Diamondback Cuts Drilling Activity as Oil Prices Tumble
Diamondback Energy Inc said on Monday it was reducing drilling activity immediately, as the oil and gas producer tackles one of the steepest declines in oil prices in decades.Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in the biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War, after Saudi Arabia signaled it would hike output to win market share at a time when the coronavirus epidemic has left the market oversupplied.The company's shares were down nearly 22% in light premarket trading amid a broader fall in oil and gas related stocks.Diamondback expects to drop two rigs in April and a third later in the second quarter.
Coronavirus Paralyzes Oil, Gas Sales into China
Short-term sales of crude oil and liquefied natural gas into China almost ground to a halt this week as the coronavirus slows economic activity and cuts demand and buyers ponder legal action to avoid having to honor purchase agreements, trade sources said.Typically, trade would have revived after the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, but China has extended the break into February to try to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has claimed nearly 500 lives.As a result, commodity supply chains have been disrupted with shipments cancelled or delayed and stocks piling up…
Chesapeake Energy to Reduce CapEx by 30%
U.S. oil and gas company Chesapeake Energy Corp said it expects its capital expenses to drop by about 30% in 2020 after it reported a bigger-than-expected loss on Tuesday because of a sharp drop in production and lower natural gas prices.Chesapeake said it expects capital expenditures of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion for 2020 that is well below $2.11 billion to $2.31 billion set aside for 2019.The company also plans to cut its 2020 production costs as well as general and administrative expenses by about 10%, Chesapeake said in a statement.Investors have…
ConocoPhillips Profit Beats Estimates
US oil and gas company ConocoPhillips' quarterly profit shot ahead of analysts' estimates on Tuesday, as higher shale production offset the impact from lower crude prices and higher exploration costs.Total production, excluding Libya, rose 98,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to 1.322 million boe/d, with output from U.S. basins including Eagle Ford, Bakken and the Permian rising 21% in the quarter.The company's results kick off a quarter for U.S. shale producers that is expected to see sharp earnings declines on a year-over-year basis, as…
Anadarko Beats Profit Estimates
Anadarko Petroleum Corp, in its last earnings report before shareholders vote on its sale to Occidental Petroleum, on Friday reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts' estimates, as higher production offset lower prices for its oil.It reported a net loss on a $1 billion breakup fee paid to Chevron Corp. Anadarko accepted a $38 billion offer from Occidental after having initially agreed to a deal with Chevron. The deal would make Occidental the largest oil producer in the Permian Basin, the top U.S. shale field.Anadarko's second-quarter average daily production rose nearly 17% to 744…
Husky Cuts Long-term Spend to Boost Cash Flow
Husky Energy Inc on Tuesday nearly doubled its free cash flow target over five years as it cut its planned capital spending at a time when investors have been calling on oil and gas companies to shore up capital for buybacks and dividends.Oil production curtailments imposed this year by the government of Canada's energy-rich province Alberta, as well as rising global oil prices, have allowed Canadian producers to rake in the highest revenues in five years. Many favor paying down debt or returning cash to shareholders as uncertainty remains about construction of new Canadian pipeline capacity."Oil and gas and energy is pretty unloved…
Anadarko Quarterly Profit Slides 7.2%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp,which is the target of a bidding war between Occidental Petroleum Corp and Chevron Corp, reported a 7.2 percent fall in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, as it sold oil at lower prices.The oil and gas producer said adjusted net income fell to $259 million, or 53 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $279 million, or 52 cents a share, a year earlier.Sales volumes of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids averaged about 715,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up from 643,000 boe/d a year earlier.(Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
SandRidge Names McKinney as CEO
U.S. oil producer SandRidge Energy has appointed industry veteran Paul McKinney as its next chief executive officer, it said on Monday.SandRidge last year ousted James Bennett as CEO after coming under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, who had objected to Bennett's compensation and the company's $746 million bid to buy rival Bonanza Creek Energy Inc.McKinney, who most recently served as chief operating officer at Yuma Energy Inc and has held a variety of senior roles at oil and gas producer Apache Corp, succeeds SandRidge's interim CEO William Griffin.(Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
