Baker Hughes reports that US oil and gas drillers have added rigs to their fleet for the third time in just four weeks.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that U.S. energy companies added oil and gas rigs this week for the third consecutive time in just four weeks. The number of oil and gas rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending November 7 to 548. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs the total count is still 37 rigs or 6% lower than this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs remained at 414 in this week's report, while gas-rigs increased by three to 128 - their highest level since August 2023. The number of miscellaneous drilling rigs decreased by one, to six.
UK stock prices set to drop by a week's end as earnings-driven losses weigh
UK stocks fell on Friday with IAG as the main drag. They were also set to record losses for a week that was packed with earnings, as well as a Bank of England rate decision. As of 1125 GMT the blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.8%, while midcaps lost 0.5%. IAG, the British Airways-owned company that owns travel and leisure stocks, fell 8.4%. Rightmove, Britain's largest property portal, warned that profit growth would be slower next year. The real estate industry as a whole lost 1.20%. Heavyweight banks shed 0.7%. HSBC, Barclays and other heavyweight banks fell by about 1%.
EOG, a producer of shale oil and gas, has topped profit forecasts as production increases
EOG Resources surpassed analysts' expectations for the third quarter profit on Thursday as higher production helped offset a decline in crude prices. Benchmark Brent crude dropped more than 13% from the previous quarter, but the company saw a boost in production as it expanded into the Utica and Marcellus region following its $5.6 Billion deal with Encino Acquisition Partners. EOG's production of 1.3 million barrels per day increased from 1,08 million boepd in the previous quarter. Ezra Yacob, CEO of EOG, said that the company's assets were performing better than expected in the Delaware Basin and Eagle Ford shale areas, while its international assets also contributed to the growth.
ADNOC Drilling continues to expand in the Gulf with a new acquisition
ADNOC Drilling announced on Wednesday that it will buy 80% of regional drilling and oilfield service provider MB Petroleum Services, for a total enterprise value worth $204 million (749 millions dirhams). This marks a new expansion in the Gulf. ADNOC Drilling has acquired SLB's offshore rig business in Oman, Kuwait and Oman. This is its second major regional acquisition. Youssef Salm, ADNOC Drilling’s Chief Financial officer, said that such deals are a blueprint for future growth. ADNOC Drilling will be able to expand its footprint in Oman and Kuwait as well as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia with the acquisition of MBPS.
The major Gulf exchanges are tracking Asian shares lower due to valuation fears
The Gulf's major stock markets fell on Wednesday morning, following the Asian share market lower after a tech-led selloff overnight on Wall Street brought the focus on stretched valuations. The stock market is retreating after reaching record highs, amid fears that equity markets have become stretched. This comes as CEOs from Wall Street giants Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs asked whether such valuations could be sustained. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan has fallen as much as 2,3%, its highest since early April. It last traded at 1% lower. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index fell 0.8%, and was headed for a fifth straight session of losses.
BP profits beat expectations but there is no news about Castrol sale
Oil major BP announced a smaller-than-expected fall in its third quarter underlying profit Tuesday, as a good performance across all divisions, led by refinery helped offset the impact from lower crude prices. There was no news on the sale of Castrol Lubricants, which is the centerpiece of the $20 billion asset-sale campaign to reduce its debt. BP, after a failed foray into the renewables sector under former CEO Bernard Looney has vowed that it will increase profits and reduce costs by re-routing its spending towards oil and gas. BP launched a review in August of the best way to develop and monetise their oil and gas production assets.
BP CEO predicts that non-OPEC+ oil supplies could decrease by April
BP Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss stated on Monday that oil supply growth outside OPEC+ may decline by April while demand remains strong. Auchincloss stated that "there is a supply rise outside of OPEC+." "We believe that will end in February, March and April. Auchincloss, who spoke at the ADIPEC Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi, said that future oil prices will be determined by three factors: OPEC+ decision, Chinese stockpiling, and the impact on sanctions. He said, "It is a very serious sanctions environment at the moment which dampens supply." He remains confident about the long-term growth of demand despite short-term uncertainty. Aviation and petrochemicals are two examples.
