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Oil majors rush cuts to hit $60 break-even

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Oil majors rush cuts to hit $60 break-even Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For […]

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Shell Takes $2 Billion Charge to Quit Oil-Sands Project

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc made its second major strategic change in as many months, announcing it will take a $2 billion charge as it shelves an oil-sands project in Alberta after walking away from an Arctic drilling program. Shell is halting work on the 80,000 barrel-a-day Carmon Creek drilling development after deciding the project couldn’t compete in its portfolio, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The charge will be recorded in third-quarter earnings results, which are due to be released Thursday. Energy producers are canceling or delaying projects as a crude price slump forces them to prioritize spending. The company last month abandoned drilling offshore Alaska indefinitely after it failed to find enough oil or gas in the Chukchi Sea. Earlier this year, Shell withdrew an application to develop the Pierre River oil-sands mine in northern Alberta. “We are making changes to Shell’s portfolio mix by […]

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Analysts Forecast 3.7 Million-Barrel Build in Crude Stocks

NEW YORK–U.S. crude-oil stocks are expected to rise in data due Wednesday from the Department of Energy, according to a survey of analysts by The Wall Street Journal. Estimates from 13 analysts surveyed showed that U.S. oil inventories are projected to have increased by 3.7 million barrels, on average, in the week ended Oct. 23. Twelve analysts expect stockpiles to rise, while one expects a fall. Forecasts range from a rise of 6.4 million barrels to a drop of 3 million barrels. The closely watched survey from the Energy Information Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Gasoline stockpiles are expected to fall by 900,000 barrels, according to analysts. Ten analysts expect a decline, with two expecting a rise and another seeing no change. Estimates range from a rise of 1 million barrels to a drop of 2 million barrels. Stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and […]

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Occidental Posts Loss as Oil’s Slide Bring Sales, Writedowns

Occidental Petroleum Corp. reported a third-quarter loss on sliding crude prices, a slump in production tied to the spin off of the company’s California business, and writedowns of the value of oil and natural gas fields. The company lost $2.61 billion, or $3.42 a share, compared with net income of $1.21 billion, or $1.55, a year earlier, Houston-based Occidental said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding some one-time items, the per-share gain was 3 cents above expectation. Estimates had ranged from a 15-cent loss to a 14-cent gain among the 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Occidental’s crude and natural gas output fell after the company cleaved off its West Coast holdings into a separate company in late 2014. A glut of North American supply has deflated the benchmark U.S. oil price by 52 percent to an average of $46.50 a barrel during the quarter from $97.25 a year earlier. The […]

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Shale-rich Oklahoma expecting budget squeeze

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin calls for cuts in non-essential spending as state coffers see dwindling revenue from oil and natural gas. File photo by J.P. Wilson/UPI OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 27 (UPI) — The governor of emerging oil and gas state Oklahoma signed an executive order calling for preparations for what’s expected to be a challenging budget year. Gov. Mary Fallin signed an executive order calling on all state agencies, boards and commissions to outline plans to cut non-essential expenses by 10 percent for the rest of the fiscal year and for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2016. "I’m asking every agency to start planning for potential spending cuts, and to develop a strategy that protects essential services," Fallin said in a statement. "It’s important we get ahead of this issue as we enter a difficult budget year." In a September report, State Treasurer Ken Miller said […]

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Weak oil market not yet caught up with Texas

Data from Texas show state oil production in August increased despite weak market. File photo by ekina/Shutterstock AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 27 (UPI) — A preliminary estimate of the total crude oil production from Texas, the No. 1 oil producer in the nation, shows output remains resilient, state data show. The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s energy regulator, reports a preliminary estimate of crude oil production in August , the last full month for which data are available, was about 2.41 million barrels per day. That’s an increase of nearly 8 percent year-on-year. Crude oil prices started falling steadily in mid-2014 when markets moved toward the supply side because of the glut of oil coming from U.S. shale basins and weak global economic growth. China’s economy, once growing at a double-digit pace, is slowing down and other major economies, like the United States and Europe, are growing, but at […]

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Royal Dutch Shell to Abandon Carmen Creek Oil-Sands Project

CALGARY, Alberta— Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A -1.70 % PLC said Tuesday it would abandon the construction of a major oil-sands project in Western Canada and take a $2 billion write-down, a stark reflection of the challenging economics for unconventional oil projects amid a sharp slump in crude prices. The energy giant said it would discontinue its 80,000 barrel-a-day Carmen Creek oil-sands project, citing an uncertain business environment and highlighting concerns about sufficient pipeline capacity to ship oil-sands crude to markets. Several proposed pipeline projects connecting northern Alberta’s oil sands to refiners in the U.S. and elsewhere have been delayed by regulatory issues, including the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast. “We are making changes to Shell’s portfolio mix by reviewing our longer-term upstream options world-wide, and managing affordability and exposure in the current world of lower oil prices. This is forcing tough choices at Shell,” Ben van […]

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Shell takes $2bn charge on Canada oil sands project

Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no no For 4 weeks receive unlimited digital access to the […]

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Diesel prices pressured by poor demand, high stocks

Vehicles are seen in queues as drivers wait to fill their tanks at a Sinopec gas station before the fuel price hike, in Zhengzhou, Henan province February 9, 2015. Reported stocks of crude and refined fuels continue to climb in the United States, pressuring on oil prices, but the stock build is concentrated in specific parts of the complex. Most of the stock build has occurred in crude petroleum and the middle distillates used for road diesel and home heating oil, while gasoline stocks have remained relatively normal. The result has been a marked weakening of diesel prices relative to gasoline since the second quarter of the year which has spread from the United States to Europe. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the total volume of crude petroleum and refined products being stored in the United States hit a record 2 billion barrels this month. The […]

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Has oil-rich North Dakota passed downturn?

Data from North Dakota show exploration and production activity in the shale-rich state may be stabilizing. UPI/Gary C. Caskey BISMARCK, N.D., Oct. 26 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and gas in North Dakota held steady for the third straight week, state data show. The North Dakota Industrial Commission reports 68 rigs in service as of Monday , unchanged for the last three weeks. Rig counts serve as a barometer for the health of an energy sector burdened by depressed crude oil prices, down roughly 45 percent from this time last year. The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil prices, of $44.60 per barrel is down about 8 percent from the start of October. Year-on-year, the number of rigs in service in North Dakota, the No. 2 oil producer in the nation, is down 65 percent. In terms […]

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