Suncor sees 13% rise in fourth-quarter upstream output
Suncor Energy Inc said on Monday it expects total upstream production to rise by about 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, helped by higher output from its majority-owned Syncrude oil project in northern Alberta.The company expects total upstream production of 831,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), up from 736,400 boe/d in the fourth quarter of 2017.Production from Syncrude alone was 355,000 barrels per day (bbls/d) for the quarter.Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams said the company's newest oil sands project, Fort Hills, completed its production ramp up ahead of schedule and exceeded its forecast of 90 percent utilization for the quarter.The Calgary, Alberta-based
Exxon Expects 25 pct More Oil from Guyana's Offshore Block
Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners now expect the large Stabroek oil block offshore Guyana to contain 25 percent more recoverable oil than previously estimated, the companies said on Monday.Exxon and Hess Corp said more than 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be recovered from the Stabroek block, which is part of one of the biggest oil discoveries in the world in the last decade.The companies had previously estimated 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be recovered from the block.The block has "potential for at least five FPSOs (floating storage…
Cimarex to Buy Resolute Energy in $1.6 Bln Deal
Oil and gas producer Cimarex Energy Co said on Monday it would buy smaller rival Resolute Energy Corp in a deal valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, adding more assets in the shale-rich Permian Basin.The region has seen several deals as bigger producers add more assets, allowing them to negotiate better with oilfield services, frac sand providers and pipeline operators as production costs rise.Cimarex had a market value of $8.49 billion, while Resolute was valued at about $706.3 million as of Sept.29, according to Refinitiv data.Resolute Energy is the latest smaller player to succumb to investor pressure…
Occidental Tops Profit Estimates
U.S. oil and natural gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp beat quarterly profit estimates on Monday, benefiting from a surge in production in the Permian Basin and higher prices.The company, which has been investing heavily to boost production in Permian, said output in the basin surged about 62 percent to 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in the third quarter.The company's average production rose about 13.5 percent to 681,000 boe/d.The Houston-based company's net income rose to $1.87 billion, or $2.44 per share, in the quarter ended Sept.
Cabot Oil and Gas Profit Surges
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp reported a surge in third-quarter profit on Friday, helped by higher realized natural gas prices and a gain from asset sales.The company's net income rose to $122.3 million, or 28 cents per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $17.6 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.The company booked a gain of $25.66 million in the quarter.Operating revenue rose to $545.2 million from $385.4 million.(Reporting by Shanti S Nair; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Neptune Energy Names Lumens CFO
Private equity backed oil and gas producer Neptune Energy on Monday named former Louis Dreyfus executive Armand Lumens as its chief financial officer. Lumens worked with Louis Dreyfus Co as its group chief financial officer for less than two years and last month left the commodities trader citing personal reasons.Lumens will join Neptune on December 1, the company said in a statement.Neptune, based in London, is backed by Carlyle Group and CVC Capital partners and headed by former Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw.(Reporting by Shanti S Nair; Editing by James Emmanuel)
Ensco to Buy Rowan in $2.38 Bln Deal
Offshore driller Ensco Plc said on Monday it plans to buy smaller rival Rowan Cos Plc in an all-stock deal valued at $2.38 billion, as it looks to expand its fleet and benefit from a partnership with Saudi Aramco.This is Ensco's second deal since OPEC-led efforts boosted oil prices in the second half of 2016. Ensco bought rival Atwood Oceanics in a similar deal last year.Rowan shareholders will receive 2.215 Ensco shares for each share held.
Southwestern Energy to Sell Shale Business
Oil and gas producer Southwestern Energy Co said on Tuesday it would sell its Fayetteville shale business to privately owned Flywheel Energy LLC in an all-cash deal for about $1.87 billion.As part of the deal, Flywheel will assume $438 million of future contractual liabilities. The transaction is effective July 1 and is expected to close in December.Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru
