Repsol is said to be finalising a four billion euro bid for Talisman Energy. Earlier this week it was revealed the Spanish company had revived talks in a bid to bolster its presence in North America. Talisman said in a statement it has been approached by a number of parties including Repsol about “various transactions". The company said it would not be commenting until any potential transaction had been confirmed.
More than £90 billion has been wiped from the value of blue-chip shares this week after the FTSE 100 Index sustained more heavy losses today. The 5% slide since Monday reflects a new five-year low for the price of Brent crude and heightened worries over the outlook for the global economy, particularly after more disappointing economic figures from China. With the FTSE 100 down by more than 1% today, London’s benchmark index is on track to suffer its worst weekly drop in more than two years. It is at its lowest level since the end of October.
Shares and bonds in Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco) have been suspended after a request by the company. Company stocks had plunged to a near record low last month after writedowns on two of its oil fields exceeded earlier estimates.
Motorists have received an early Christmas present in the form of yet more fuel cuts by supermarkets. Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all announced they were reducing the price of their petrol by 2p a litre and also knocking 1p a litre off their diesel. The Tesco cut takes effect from lunchtime today, while the other three big supermarkets will introduce the lower prices from tomorrow.
The FTSE 100 Index extended its losses for the week to more than 5% today after heavyweight energy stocks were hit by a fresh fall in the price of oil. Tullow Oil and oilfield services firm Petrofac slid by as much as 4%, while BP and Royal Dutch Shell were down by around 2% after Brent crude set a new five-and-a-half year low of 63 US dollars a barrel. The FTSE 100 Index was 84.2 points lower at 6377.7, a drop of 1.3% and meaning the blue-chip index has lost more than 350 points since Monday.
Statoil will resume its use of the Songa Trym rig next year after a temporary suspension. The company had issued a postponement period for a number of contracts due to higher costs and low profitability. The Songa Trym is now expected to resume operations in January.
Oil extended losses below $60 a barrel amid speculation that OPEC’s biggest members will defend market share against US shale producers. Brent also slid after closing at the lowest price since July 2009. West Texas Intermediate futures fell as much as 1.9% in New York and are down 10% this week.
Iraq said its decision to deepen the discount for January sales of its main crude to Asia provides no support for claims that producers are waging a price war. Pricing for next month’s shipments of the Basrah Light grade to Asia is “based on the market structure for both oil products and crude oil,” Iraq’s Oil Marketing Co. said. “The widened contango in crude oil prices in Asia was the major reason behind the cut.”
The ruble has continued to slide even after Russia’s Central Bank sought to ease the selling pressure on the currency following the drop in oil prices by raising interest rates again. The Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a percentage point to 10.5%, citing an increasing rise in consumer prices and “significant inflation risks”. The bank said inflation is expected to hit 10% for 2014 and rise further in the first quarter of 2015.
Energy stocks have received some respite after their battering yesterday in the wake of the latest slide in the price of oil. Brent crude held firm at just over 64 US dollars a barrel, having fallen sharply on Wednesday when a monthly report by industry cartel Opec said demand next year was expected to fall to its lowest level in a decade. The FTSE 100 Index, which opened the week at 6742, dipped below 6500 at one stage before recovering by 10.8 points to 6510.7 amid lacklustre trading.
Wood Group has bought over a construction and fabrication services company in the US for $36.3million. The company has acquired Swaggart Brothers which employs 200 staff in locations across America. It covers a number of oil and gas activities in shale basins including the Permian, Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Bakken.
Australian energy company Santos has cut its capital expenditure for 2015 by 25%. The company said there will be a drop in spending from $2.7billion to $2billion. However managing director, David Knox, has insisted the company’s financial position remains strong.
Wood Group PSN has been awarded a five year contract from BP worth an estimated $750million. The contract will deliver engineering, procurement and construction services to six UKCS offshore upstream assets and the FPS (Forties Pipeline System) onshore midstream facilities in Grangemouth. The contract win will create 150 new jobs and secure more than 700 existing positions.
Investing in new plant has paid off for Saltire Energy after the oil drilling equipment rental firm posted a 10% rise in revenues. Accounts filed at Companies House showed that the Portlethen-based company turned over £36.3million in the year to 30 June, up from just under £33million in the previous 12 months. Pre-tax profits edged up by 3% to £17.7million after a rise in the costs of distribution and sales, including the investment in new rental gear. Writing in the directors’ report, chief executive Mike Loggie said: “The group’s rentals have continued to show considerable growth.
