EIA: US crude stocks have unexpectedly impacted export and refinery demand
The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude stockpiles dropped unexpectedly due to higher exports and refinery demands, while gasoline inventories fell for the ninth consecutive week. The EIA reported that crude inventories dropped by 2.7m barrels, to 440.4m barrels for the week ending April 25. This was in contrast with the analysts' polled expectations of a 429,000 barrel increase. The EIA reported that crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma's delivery hub for futures contracts, rose by 682,000 barges in a week. Crude prices have pared their losses despite the unexpected build.
Equinor Q1 profits rise more than expected
Equinor announced a higher than expected increase in its first quarter profit on Wednesday. This was boosted by an increase in European gas prices compared to the same period last year. Equinor's poll of 20 analysts predicted that the Norwegian oil and gas company would earn $8.51 billion in January-March, but it actually increased to $8.65 from $7.53. Equinor has maintained its projections that oil and gas production will increase by 4% in this year's compared to the previous year. It also kept its forecast of capital expenditures for 2025 at $13 billion. Equinor, like rivals Shell and BP, promised in February to increase oil and gas production while reducing investment in renewables.
Woodside Energy, Australia signs LNG deal with BP to supply Louisiana project
Woodside Energy, a major Australian oil and natural gas company, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a deal with BP under which the British energy company would supply natural gases to its Louisiana liquefied gas project (LNG). Woodside, in a press release, said that the Louisiana project will buy a maximum of 640 billion cubic foot of gas over a long term basis from the integrated energy giant. However, it did not reveal any financial details. Woodside acquired Tellurian last year for $1.2 billion to develop in four phases the 27,6 million metric ton a year Louisiana LNG Project, formerly known as Driftwood. This project is designed to meet the growing demand for natural gas.
PetroChina's profit for the first quarter increased by 2.3% due to natural gas sales
PetroChina, China's largest energy producer, posted a 2.3% increase in its first-quarter profits on Tuesday. The company cited higher natural gas production, even though poor margins affected the refined products business. A filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange revealed that the profit attributable by the owners of the company increased to 46.81 billion Yuan ($6.44billion) from 45.77billion a year ago. Revenue dropped 7.3% to 753.1 billion Yuan. Comparatively, local competitors reported lower profits, due to lower oil prices. Sinopec Corp.'s profit dropped 27.6% from a year ago, due to a decline in fuel sales as well as thin margins within its refining division.
CNOOC Q1 profits down 7.9% due to lower oil prices but production grows
CNOOC Ltd, the Chinese offshore oil company, saw its first-quarter profit fall 7.9% due to lower oil prices. However, higher production helped offset this decline. According to the filing made by the company on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the net income for the period January-March was 36.56 billion Yuan ($5.03billion), down from 39.7 billion Yuan during the same time last year. A higher production led to a revenue drop of 4.1% to 106.85 bn yuan for the first quarter. CNOOC Ltd.'s total net output during the period reached 188.8 millions barrels of oil-equivalent (boe), an increase of 4.8% over the previous year.
The European share price continues to rise as earnings continue to roll in and tariff watch continues
Investors pushed European shares higher on Tuesday, as they assessed corporate earnings, watched potential tariff movements, and awaited important economic data. As of 0712 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 was up by 0.2%. However, it is on course for a second monthly decline if the current trend continues. The other regional indexes, with the exception of the UK which was down by 0.1%, were trading in positive territory. The UK's FTSE Index fell as BP shares dropped 3.3% after the oil company reported first-quarter profits that missed expectations. Officials said that the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump will reduce the impact on his auto tariffs.
BP announces a lower-than-expected $1.4 billion profit
BP missed expectations on Tuesday, with a underlying replacement costs profit of $1.38bn for the first three months. This was below the $1.53bn expected by analysts according to a poll conducted by the company. BP announced that it would buy back another $750,000,000 in shares this quarter. This is at the lower end of their guided range. The company said that it will spend $14.5 billion in this year's budget, which is $500 million less than the previous estimate, and has reiterated its target of $13 to $15 billion for 2027 and next year. Sources familiar with the matter say that Elliott…
As crude prices fall, investors fear that Big Oil may reduce share buybacks.
Investors will pay attention to the fact that falling oil prices are increasing the risk of dividends and share purchases for the remainder of 2025. Big Oil's efforts to win over Wall Street have been based on reinvesting cash in the form of dividends and stock repurchases. U.S. president Donald Trump's announcements of global tariffs have caused fears of a weaker oil market and a possible recession, leading forecasters to reduce their oil price expectations. If prices were lower, Big Oil would have less money to give to its shareholders. Analysts said that investors will be looking for companies to explain how they plan on dealing with the sustained decline in oil prices.
Baker Hughes reports that US drillers added oil and gas rigs in the US for a second consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that U.S. firms added oil and gas rigs this week for the second consecutive week for the first since February. The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by two in the week ending April 25. Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs, the total count is still 26 or 4% lower than this time last year. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs grew by two this week to 483 while gas rigs grew by one to 98. Drillers reduced the number of operating rigs by five in April. This is the second consecutive month that the total has decreased.
Elliott, an activist investor, calls for a change in BP's strategy chief and organizational structure
A source familiar with this situation on Friday said that activist investor Elliott Investment Management is pushing oil major BP's strategy chief to be replaced and its structure changed to separate its upstream and downstream divisions to improve accountability. Elliott has a small stake in BP of a little over 5%. The strategy, sustainability, and ventures division of BP is headed by Giulia Chiarchia. She was a key architect behind the company's ill fated focus on renewables during the tenure of previous CEO Bernard Looney. Chierchia, who joined BP in 2020 from McKinsey & Company consultancy, rose quickly to the position of strategy chief.
US wants to increase offshore oil drilling through easing of pressure rules
The U.S. Interior Department announced on Thursday that it had implemented new guidelines regarding pressure differentials allowed in certain types of oil drilling, in part of Gulf of Mexico. The department expects the changes to boost U.S. output of oil. The Energy Dominance Council, led by Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary to President Donald Trump, is seeking ways to reduce costs for oil and natural gas producers, lower regulations, and increase oil production, which was at record levels during the tenure of former President Joe Biden. Operators working in the Wilcox formation…
African energy exploration company Rhino Resources discovers light oil offshore Namibia
Namibia got a boost Thursday after Rhino Resources found "high-quality" light oil at its latest well. U.S. oil company Chevron also announced that it is considering a drilling campaign for 2026 or 2027. The southern African nation, a global hotspot for exploration, aims to produce its oil by the end of the decade, following a series of recent discoveries by Shell, TotalEnergies, and Galp Energia. The African energy explorer Rhino Resource found light oil in Capricornus 1X, its second successful exploration, which was drilled off the coast of Namibia in the prolific Orange Basin.
Trump's emergency move is aimed at cutting approval time for energy projects from 28 days to 28
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it would implement a process of emergency permitting for energy and mining on federal land, cutting approval times from months or even years down to just 28 days. The U.S. Department of the Interior's move comes in response to the President Donald Trump declaration of a national energy emergency, which he issued on his first official day of office. This was to expedite the permitting process in an attempt to boost the domestic energy supply, lower fuel prices, and strengthen national security. The DOI issued a press release in which it said that the emergency procedures will apply to fossil fuels such as oil…
Enverus: Weak oil prices and limited shale acres will impact energy M&A by 2025
Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the U.S. Upstream Oil and Gas M&A Market is bracing itself for the most challenging conditions in the past decade, as oil prices plummet and prime acreage disappears, despite the fact that dealmaking surged last quarter, making it the second best start to the year ever, despite the fact that the number of deals jumped to the highest level since 2018. After a string of record-breaking takeovers of oil and gas companies in recent years that culminated with a $192 billion deal in 2023, the expected decline in mergers and purchases follows.
Baker Hughes' first-quarter profits beat expectations on the back of strong demand for natural Gas Technology
Baker Hughes, a U.S. oilfield technologies firm, beat Wall Street expectations for the first-quarter profits on Tuesday thanks to a robust demand for natural Gas technology. The positive results are coming as oilfield service firms prepare for the impact of the tariffs introduced by the President Trump. These are expected to increase costs and disrupt sourcing of materials that are used in equipment such as drill pipes and artificial lifting systems. As Big Tech invests billions in AI, demand for electricity has increased to power data centres. This demand for LNG is also increasing.
Elliott presses BP to boost free cash flow by 40% via spending reductions, FT reports
The Financial Times reported that Elliott Management, an activist investor, has urged BP a 40% increase in its free cash flow through spending cuts. Elliott wants BP to focus on achieving a $20 billion annual free cash flow target by 2027 instead of growing its oil business, according to a report citing sources familiar with the issue. BP has worked to increase its share price, which has lagged behind rivals Shell and Exxon in recent years. According to the report, the hedge fund suggests that BP sell its solar and offshore-wind power businesses. It asserts that it can reduce its spending on oil and gas operations because of the sufficient future oil reserves.
Oil industry sources claim that Central Africa's new FX Initiative falls short of its target.
Two oil industry sources said that six Central African nations who were expecting to receive billions in foreign exchange from funds set aside for environmental restoration by oil companies may actually see less than 500 million dollars by the April 30 deadline. Bank of Central African States, the central bank of Cameroon and Gabon, Equatorial Guinea Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Chad, Gabon and Chad, introduced rules in 2018 governing these funds that are mostly held by foreign banks. The funds in the BEAC-controlled accounts will be used to replenish the hard currency reserves of the six countries and to address their economic vulnerability.
Shell completes survey of Venezuelan gas field as winding down of license approaches
Shell, the oil and gas company, plans to finish a marine survey of the offshore Dragon gas field in Venezuela before the May deadline set by the United States to close all energy licenses in the country. According to LSEG vessel tracking data, the Colombian-flagged Dona Jose II survey vessel arrived in Venezuela sanctioned by the U.S. this month to collect data for Shell and Trinidad’s National Gas Company. Two sources said that the exploration work will be completed within the next few weeks and allow the company determine drilling locations as well as pipeline design, should Washington allow the development of the project, which is planned to supply gas to Trinidad.
Turkey looks to regional energy expansion as Black Sea Gas output increases
Alparslan bayraktar, the Energy Minister, said that the daily production of natural gas in Turkey's flagship Sakarya Field, located on the Black Sea, has reached 9.5 million cubic meters. The country is ramping up its energy ambitions at home as well as abroad. Bayraktar, a Turkish minister of energy, told reporters in Giresun province that the country aims to sign an agreement by the end of the month allowing TPAO to explore a Black Sea bloc off the coasts of Bulgaria and a foreign partner. "We're about to finalize an agreement in the Bulgarian Economic Zone." He said that TPAO will likely sign a contract with a foreign firm for a bloc in Bulgarian waters next month.
Trump Administration kicks off plan to expand offshore drilling
The U.S. The U.S. Donald Trump ordered the government to find ways to increase U.S. oil production. He argued that previous administrations had curtailed drilling unnecessarily to combat climate changes. He also rescinded the efforts of former president Joe Biden to stop oil drilling in the Arctic, and large areas along the U.S. Atlantic Coast and Pacific Coast. In a recent press release, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that "Under the leadership of President Donald J. Interior announced that it would begin the development of the five-year planning process by opening a 45-day period for public comments.
