Equinor Sells Eagle Ford Asset for $325 Mln
Norwegan energy company Equinor said it has signed an agreement to divest to Repsol its 63% interest in, and operatorship of, its onshore business in the Eagle Ford in the US state of Texas.The transaction is effective October 1, 2019, and covers all of Equinor’s interests in the Eagle Ford Joint Venture with Repsol, covering 69 000 net acres. Following this transaction Repsol will have a 100% interest in the asset.The total consideration is $325 million.“This transaction supports Equinor’s strategy to optimise our onshore US portfolio, enhancing our financial flexibility and focusing our capital on our core activities in the country…
Shell Sells $1.3 Billion of Oil and Gas Assets
Royal Dutch Shell announced the sale on Wednesday of oil and gas assets in Norway and Malaysia for over $1.3 billion, bringing it closer to a target of $30 billion in disposals by year-end.The Anglo-Dutch company agreed to sell to OKEA, a Norwegian producer backed by private equity firm Seacrest Capital, its 45 percent interest in the Draugen Norwegian offshore field and a 12 percent in the Gjoa block for a total of $566 million, the two companies said.Earlier, Shell announced the completion of the sale of a 15 percent stake in Malaysia LNG (MLNG) Tiga to the Sarawak State Financial Secretary for $750 million.Shell committed to the ambitious three-year sale plan following
Ecopetrol, Talisman Energy to Open 19 New Wells at Colombian Oilfield
Colombia's state-run oil company Ecopetrol said on Wednesday it will start drilling 19 new oil wells at the Akacias oil field at the end of this month, in partnership with Repsol SA's Talisman Energy.The new wells will join nine which are already operating at the field, in Acacias municipality in central Meta province, the company said in a statement. The nine wells produce an average of 6,300 barrels per day.Ecopetrol plans to invest between $3.5 billion and $4 billion this year as it reboots production and exploration after being battered…
New Player Enters the Decommissioning Market
A new entrant to North Sea decommissioning, Well-Safe Solutions was established by a group of oil industry stalwarts Alasdair Locke, Mark Patterson and Paul Warwick, setting out to provide a new approach to the safe and cost-efficient decommissioning of subsea wells. The new start company, which aims to attract £200 million ($260 million) in investment and create 400 new jobs, will offer a specialist well abandonment service. Well-Safe has secured funding from Scottish Enterprise, including investment from the Scottish Investment Bank and a regional selective assistance grant…
SBM Offshore, Repsol Get $247 Mln in Yme Insurance Settlement
Dutch oil industry services group SBM Offshore and Spanish energy firm Repsol will share an insurance payment of $247 million, less legal costs, related to a troubled Norwegian offshore project, SBM said on Monday. SBM said it had reached an agreement in principle with nearly three quarters of the insurers who provided $500 million of primary cover for the Yme project with a final agreement expected to be wrapped up in the coming weeks. SBM will receive a cash payment of around $247 million in full and final settlement with these insurers.
OPOL Announces Executive Team Appointments
The body responsible for the offshore oil and gas industry’s voluntary pollution compensation scheme has announced two appointments to its executive team. The Offshore Pollution Liability Association Limited (OPOL) has appointed a new managing director, Jacquelynn Craw, with effect from December 1. OPOL also confirmed the reappointment of its current chairman, Colin Wannell, with effect from January 1, 2017. Craw succeeds Niall Scott as managing director, who has held the post since 2011. Scott will step down at the end of December after completing his handover.
Lundin Petroleum CEO to be Questioned on Sudan Allegations
Swedish prosecutors will question the CEO and chairman of Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum about possible crimes against international humanitarian law in Sudan, a company spokesman said on Friday. In 2010, prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into Lundin Petroleum's activities in the country after a report by the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) said the company was possibly complicit in human rights abuses between 1997 and 2003. "Personally, I am convinced the investigation will not lead to prosecution," Lundin Petroleum chairman Ian Lundin told the daily newspaper Dagens Industri on Friday.
Sinopec Serves $5.5 bln Arbitration Notice to Repsol
China's Sinopec and its subsidiary Addax Petroleum UK Limited have served an arbitration notice to Talisman Energy Inc and Talisman Colombia, both owned by Spanish oil major Repsol, demanding pay back of its 2012 investment in Addax and Talisman joint venture TSEUK, Repsol said in a statement on Friday. The total value of the demand is around $5.5 billion, Repsol said. Reporting By Sonya Dowsett
BP Exploration Boss Leaves in Reorganization
BP's head of exploration Richard Herbert is leaving the British oil major after slightly more than two years in the job, a period in which the company slashed spending on the search for new deposits. Herbert, a BP veteran and a long-time ally of Chief Executive Bob Dudley, rejoined BP in October 2013 after several years at rival Talisman Energy. His task was to lead exploration activity to help the firm rebuild investor confidence following a deadly U.S Gulf oil spill in 2010. But as oil prices began to crash from mid-2014 and BP had to shed assets to pay off some $50 billion in U.S.
Noble Energy Buying Rosetta Resources
Oil and natural gas producer Noble Energy Inc said it would acquire Rosetta Resources Inc for about $2 billion in stock, highlighting a consolidation being driven by a steep fall in global oil prices. The deal will give Noble entry into the Eagle Ford Shale field and the oil and gas region of Permian Basin in Texas. Rosetta shareholders will receive 0.542 Noble Energy shares for each share held, or $26.62 per share, based on Noble's closing price of $49.12 on Friday. The offer represents a 38 percent premium to Rosetta's Friday close of $19.33. The shares had lost nearly two-thirds of their value since June.