Auto stocks rise as European shares soar in focus of earnings season
European stocks rose on Monday, as investors digested the latest round of earnings reports. Auto shares also gained amid optimism that Dutch chipmaker Nexperia will resume China shipments. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4%, to 574.11 by 0910 GMT. This is a rebound from the one-week-low hit last week. After a White House announcement that Nexperia news will be announced soon, auto stocks like Renault, Mercedes Benz, and Aumovio each gained more than 3.3%. Nexperia was recently taken over by the Dutch government, owned and operated by Chinese company Wingtech. This prompted Beijing, to stop Nexperia from leaving China.
European shares stable as earnings season comes into focus; Italy's Campari falls
European stocks were steady on Monday, as new corporate earnings reports arrived, including those from the LNG company GTT, and Dutch firm PostNL. However, shares in drinks manufacturer Campari fell following a probe into tax evasion. As of 0812 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 Index remained at 572.29, close to its more than one-week-old low. The shares of GTT rose 4.3% as the French LNG containment systems specialist raised its revenue and core earnings estimates for this year. Oil and Gas Index led the sectoral gains, with a 1.1% increase. The energy sector also saw a boost from BP's 1.7% rise after the UK firm announced plans to sell stakes of its U.S.
Eni and Petronas combine Indonesian and Malaysian assets in joint venture
Eni, the Italian energy company, and Petronas, Malaysia's state-owned energy company announced on Monday that they had signed an agreement for a joint venture to combine their upstream oil assets and gas assets located in Indonesia and Malaysia. NewCo will manage 19 assets in Indonesia and Malaysia. It plans to invest $15 billion over the next five-year period to develop and explore about 3 billion barrels in discovered reserves. The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi at ADIPEC. This move is part Eni's "satellite strategy" under which it has created several spinoffs around specific businesses, and supported their growth so that they become independent.
Sources say US Gulf producer LLOG Exploration is interested in selling at a $3 billion valuation.
People familiar with the matter have said that LLOG Exploration Offshore has been exploring the possibility of a sale. This could value one the largest privately owned oil and gas producers on the U.S. Gulf Coast at more than 3 billion dollars, including debt. Sources said that the Covington, Louisiana based company has been working with investment banks at Guggenheim Securities to assess buyer interest. A limited number of parties have been contacted over the past few weeks in order to gauge the level of interest. Gerald Boelte founded LLOG in 1976. His family still controls the company. Gerald Boelte died last year.
Baker Hughes reports that US oil and gas drillers have cut back on rigs in the US for the first time in 3 weeks.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. oil and gas companies have cut back on the number of rigs for the first time since three weeks. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by four in the week ending October 31 to 546, the lowest level since September. Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs is down 39, or 7% from this time last. The report said that oil rigs dropped by six this week to 414, their lowest since September. Gas rigs, on the other hand, rose by four, to 125, which is their highest level since August 2023.
EIA data show that US oil and gas production reached a new record high in August.
The Energy Information Administration reported on Friday that U.S. gas and oil production reached record levels in August despite fears of a market surplus. The record U.S. production of oil has been a major factor in the slumping commodity prices that we have seen this year. Brent crude, the global benchmark, traded just above $65, or 14% less than it did at the same time last. This is partly why the OPEC+ has decided to reverse years of severe supply cuts in order to regain market share. The EIA data revealed that the U.S. crude output increased by 86,000 barrels a day, to a new record of 13.8 million barrels per daily. EIA data shows that the previous record was set in July.
BP Indonesia imports fuel from Pertamina to replenish after a shortage, the company reports.
