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Rosneft First-Quarter Profit Falls 35% After Oil Prices Drop

OAO Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, said first-quarter profit fell 35 percent, hurt by last year’s decline in crude prices. Net income dropped to 56 billion rubles ($1 billion) from 86 billion rubles a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said in a statement on its website. That topped the 36.5 billion-ruble average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The state-owned company has sought to cut costs while keeping output as it repays debt from the $55 billion 2013 acquisition of Russia’s third-largest oil producer, TNK-BP. U.S. and European sanctions in response to Russia’s support for separatists in Ukraine have complicated Rosneft’s task by curbing its access to debt and equipment. The difficulty compounded by a more than 50 percent slump in the average oil price in the first three months of 2015 compared with the year-earlier period, Rosneft said. Free cash flow, adjusted for supply prepayments, fell to […]

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Gazprom: New lines for Nord Stream by 2019

Russian energy company Gazprom said an expanded Nord Stream gas network through the Baltic Sea may be in service by the end of 2019. Photo by Igor Golovniov/UPI MOSCOW, June 26 (UPI) — New corridors along the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea to European markets should be in service by 2019, Russia’s Gazprom said. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said new lines along what he said was the shortest link between northern Russia and the European market are less than five years off . "The successful track record on the Baltic Sea will help us to optimize construction costs and timeframe," he said Friday. "Both lines of the Nord Stream-2 will be commissioned by 2019 year-end." The first leg of the pipeline system went into service in 2011. British energy company BP a year after the pipeline went into service said it was considering […]

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Wrench appears in British shale gears

Traffic concerns cause delays for fledgling shale campaign by pioneering company, Cuadrilla Resources. File photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI PRESTON, England, June 26 (UPI) — A British shale pioneer said it was "disappointed but not surprised" a local council denied its permit to explore for oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing. Lancashire County council members voted to refuse a permit to Cuadrilla Resources to use hydraulic fracturing in the Roseacre Wood site in the region. The members said the work would have "an unacceptable and potentially severe impact" on road infrastructure and traffic itself. Cuadrilla in a statement said it was committed to exploring the area safely, noting it was considering an appeal to the council’s decision. "We are disappointed but not surprised that Lancashire County Council’s development control committee has denied planning consent for our application at Roseacre Wood," the company said. The company said its proposal included […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Are We Headed For Global Warming Collapse?

Collapse Post 2 Collapse Post 11 Collapse Post 3 Collapse Post 4 Collapse Post 24 The above is an artist creation of what the pockmarks look like on the seafloor. Collapse Post 18 Collapse Post 20 Collapse Post 25 Collapse Post 21 Collapse Post 26 In an attempt to get an idea of any impact renewables are having on fuel consumption and carbon emissions in my neck of the woods, I have been trying to come up with figures for installed capacity of wind generation and solar. The utility has a virtual monopoly on hydro and there is a web page at the relevant ministry (department for all you yanks) that, has the data for hydro and fossil fuels. There is no data for wind, solar, biomass or any other non-hydro renewables. After being tired of the paucity of information on the total installed capacity of solar PV for […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Rangebound; Greek Talks, Iran Nuclear Deal Eyed

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures were rangebound in Asian trade Friday as the oil markets continue to lack direction and investors keep an eye on Greek’s bailout talks and the deadline for Iran’s nuclear deal next week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $59.64 a barrel at 0336 GMT, down $0.06 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.19 to $63.39 a barrel. European finance ministers have pushed talks over a Greek bailout deal to this weekend, after failure to reach an agreement this week, with Athens just days away from defaulting on a loan payment. Meanwhile, in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has taken a harder line over his country’s nuclear program this week, putting at risk negotiations for a final agreement ahead of the June 30 deadline. A final […]

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Oil prices mixed, all eyes on Greece

SINGAPORE Brent edged up on Friday while U.S. crude eased, but both were stuck in tight ranges as investors focused on talks aimed at averting a Greek debt default. Brent crude for August delivery was up 21 cents at $63.41 a barrel by 0646 GMT (0246 EDT) after ending the previous session down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent. U.S. crude for delivery in August fell 7 cents to $59.63 a barrel after finishing Thursday down 57 cents, or almost 1 percent. "Traders and investors are very much on tenterhooks on the outcome," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney, following another failed round of talks to finalize a cash-for-reform pact for Greece. Euro zone finance ministers are due to meet on Saturday in a last-ditch attempt to clinch a deal with Greece to avoid a debt default by Athens and possibly a Greek exit from […]

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Crude down again on oil products weakness; Greece, Iran eyed

NEW YORK Crude oil fell for a second straight day on Thursday, weighed by weaker U.S. refined fuels markets and potential negative impact from Greece’s debt crisis on European energy demand. Worries of a possible glut emerging in U.S. gasoline and diesel supply after large builds in both last week added to concerns that millions of barrels of Nigerian crude were floating around the Atlantic Basin looking for buyers. [EIA/S] Brent crude settled down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $63.20 a barrel. U.S. crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI, fell 57 cents, or almost 1 percent, to end at $59.70. "It feels like the bulls have thrown in the towel in their pursuit of pushing WTI up to $65," said Scott Shelton, broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina. U.S. crude has been trapped between $59 and $61 over the past two weeks while Brent […]

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NYMEX July gas settles at $2.850/MMBtu, up 9.1 cents

The NYMEX July natural gas futures contract jumped 9.1 cents Thursday to settle at $2.850/MMBtu as traders reacted to the US Energy Information Administration’s weekly gas storage report that showed injections slightly below expectations. The prospect of above-average temperatures across both coasts put additional upward pressure on the market. The EIA reported an injection of 75 Bcf for the week ended June 19. With the latest injection, total US gas in storage now stands at 2.508 Tcf, bringing the surplus from the year-ago level to 695 Bcf from 703 Bcf. The surplus to the five-year level fell to 35 Bcf from 46 Bcf. A consensus of analysts surveyed by Platts expected an injection between 76 Bcf and 80 Bcf. The National Weather Service, in its latest eight- to 14-day outlook, calls for an elevated probability of above-average temperatures across both the US East and West coasts, with the highest […]

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Natural Gas Hits One-Week High as Oversupply Evaporates

By Timothy Puko Natural gas made steady gains Thursday on signs of a rare reprieve from chronic oversupply. Gas prices have been resilient all month, defying a near-record number of bets that money managers placed against them in recent weeks. A hot spell spread across the country raised demand for gas-fired power just as production cuts and pipeline outages started to choke back supply. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday storage levels grew by 75 billion cubic feet, 13% below the five-year average, in the week ended June 19. It is the smallest storage addition in more than two months, and suggests the market has come back into balance after a long period of booming supply repeatedly outpacing demand. Prices for the front-month July contract settled up 9.1 cents, or 3.3%, to $2.85 a million British thermal unit on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains put gas […]

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Big oil options trades revive speculation about producer hedging

NEW YORK Two big trades in oil options worth nearly $60 million last week boosted volatility in that market and revived speculation among traders that U.S. producers are placing hedges to guard against another price rout this fall. Hedging for future production now is prudent, some said, as trading ahead looks to remain rangebound. However, dealers said bearish fears have been revived because supply is due to swell when refineries start fall maintenance just as a slug of imports is due to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. The two sizeable puts, equivalent to almost 1 million barrels of crude, expire in November next year and give the holder the right to sell at $53 per barrel if prices drop lower than that, according to data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (DTCC). The identity of the buyers was not known. Traders and bankers said the deals bore the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple