near 30-year Low
Oil-dependent Venezuela's crude output dipped last month below 2 million barrels per day, its lowest level in nearly three decades, global producer group OPEC said on Monday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' latest monthly data showed Venezuela reporting production of 1.955 million bpd in October, versus 2.085 million in September. The figure was even lower based on secondary sources rather than what the government reports, at 1.863 million bpd in October, according to OPEC.
Sonatrach CEO Urges Simplifying Business, Focus On Output
The new chief of Algeria's state energy company Sonatrach has urged employees to simplify bureaucracy, and focus on the core business of production as the North African state deals with lower oil prices, an internal company letter shows. The message from new CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kadour was sent to Sonatrach employees just over a month after he took the job as the oil giant's sixth chief executive in seven years, a period marked by instability and a collapse in global crude prices. It appeared…
US State Dept to Approve Keystone Pipeline Permit Friday
The U.S. State Department will approve on Friday the permit needed to proceed with construction of the Canada-to-United States Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project blocked by former President Barack Obama, according to two government sources familiar with the process. The move would mark the beginning of process that could be lengthy and complicated by approvals needed by state regulators and legal challenges. But President Donald Trump, a Republican, supports Keystone and days after he took office in January ordered its construction. That could mean that project, proposed in 2008, will eventually be completed.
Algeria plans Bank Privatisations as oil money dries up
Algeria plans to allow its dominant state banks to list on the local stock exchange to help develop its financial markets and diversify sources of funding after the oil price slide, a senior financial official said. The plan will open the door for foreign investors to acquire controlling stakes in banks, reversing a rule requiring Algerian firms to keep a majority shareholding in any partnership with foreigners, the official told Reuters. Algeria's six government-run banks account for most of the sector's assets.
Oil Discoveries Sink to Lowest since 1952 -Morgan Stanley
Exploration spending nearly halves after oil price drop; poor discovery record to impact future supplies. Oil discoveries in 2015 fell to their lowest since 1952 as energy companies slashed exploration budgets in the wake of the oil price fall, creating a gap for meeting future demand, analysts at Morgan Stanley said on Monday. The oil and gas industry discovered 2.8 billion barrels of oil outside the United States last year, the equivalent of one month of global consumption, the U.S. bank said, quoting data from consultancy Rystad Energy.
North Dakota Oil Output Dips Slightly for February
North Dakota's oil output fell 3,000 barrels per day in February, far less than expected as producers brought some wells online to generate cash, the state's energy regulator said on Wednesday. The state's roughly 11,000 active wells pumped about 1,119,100 barrels per day in February, Lynn Helms told a community group in Williston, the state's oil capital. The state reports production on a two-month lag and final numbers are slated to be released on Friday. The decrease was far less than the dip of roughly 30,000 barrels per day each during December and January amidst the oil price drop.
Petrobras Reinventing Itself after Oil Price Drop -CFO
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras is being forced to turn itself into a smaller operation as crude prices have fallen more than expected, making it impossible to finance its once-ambitious plans, the company's chief financial officer said on Tuesday. CFO Ivan Monteiro made the comment on a conference call with investors a day after Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, announced a 36.9 billion real ($10.2 billion) fourth-quarter loss, its biggest ever. The loss was driven by a 46 percent decline in the price of Brent crude oil in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier…
Algeria to Reduce Imports As Oil Price Drop Bites
Algeria has decided to reduce its imports by 15 percent in 2016 to save foreign currency reserves as the crash of oil prices has put the OPEC state under financial pressure, according to a letter to banks from the prime minister. The North African state, which relies on oil and gas for 60 percent of its budget, has already cut public spending, reduced some energy subsidies and frozen infrastructure projects since its energy revenues fell by almost half last year. But, reliant on its oil industry and with an under-developed non-energy sector, Algeria imports vast quantities of goods.
S&P Downgrades Petrobras
Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras said on Thursday that Standard & Poor's downgraded its foreign currency bond rating to "B+" from "BB" after the ratings agency cut Brazil's sovereign rating on Wednesday. Normally such downgrades are automatic. When a sovereign rating rises or falls, corporate ratings in the country usually rise or fall to a similar extent. Petrobras, though, has often been an exception. Until a corruption scandal and oil price drop undermined its finances in 2014 and 2015, Petrobras often had a rating higher than the Brazilian government.
Venezuela Opposition Rejects Maduro's 'Economic Emergency' Decree
Venezuela's opposition refused on Friday to approve President Nicolas Maduro's "economic emergency" decree in Congress, saying it offered no solutions for the OPEC member-nation's increasingly disastrous recession. Underlining the grave situation in Venezuela, where a plunge in oil prices has compounded dysfunctional policies, the International Monetary Fund forecast an 8 percent drop in gross domestic product and 720 percent inflation this year. "The people voted for a change, not a failed communist model…
Hit by Oil Price Drop, Algeria Turns to China for Funds
Algeria is turning to China to finance several infrastructure projects, including a new $3.2 billion port, as the North African OPEC member looks for ways to weather the collapse in global oil prices. Algeria, where oil and gas production account for 60 percent of the state budget, saw energy earnings collapse 40 percent last year, forcing the government to slash spending, raise some subsidised fuel prices and freeze major projects. With little foreign debt and more than $130 billion in reserves, Algeria's government says its economy can manage the fall in crude prices.
Norway's Offshore Shipping Sector Faces Bleak Year
Norwegian companies that provide supply ships and drilling rigs to the global oil industry face a bleak year ahead as contracts disappear and financing options dwindle in the face of weak global crude prices. They could increasingly be forced to sell or write down the value of assets, cut jobs and tap shareholders for cash to weather the downturn, according to industry experts. This would herald more pain for Norway, where the overall oil sector accounts for about a fifth of the economy and unemployment is rising, especially in the oil capital Stavanger and its environs on the west coast.
Rosneft 9M Profit Up
Commenting the results for 9M 2015, I.I. Sechin, Chairman of Rosneft Management Board, said, “Despite of challenging economic environment, the Company keeps improving its efficiency. This is demonstrated by keeping operating costs in rouble terms at sustainable level in conditions of 12.0% increase in industry prices. Preserving the cost base and efficient risk management contributed to an increase in profits for 9M 2015 compared to 9M 2014 despite oil price drop. Adjusted for forex effect from…
Saudis: Long-Term Oil Market Fundamentals Robust
Long-term oil market fundamentals remain robust but prolonged low prices could threaten security of supply and pave the way for a price spike, Saudi Arabia's vice oil minister said on Monday. The world's largest crude exporter will continue investing in its oil and gas sector, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said. "For a major reserve holder, oil producer and exporter such as Saudi Arabia, our focus has always been on the long-term trends shaping the oil market," he said in a speech at an Asian energy conference in the Qatari capital Doha.
UAE Bets on Price Recovery
UAE oil min says 2016 will be a year of upward price correction. United Arab Emirates, one of the wealthiest Gulf states, is pushing ahead with large new energy projects, betting an oil price recovery will start as early as next year as demand begins to absorb the global glut. "These are times of some hesitancy, times of pain for some ... But pain is not new ... We will pass it stronger," energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told the UAE's biggest annual oil show in Abu Dhabi. "That (oil price drop) didn't change the vision of the UAE ... We are not cancelling projects," he added.