BP's Indonesian fuel station operator said that it imported base fuel through a unit of Indonesian state energy company Pertamina. This was to replenish supplies following a shortage which has been plaguing private retailers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. BP Indonesia, BP-AKR and Shell have both reported that they are experiencing inventory shortages of certain gasoline products. This has been happening since late August. BP-AKR stated that it imported base fuels for some of its gasoline via Pertamina Patra Niaga, the retail unit of Pertamina. The government had given the order.
PetroChina's net profit for the third quarter is down 3.9% on an annual basis
PetroChina Co Ltd, Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, reported on Thursday that its third quarter net profit fell 3.9% from the previous year due to lower crude oil prices. However, it continued to maintain steady crude production while expanding natural gas output. In a filing to the stock exchange, the company reported that its net profit had fallen to 42.29 billion Yuan ($5.94billion), while revenues rose by 2.3% to reach 719.16 milliards yuan. CNOOC Ltd, a domestic offshore oil and natural gas producer, reported a 12% drop in earnings for the quarter on Thursday. Meanwhile, Sinopec Corp. posted essentially flat earnings for the same time period on Wednesday.
China CNOOC's net income for the third quarter of 2014 is down 12% due to lower oil prices
CNOOC Ltd, the Chinese offshore oil-and-gas major, reported on Thursday that its third quarter net income had declined 12.2% from a similar period a year ago as lower oil prices globally offset a strong growth in production. CNOOC reported that its net profit for the period July-September was 32.44 billion Yuan ($4.55billion), in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Sinopec Corp, a domestic rival, reported a flat third-quarter net profit. However, the company's first-nine-month net income dropped by 3%. CNOOC increased its revenue by 5.7% on an annual basis in the third-quarter to 104.9 billion Yuan. The company also improved cost-competitiveness and boosted output and reserves.
Shell profits above expectations, TotalEnergies at par with expectations despite lower prices
Shell and TotalEnergies reported quarterly profits that fell by 10% and 2% respectively on Thursday. The declines were largely due to lower oil prices. Shell, however, beat expectations thanks to better trading results at its vast gas division. TotalEnergies, which is the largest trader of liquefied gas in the world, said that it would reduce its buybacks to $3.5 billion by the end of the fourth quarter. This was due to pressure from the company's creditors. Shell's share buybacks topped $3 billion in the 16 most recent quarters. Shell will have repurchased more than 25% of its shares over the last four years by the end of this year.
Shell's third-quarter profits beat expectations
Shell exceeded third-quarter profits forecasts Thursday thanks to strong results in its gas division. It also said that it would continue its $3.5 billion share buyback program over the next 3 months. Oil major BP said that adjusted earnings, which is its definition of net profits, dropped 10% on an annual basis to $5.4 billion from July to September, due to lower oil prices. The company's polled analysts estimated a $5.09 billion average, but the adjusted earnings were higher. Shell has pledged to buy back shares for the 16th quarter in a row, returning at least $3 billion per quarter via repurchasing of shares.
Source: Indian Oil and Vitol to join forces in global trading, says source
HYDERABAD (India), Oct. 29 - Indian Oil intends to sign a contract early next year with global trader Vitol to form a joint-venture as it seeks to increase its presence in the international crude and fuel trading market. This is according to a person with knowledge of the issue. This move represents a major strategic shift by India's biggest refiner. It is attempting to emulate global oil giants such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and others through Vitol’s global trading network and expertise. Source: The joint venture will operate initially for five to seven year, with an exit clause for both partners.
Analysts are looking at 2026 as a timeframe for predicting the growth of oil earnings.
Big Oil's third-quarter results may be boosted by marginally higher oil and refining prices, as well as stronger results in the refinery sector. However, some analysts are more concerned with how the global oil majors will set the stage for the year 2026 when they report their results next week. According to LSEG's analyst estimates, Shell, the British oil giant, and TotalEnergies, the French major, will begin their earnings season on Friday. Both companies are expected to announce 18% and 11 % increases in adjusted net profit, respectively, compared to the second quarter. However, both figures are lower than a year earlier.