Monday, December 23, 2024

Portfolio Management News

Equities, commodities climb after China announces stimulus

After China announced stimulus measures for its economy, a widely-followed global stock index reached a new record high. Copper prices also hit their highest level in 10 week on Tuesday. Mining stocks drove the Dow and S&P 500 to record-breaking closing highs. The Chinese yuan reached a 16-month-high against the U.S. Dollar, and oil prices rose to a 3-week-high on the news that China was the world's largest crude importer.

Wintershall Dea Trims Norway Portfolio

Wintershall Dea is currently developing its operated Dvalin field on the Norwegian continental shelf (Photo: Wintershall Dea)

Wintershall Dea has agreed to sell its stakes in Norway's Nyhamna gas processing terminal and the Polarled gas pipeline to CapeOmega and Solveig Gas to focus on its upstream oil and gas activities, the German oil and gas company said on Tuesday.Cape Omega will acquire a 5% interest in the Nyhamna terminal, while Solveig Gas will buy a 13.3% stake in Polarled, which delivers gas from Equinor's Aasta Hansteen field to Nyhamna…

Total Plans $5 Bln in Asset Sales

(File photo: Malfere Damien / Total)

French energy giant Total will sell around $5 billion worth of assets, mostly from its upstream exploration and production business, as it seeks to focus on low breakeven projects that can weather weak oil prices, it said on Thursday.The company reported a 19% year-on-year drop in adjusted net profit to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, which it attributed to a combination of unfavorable market factors.These include a 7% drop in oil prices since the second quarter of 2018…

Equinor Completes NCS Asset Sales

(Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen / Equinor)

Norwegian energy company Equinor announced Friday it has completed the sales of two non-core discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for a combined $470 million.Equinor announced in October that it would divest from the King Lear and Tommeliten discoveries as part of an effort to prioritize and refocus its asset portfolio.The first sale, of a 77.8 percent operated interest in the King Lear discovery to Aker BP…

Faroe Criticizes DNO's Takeover Bid as 'Opportunistic'

The oil and gas company with focus in Norway and the U.K. Faroe Petroleum has reaffirmed that Norwegian oil giant DNO ASA's GBP608mln ($761.65 million) unsolicited takeover offer for the AIM-listed firm is "opportunistic" and "substantially" undervalues it.Aberdeen-headquartered Faroe accused DNO of trying to exploit the recent drop in oil prices to acquire the company “on the cheap”.In a statement on Wednesday…

Perenco Acquires Polo Nordeste Fields

Petrobras says it reached a USD370mln deal with Perenco to sell its operations in the Polo Nordeste and granted oil 3R Petroleum a 40-year concession to operate 34 oil fields in Bacia Potigar in a deal worth USD453mln.According to a press release from the Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro it agreed to sell more than three dozen shallow-water and onshore…

DNV GL Unveils Renewable Energy Data Platform

Photo: DNV GL

DNV GL is launching GPM Horizon, a data monitoring platform with full integration of current and future renewable energy systems including solar PV, wind and energy storage assets. GPM Horizon enables future-proof fleet management by bringing digitalization technologies and integrated renewables systems together in one platform, which are the key drivers for the global energy transition.Global energy forecasters, including the International Energy Agency, foresee a rapid growth in renewable sources.

Statoil Eyes Future Projects with Pemex

Norway's Statoil will evaluate new offshore projects in Mexico, including potential tie-ups with state oil company Pemex, the firm's top executive said, adding that a first deepwater well in an existing Gulf project will likely be drilled next year. Statoil is focused mostly on future deepwater opportunities in Mexico but does not rule out others, CEO Eldar Saetre said in an interview late on Thursday. The executive…

Equity, Macro Hedge Funds Look to Bounce Back

Developed market equity, macroeconomic trend funds lag; commodity, emerging markets, U.S. stocks lead the gainers. For some equity funds and those betting on macroeconomic trends, which together make up a large chunk of the $3 trillion global hedge fund industry's assets, 2016 has been another year to forget. Beset by investors pressing for lower fees and the dulling effect of central bank easy monetary policies…

Chevron Sells Geothermal Operations

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries have entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Star Energy Consortium to sell Chevron's Indonesian and Philippines Geothermal assets. "These assets deliver reliable energy to support the needs of Asia-Pacific's growing economies," said Jay Johnson, executive vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation. In Indonesia, Chevron subsidiaries operate the Darajat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java.

