OPEC export price falls below $40 for first time since 2009
The average price of crude sold by OPEC fell below $40 a barrel for the first time 2009, underscoring the financial cost of the group’s strategy to defend its market share.
Oil theft soars as downturn casts US roughnecks out of work
The moon was a waning crescent sliver Sept. 9 when a man emerged from an oil tanker, sidled up to a well outside Cotulla, Texas, and siphoned off almost 200 barrels. Then, he drove two hours to a town where he sold his load on the black market for $10 a barrel, about a quarter of what West Texas Intermediate currently fetches.
Oil producers hungry for deals drool over West Texas ‘tiramisu’
The worst oil market in decades would be hard to spot in West Texas, where two-lane county roads are still jammed with trucks and energy companies are on the prowl for deals.
Oil halts drop as response to Paris attacks weighed against glut
Oil halted its decline near the lowest close in more than two months as investors weighed a global supply glut against heightened geopolitical tension after France bombed Syria in response to terrorist attacks in Paris.
As terror episodes increase, so has global market resilience
While nobody can predict how deeply investors will react to attacks that killed scores of people in Paris Friday, the history of terror incidents around the world over the last 15 years shows market reactions are often sharp and, increasingly, short-lived.
French Government vows to push on with Paris climate summit
The French government vowed to push on with the United Nations Climate summit in Paris this month and will boost security for the more than 120 world leaders traveling to a city reeling from a deadly terrorist attack.
VW tags 430,000 new cars with implausible carbon dioxide ratings
Volkswagen AG said 430,000 of its new cars had “implausible” carbon dioxide ratings as it continues talks with regulators in an attempt to address the emissions cheating crisis.
French Exchange plans normal open as Paris awakens from attacks
French stocks will trade without interruption Monday as investors come to terms with attacks that left at least 127 people dead in Europe’s worst terror incident in more than a decade.
Oil rigs touted to debt funds by Norwegian investment banks
Pareto Securities AS is among banks targeting debt funds and private-equity firms to buy oil rigs at firesale prices to hold until demand for offshore-drilling rebounds, according to people familiar with the matter. Norwegian investment banks are sounding out interest in special-purpose investment vehicles that would buy rigs from distressed companies, mothball them and sell them when the market picks up, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private.
Oil price competition to intensify when Iranian crude returns
Oil price competition in Europe is set to intensify when Iranian crude returns to the market after sanctions on its nuclear program are lifted, the International Energy Agency said. Europe will be the battleground between producers of sour crude grades, including Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the Asian market becomes more “crowded,” the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report. Iraq, the second largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has increased its market share in Europe after the imposition of sanctions on Tehran resulted in the collapse of Iranian exports, the IEA said. Iraq sold 1 million barrels a day to Europe in July and August, overtaking Saudi Arabia, according to the IEA.
IEA says record 3 billion-barrel oil stocks may weaken prices
Oil stockpiles have swollen to a record of almost 3 billion barrels because of strong production in OPEC and elsewhere, potentially deepening the rout in prices, according to the International Energy Agency. This “massive cushion has inflated” on record supplies from Iraq, Russia and Saudi Arabia, even as world fuel demand grows at the fastest pace in five years, the agency said. Still, the IEA predicts that supplies outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decline next year by the most since 1992 as low crude prices take their toll on the U.S. shale oil industry.
Petrobras hits the road to find ‘strategic’ buyers in sale drive
Petroleo Brasileiro SA will start a road show next week to talk to investors and find “strategic partners” for its Brazilian operations as part of an effort to reduce the biggest debt load in the oil industry, Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro said Thursday.
Suncor to Canadian oil sands holders: hope ‘not a strategy’
Suncor Energy Inc. wants shareholders of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. to weigh its C$4.7 billion ($3.5 billion) takeover offer closely and reject a strategy that relies on the “hope” of better performance. Suncor appealed directly to Canadian Oil Sands shareholders in a letter Thursday after two offers earlier this year were rejected and last month’s hostile bid was met with a poison-pill defense put up by its management and board. Suncor says it will devote more resources to fixing an oil-sands mining project co- owned by seven companies after it boosts its stake to 49 percent from 12 percent by taking over Canadian Oil Sands, the largest shareholder. The battle over Canadian Oil Sands and its ownership of the bitumen mining operator Syncrude comes as the industry struggles with low oil prices that make most expansions too costly, and even some existing production unprofitable.
Turkey’s Botas said in talks for $2 billion Tanap Gas line loans
Turkish state pipeline company Botas is in talks with the European Investment Bank and the World Bank to borrow more than $2 billion to help finance a pipeline that will carry gas from the Caspian to Turkey and Europe, people with knowledge of the situation said. The company, formally known as Botas Boru Hatlari ile Petrol Tasima AS, is in advanced talks in coordination with Turkey’s Energy Ministry, the four people said, asking not to be named because talks are private.
