Total Trims Loss, To Further Cut Capital Spending
French oil giant Total SA reported a $1.63 billion fourth-quarter loss on Thursday and said it would cut billions more in spending, rocked by low oil prices that forced it Continue Reading
Total signs agreement with Iran
French energy company Total said it signed a framework agreement to purchase crude oil from Iran during the Iranian president’s trade visit to Paris. Total Chairman Patrick Pouyanne met with Continue Reading
France bows to Obama and backs down on climate ‘treaty’
France has offered a key concession to the US on the eve of historic climate talks in Paris, saying a new global climate accord will not be called a “treaty” Continue Reading
France secures more LNG from United States
French energy company ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez, signs purchase agreement to secure liquefied natural gas from export terminals in the United States. File photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI PARIS, Oct. 28 (UPI) — French energy company ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez , said it signed a deal to secure liquefied natural gas from proposed export facilities in the United States. "ENGIE is committed to guarantee the supply of its European customers with clean and reliable energy," Pierre Chareyre, the company’s executive vice president in charge of LNG, said in a statement. "Importing U.S. LNG will participate to strengthen the security of supply of Europe." ENGIE said it signed a five-year sales and purchase agreement with Cheniere Marketing International to secure LNG from the planned Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi export terminals in the United States . A special permit is needed to send natural gas to companies without a U.S. free […]
French day-ahead power prices up on lower nuclear output, higher demand
French day-ahead power prices climbed Wednesday as nuclear generation fell and domestic demand was forecast to rise during peak times Thursday, sources said. Baseload power for Thursday delivery was last heard before midday local time at Eur50/MWh, up Eur2.75 from Tuesday’s close of Wednesday baseload. Thursday peakload gained Eur2.50 day on day at Eur57.50/MWh. Epex Spot settled the auction for day-ahead baseload above the OTC at Eur50.71/MWh and for peakload power at Eur58.87/MWh. Article continues below… European Power Daily’s uniquely comprehensive package of news and pricing information, provides you with daily updates on new policies, projects, power deals, acquisitions, solicitations, alliances, regulatory decisions and evolving trading markets in Europe. It also produces market assessments from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic. Temperatures Wednesday were forecast 2 degrees Celsius above the seasonal high/low of 14/7 C and seen steady Thursday, according to CustomWeather. […]
Total CEO sees very strong global oil demand in 2015
Total’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne attends a panel at the MEDEF union summer forum on the campus of the HEC School of Management in Jouy-en-Josas, near Paris, France, August 27, 2015. Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said he saw global oil demand growing by a very strong 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) or even more this year. "World oil demand is expected to grow 1.7 million bpd in 2015. My traders told me more than that," he told the Oil & Money conference in London on Wednesday. (Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov, editing by Louise Heavens)
U.S. FERC alleges Total manipulated natgas market in 2009-2012
People walk past the entrance of French oil giant Total headquarters in the financial and business district of la Defense in Courbevoie near Paris October 21, 2014. U.S. federal energy regulators on Tuesday alleged traders at French energy company Total SA manipulated the natural gas market in the southwest United States between June 2009 and June 2012. The staff alleged the scheme involved making "largely uneconomic trades for physical natural gas during bidweek designed to move indexed market prices in a way that benefited the company’s related positions." This is the latest case in which FERC has alleged manipulation of the power or natural gas markets using loss leader trading – in this case physical trades – to benefit a position in a benchmark or other financial index. In recent years, FERC has alleged violations of similar types of trading manipulation by JPMorgan Chase & Co, which paid $285 […]
Energy Regulator Alleges Total Manipulated U.S. Natural Gas Market
American regulators have accused French oil company Total SA of manipulating the price of natural gas in the U.S. southwest, the latest move in a widening crackdown on energy-market machinations. From 2009 to 2012, the French company’s Houston-based subsidiary made money-losing gas purchases intended to move prices in a way that helped it make money on other trading positions on at least 38 occasions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said. According to the regulators, the alleged scheme was conducted by traders on the Total Gas & Power North America West Desk, led by supervisors Therese Nguyen and Aaron Hall. FERC didn’t reveal how much money it believed Total made from the trades, or whether consumer bills were affected. The French oil company issued a written denial, saying it was convinced that no Total employee “committed any of the FERC’s allegations.” Total said it is “fully cooperating with the U.S. […]
Total Cuts Oil Output Target as Low Prices Expected to Persist
Total SA, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, scaled back its production target for 2017 as it announced a further round of investment cuts and project delays to protect its dividend. Total expects to produce 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, compared with a previous forecast of 2.8 million barrels a day, the company said Wednesday before holding an investor day in London. The measures are a sign that oil majors are extending their belt-tightening into next year and 2017 after companies from Chevron Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced large spending cuts for 2015. "We are preparing the group to face low oil prices for a long time," Total Chief Financial Officer Patrick de La Chevardiere told reporters in London. Total said the new measures will allow it to fund dividends by 2017 from the cash it generates pumping, refining and selling oil, without the need to […]
Bourbon to Idle Oil-Service Vessels as Losses Widen With Rout
Bourbon SA, a French supplier of ships and crew to oil and natural gas producers, is pulling as many as 35 vessels from operation in the second half of the year as overcapacity in the deepwater market leads to widening losses. “The drop in the oil price and the uncertainty of the price recovery will continue to affect the development of new deepwater fields and the level of activity in shallow-water fields,” the Paris-based company said in a statement Wednesday. Bourbon is the latest oil-services company to warn that the crash in crude prices will hurt business this year as customers delay or cancel exploration and development projects. Seadrill Ltd., the rig-operator controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen, said last week it expects the rout to force an industry consolidation that will leave only the largest offshore players intact. Bourbon’s first-half net loss widened fourfold to 19.2 million euros ($21.5 […]