Statoil buys Petrobras stake in Brazil oil find

Statoil aims to offset declining output from mature fields. Norway's Statoil agreed on Friday to buy Petrobras' stake in an exploration licence off Brazil for $2.5 billion, a rare deal in an oil industry struggling with low prices. The purchase of the 66 percent stake from Brazil's state-led Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) will help Statoil secure future production as output from its mature fields declines.

Eni, Total Ink Technology Deal

Eni and Total have entered into a special license and R&D Cooperation Agreement for Eni Slurry Technology (EST). Eni Slurry Technology (EST) is the most recent refining process for converting heavy feedstock into lighter components. It has been entirely developed in Italy by Eni R&D, and implemented in Sannazzaro refinery since 2013. Commenting on the deal, Giacomo Rispoli, Eni’s Refining & Marketing and Chemicals Executive Vice President…

Total Sells Majority Interest In Géosel

Total has signed an agreement to sell an interest of 50% plus one share in Géosel Manosque (“Géosel”) to a 50-50 consortium composed of EDF Invest and Ardian. The transaction values Total's interest at €265 million as at January 1, 2015, excluding inventory and is subject to the confirmation of the other Géosel shareholders and the customary regulatory approvals. Total, which currently owns a 53.4% stake in Géosel…

ConocoPhillips Signals Conditional Support for UN Climate Deal

The comments by the Houston-based company were a clarification of its position on the proposed UN agreement after it earlier in the week answered 'yes' to a question in a climate change survey that asked whether it backed a 2015 UN accord. The company's partial endorsement comes as pressure grows on U.S. oil majors to follow the lead of European counterparts who backed the UN climate negotiation process and called for a global carbon pricing system to tackle carbon emissions.

Chariot Oil & Gas Results FY 2014

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited, the Atlantic margins focused oil and gas exploration company, today announces its audited final results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2014. Larry Bottomley, Chief Executive of Chariot, commented, "Chariot has continued to deliver on its focused strategy by partnering in Morocco and Brazil, maintaining a strong balance sheet through capital discipline, maturing its assets and demonstrating high margin…

Petrobras Downgrade Shakes Market

Moody's shocked bond investors this week with a surprise two-notch downgrade that put Brazilian oil company Petrobras in junk territory. The move was seen by some investors as overly assertive, leaving them to add exposure incrementally. "It was aggressive," said Jack Deino, head of emerging market portfolio management and senior portfolio manager at Invesco. "It just reflects the rating agencies' proclivity to shoot from the hip.

Oil Majors to Preserve Dividends Despite Oil Collapse

Europe's oil majors will strike a sober note in their fourth-quarter results and investors will focus on companies' plans to maintain cherished dividends and their strategies to cope with the oil prices collapse that caught many unawares. Having sold around $120 billion in assets in recent years to boost balance sheets and keep up dividend payouts, companies are expected to increase borrowing and further cut…

Oil Majors to Preserve Dividends Despite Oil Collapse

Europe's oil majors will strike a sober note in their fourth-quarter results and investors will focus on companies' plans to maintain cherished dividends and their strategies to cope with the oil prices collapse that caught many unawares. Having sold around $120 billion in assets in recent years to boost balance sheets and keep up dividend payouts, companies are expected to increase borrowing and further cut…

Strong Interest in Keppel DC REIT IPO

Keppel DC REIT Management Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd has received overwhelming demand from institutional and retail investors for its initial public offering of 261,138,000 Units. The Offering comprised an international placement of 207,375,000 Units1 to investors, including institutional and other investors in Singapore (the "Placement Tranche"), and an offering of 53,763,000 Units to the public in Singapore (the "Public Offer").

Statoil Transaction with Wintershall Completed

Statoil has now completed the transaction with the German oil and gas company Wintershall to farm down in Aasta Hansteen, Asterix and Polarled and exit two assets—the non-core Vega and Gjøa fields—on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The transaction will enable Statoil to redeploy around USD 1.8 billion of capital expenditure for the period from the effective date until the end of 2020. Statoil monetises on the Aasta Hansteen field development project…