Oil trades near two-month low as US crude supplies seen rising
Oil traded near the lowest close in more than two months on estimates that U.S. crude stockpiles increased for a seventh week, prolonging the global surplus. Futures fell 0.6 percent in New York Thursday, bringing the decline since Nov. 3 to almost 11 percent. Inventories probably increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, their longest run of gains since April, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Information Administration report. Surplus oil inventories are at the highest level in at least a decade because of increased global production, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil has slumped about 44 percent the past year amid signs a global glut will persist as OPEC continues to pump more than its collective quota. Speeches from Federal Reserve officials including Chair Janet Yellen later Thursday may shed light on the likelihood of a December interest-rate increase, indicating their level of confidence in the economy and, in turn, the outlook for oil consumption.
Apache snub of Anadarko approach puts both explorers in play
Apache Corp.’s rejection of a takeover offer from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. leaves both energy explorers vulnerable to acquisition. Anadarko, the third-largest US natural gas producer, said it withdrew an all-stock offer after Apache refused to engage in substantive talks. Apache, one of the biggest leaseholders in the largest US shale play, slumped 7.3 percent, the most in nearly a year. Anadarko dropped 3.8 percent, wiping out $1.2 billion in market value. For Anadarko, an acquisition of the $20 billion company would have served as a defense from any potential suitors. Major oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., which have a half-trillion dollars in cash and shares to fund takeovers, are seen as likely to approach beaten-down US independent producers.
Repsol posts 62% decline in third quarter earnings
Repsol SA, Spain’s largest oil company, reported a 62 percent decline in third-quarter earnings as lower crude prices countered improved refining performance.
Russia’s oil rivalry with Saudis masks the bigger Iranian threat
Competition is growing in Russia’s biggest oil market. While Saudi Arabia’s encroachment in Europe is getting all the attention, the biggest threat comes from another part of the Middle East -- Iran. The world’s largest oil exporter has started shipping crude to traditional Russian markets like Poland and Sweden, but Saudi supplies to Europe won’t increase by enough to reduce prices, said Texas-based consultant Stratfor. In contrast, a surge in Iranian exports after the lifting of sanctions could erode the value of Russian shipments to the region as soon as next year, according to KBC Advanced Technologies.
Major oil companies have half-trillion dollars to fund takeovers
The world’s six largest publicly traded oil producers have more than a half-trillion dollars in stock and cash to snap up rival explorers. Exxon Mobil Corp. tops the list with a total of $320 billion for potential acquisitions. Chevron is next with $65 billion in cash and its own shares tucked away, followed by BP Plc with $53 billion, according to data from corporate filings compiled by Bloomberg. Merger speculation was running high after Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it withdrew an offer to buy Apache Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Apache rebuffed the unsolicited offer and wouldn’t provide access to internal financial data, Anadarko said. Both companies are now takeover targets, John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund, said by phone.
Anadarko said to have approached Apache with takeover offer
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. approached Apache Corp. about a combination that would be the largest for an independent U.S. oil and gas producer this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
OPEC challenges shale afresh as Iraq crude floods Gulf of Mexico
OPEC’s latest challenge to U.S. shale oil producers would be about two miles long, lined end to end, and weigh almost 3 million metric tons. It’s due to reach American ports this month.
Marathon split beating Exxon return shows breaking up is not so hard to do
Investors who urged U.S. integrated oil companies to spin off their weaker refining arms got it right in an unexpected way.
National Grid starts sales process for UK gas grid stake
National Grid Plc, the operator of UK’s electricity and natural gas networks, started a process for the potential sale of a majority stake in its domestic gas distribution business.
Oil supply outside OPEC to stagnate by 2020 in IEA forecast
Oil supply outside OPEC will cease growing by 2020 as spending cuts that started this year take their toll on the global industry, according to the International Energy Agency.
US gas bears seeing no end to rout send bets to record
It’s going to take more than a 16-cent rally to spook the bears in the U.S. natural gas market. Hedge funds boosted their net-short position in gas contracts by 6.8 percent to a record 166,165 in the week ended Nov. 3, even as prices jumped 7.7 percent, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Long wagers rose for the first time in six weeks. Speculators have raised bearish bets six out of the last seven weeks as gas supplies keep flowing out of U.S. shale formations. Stockpiles swelled to 3.929 trillion cubic feet last week, matching an all-time high. Warmer-than-usual weather will continue to sap demand for the heating fuel through the third week of November, forecasts from Commodity Weather Group LLC show.