Repsol Q1 Profit Up, Underlying Trend Disappoints
Exploration and production books 190 million euros loss; refining up but not enough to offset cheap oil effect. Repsol shares fell 3 percent on Thursday, despite a 74 percent rise in adjusted clean net profit for the first quarter, as the oil group's operating performance undershot analysts' expectations. Low energy prices, stalling production in Libya, currency adjustments in Brazil and higher exploration costs more than offset the positive impact of rising refining margins in Spain and encouraged investors to take profits after months when Repsol has outperformed the sector.
Conoco to Cut 7% of Canadian Workforce
Oil company ConocoPhillips plans to cut about 7 percent of its workforce in Canada, or about 200 employees, as tumbling oil prices have made its operations in the country less profitable. The company, which operates conventional and oil sands operations in Canada, told Reuters on Wednesday the cuts came as oil prices continue to weaken after falling more than 60 percent since June. "The challenging economic environment has required us to make some difficult decisions," Andrea Urbanek, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email. ConocoPhillips shares were up 4 cents in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $62.05.
Talisman Energy to Cut up to 15% of Head Office Jobs
Talisman Energy Inc, the Canadian oil and gas company being acquired Spain's Repsol SA, plans to cut as much as 15 percent of staff at its Calgary head office as a result of collapsing crude oil prices, a company spokesman said. Around 150 to 200 employees and contractors will be laid off, Talisman spokesman Brent Anderson said, and employees will be notified beginning this week. Other Canadian producers that have already announced job cuts include CNOOC-owned Nexen Energy, Suncor Energy Inc and Royal Dutch Shell. "With low oil prices we have reduced our 2015 capital spending plans and with that reduced activity comes the requirement to make (job) reductions…
Talisman Shareholders Approve Repsol's $8.3b Offer
Talisman Energy Inc common shareholders on Wednesday voted to approve an $8.3 billion offer for the Canadian oil and gas producer from Repsol SA, clearing the way for the Spanish company to acquire Talisman's worldwide operations. Talisman shareholders voted 99.9 percent in favor of Repsol's Dec. 16 offer to pay $8 per share for the company, a 56 percent premium to the day-prior closing price for the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Repsol will also assume Talisman's $4.7 billion long-term debt. The acquisition, expected to close by midyear, still requires regulatory approval. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
Total E&P, Talisman to Open Technology Showcase
Oil and gas industry figures will give views on the growing importance of technology in helping the sector tackle cost and efficiency challenges in a difficult business environment at the Technology Showcase in Aberdeen on March 4. The conference, organized by the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) in partnership with Oil & Gas UK, will take place at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and aims to highlight the emerging technologies needed to improve production efficiency and curb rising operating costs in the UK Continental Shelf. The exhibition will showcase latest innovations from companies, universities and technology institutes across the UK.
Husky Energy Swings to Loss, Cuts 2015 CapEx
Husky Energy Inc, Canada's No.3 integrated oil company, swung to a quarterly loss and cut its capital budget for the second time in three months as oil trades at five-year lows. The company, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, said it expects to spend C$3 billion to C$3.1 billion ($2.47 billion) in 2015. The company cut its budget by a third to C$3.4 billion in December. Husky joins Cenovus Energy Inc, MEG Energy Corp and other Canadian oil producers, who have lowered capital investments due to a 50 percent drop in global prices since June.
Buyers Bide Their Time in $110 bln Oil Asset Sell-Off
With more than $110 billion of oil and gas assets on the block as companies big and small count the cost of the collapse in oil prices, it is now a question of who will blink first to set the M&A scramble in motion. Energy groups with spare cash, venture capital funds and multinational and state oil companies are eyeing assets with valuations that have largely tracked the halving of the oil price to less than $50 a barrel since last June. But with the exception of a few recent moves, including Repsol's $3 billion acquisition of Talisman Energy , buyers have largely stayed on the sidelines.
Talisman Sinopec Energy UK to Cut 300 Jobs
North Sea oil and gas field operator Talisman Sinopec Energy UK said it would cut 300 jobs due to falling production levels and rising operating costs hurt by low oil prices. The company said the number represented a split between 100 employees and 200 contractor positions. The company also introduced immediate reductions in contractor rates. Talisman Sinopec Energy UK is a joint venture between Canada's Talisman Energy Inc and Addax Petroleum UK Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group). The company has a total workforce of 3,000. (Reporting by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru, editing by David Evans)
Oil Price Bloodbath will Fuel Sector M&A Activity
Cash-rich majors the most likely buyers; M&A flurry expected once oil prices stabilize. Large oil companies flush with cash are expected to seize on the recent collapse in oil prices to begin a shopping spree for smaller rivals, focusing on oil producers and explorers in Africa, Asia and the United States. With benchmark Brent crude prices nearly halving over the past six months to $60 a barrel, energy companies have also seen their share prices tumble and are already adjusting the value of their assets and cutting budgets. Repsol's move this week to buy Talisman Energy…
TSX Boosted by Repsol Purchase of Talisman
Canada's main stock index jumped on Tuesday, with Talisman Energy Inc surging 46 percent after Spanish oil major Repsol agreed to buy the independent producer for $13 billion. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.61 points, or 1.26 percent, at 13,877.75 in mid-morning trading. "People are recognising that there is a difference between stock prices and business value," said Barry Schwartz, a portfolio manager at Baskin Financial Services. A near halving in the global oil price since June has lowered price tags on producers like Talisman. Repsol has long been searching for oil and gas assets in North America and elsewhere.