Turnover at Enermech broke through the £200-million barrier for the first time last year and is on course to hit £260million this year after the mechanical engineering group unveiled a further six crane contracts together worth more than £34million. Figures published yesterday showed that revenues grew by 40% during 2013 to reach £202.5m. International expansion reined in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), which climbed by a more-modest 21% to hit £14.2m.
Marine-technology company Nautronix more than doubled its profits last year following a number of contracts wins and the launch of new technologies. The Dyce-based firm said sales of its new £1million NASDive diving communication system grew 53% in the first year of its launch. The company said it expects the technology, which is so advanced that divers can Skype call their family from beneath the ocean, will be bought by firms replacing their older diver communications systems as well as new customers.
A fresh slide in the price of oil piled more pressure on investors today after £36 billion was wiped from blue-chip shares in the previous session. Brent crude stood at just over 64 US dollars a barrel - a drop of more than 40% on earlier in the year - after a monthly report by industry cartel Opec said demand next year was expected to fall to its lowest level in a decade. The FTSE 100 Index, which slid 2% on Tuesday, had been in positive territory for much of the session but the oil slump meant the top flight finished 29.4 points lower at 6500 - its lowest level since the start of last month.
Britain’s trade deficit narrowed by more than expected in October after the falling price of oil helped to trigger a drop in the value of imports. The deficit in goods and services narrowed to a seven-month low of £2 billion from £2.8 billion in September and better than City forecasts for £2.4 billion. The improvement in the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was largely driven by a fall in the value of oil imports following the recent drop in the price of Brent crude to well below 100 US dollars a barrel.
Brent crude oil fell to another 5-year low near $65 a barrel in volatile trade yesterday, sliding for a sixth consecutive session on signs of a growing supply glut. Prices briefly reversed losses to trade higher ahead of the US open, with some investors betting the 40%-plus price slide since June was overdone. But as US equity markets opened lower oil prices quickly came off again, with traders refocusing on how fast-growing US shale output has hurt the ability of Opec to manage supply.
Oil major BP said it expects to incur restructuring charges of $1billion over the next five quarters. The company will present its future strategy to investors in London following an announcement earlier this week that job cuts would be made. Chief executive of BP Upstream, Lamar McKay, and a senior members of the management team are set to outline its changing position on the back of falling oil prices.
As oil prices keep falling, BP is among Norwegian oil producers having to take a hard look at whether to kill off aging offshore fields earlier than planned because squeezing out the last barrels might not be worth it. BP is currently deciding on plans for the five fields it operates in Norway in a study to be completed in the first half, said Jan Erik Geirmo, a Stavanger-based spokesman. “Falling oil prices, lower production and more demanding operations, in addition to significant costs for shutting down and removing old installations and platforms, are continuous challenges that may have an impact on the lifetime of some of our fields,” Geirmo said in an e-mailed reply to questions. What goes for BP also goes for an industry hit by squeezed margins even as the government demands it meet commitments to keep investing to ensure resources are exploited in full.
BP shares were down 2% as investors reacted to the company's failure to win a US Supreme Court battle over oil spill compensation claims. The price of Brent crude fell to $66 a barrel due to oversupply fears.
Total has entered into an agreement for the sale of its remaining stake in GTT (Gaztransport and Technigaz) to Temasek. The sale, which was netted the French company more than $650million, follows an initial transaction in February this year. The company said it initially reduced its shareholding from 30% to 10.4%.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate fell to a five-year low as Iraq followed Saudi Arabia in cutting prices for crude sales to Asia, adding to signs that OPEC’s biggest members are defending market share. Futures dropped as much as 1.3%t in London to the weakest intraday price since September 2009. Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, reduced its Basrah Light crude to the lowest in at least 11 years, a price list for January showed.
Oil prices will stay at about $65 a barrel for at least half a year until OPEC changes its collective production or world economic growth revives, said the head of state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Oil is trading in a bear market as the US pumps at the fastest rate in more than three decades and global demand expands more slowly. OPEC decided on November 27 to maintain its output target, prompting a drop in European benchmark Brent crude to less than $70 a barrel for the first time since May 2010. “I think oil prices will stay around the current level of $65 for six or seven months until OPEC changes its production policy, or recovery in world economic growth become more clear, or a geopolitical tension arises,” Nizar Al-Adsani, KPC’s chief executive officer, said at a conference in Kuwait City.