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☆ Oil dips, but hovers near 2023 highs on China demand optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices dipped in early Asian trade on Monday, but held close to the highest levels since the start of the year on optimism that China's reopening will lift fuel demand at the world's top crude importer. Both contracts rose more than 8% last week, the biggest weekly gain since October, after China's crude imports rose 4% year-on-year in December while Lunar New Year travel brightens the outlook for transportation fuels. Traffic levels in China are continuing to rebound from record low levels following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in stronger demand for crude and oil products, ANZ analysts said in a note. "While there is still plenty of optimism around Chinese demand, in the near term the oil market remains relatively well supplied," ING analysts said in a note. Investors will also be watching for a key Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting this week to determine if it would defend its super-sized stimulus policy.

[1/4] LNG Canada site construction activities are held, in Kitimat, Canada, September 2022. LNG Canada, in which Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) owns a 15% stake, is set to be Canada's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. LNG Canada has previously described this approach as only one of the options it was considering. LNG Canada has full environmental permits from both governments to use natural gas turbines for Phase 2, making it unclear what leverage governments have to force electrification. But buyers may pay more for LNG produced with lower emissions, Klein said, noting that some buyers already purchase carbon offsets for LNG cargoes.

☆ Shell Expects Natural-Gas Profit Rebounded in Fourth Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jenny Strasburg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shell’s trading update suggests the company remains on track for what analysts expect to be a record full-year profit. Shell PLC expects its quarterly natural-gas profit was “significantly higher” than in the preceding three months, when price swings hurt results in that core business amid a global scramble for energy. The London-based oil giant said Friday it experienced higher refining margins in its chemicals and fuels business in the last three months of 2022, but that trading profit from refined products will lag third-quarter results.

☆ Shell's LNG trading provides quarterly boost despite output drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Shell PLC FollowLONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Earnings from Shell's (SHEL.L) liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading operations are likely to have been significantly higher in the fourth quarter of last year despite a sharp output drop owing to plant outages, it said on Friday. But Shell, the world's top LNG trader, said its LNG trading results are set to be "significantly higher" than in the previous quarter. Shell's third quarter results were dented by weaker refining performance and a slump in LNG trading. Several governments across Europe and Britain have imposed windfall taxes on energy companies this year to rein in excess profits as energy prices have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (This story has been corrected to change date of Shell results to Feb. 2 from Feb. 3)Reporting by Ron Bousso Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trinidad prepared to reject BP, Shell offshore exploration bids -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ranu Abhelakh/File PhotoCompanies Bp Plc FollowShell PLC FollowPORT OF SPAIN, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago is preparing to reject four offshore exploration bids by BP Plc (BP.L) and Shell Plc (SHEL.L), according to people familiar with the matter, because they failed to meet the government’s minimum requirements. If not, the blocks will not be awarded, officials at the Ministry of Energy and the Cabinet told Reuters. The Caribbean country urgently needs new gas supplies to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The Energy Ministry objected to the offers' conditional commitment to drill new wells and what it described as a meager signing bonus. BP’s president for Trinidad and Tobago operations, David Campbell, had urged movement on the bids saying BP needs to access deepwater fields for future output.

☆ Shell to pay 15 mln euros in settlement over Nigerian oil spills
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A Shell logo is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseCompanies Shell PLC FollowAMSTERDAM, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) will pay 15 million euros ($15.9 million) to communities in Nigeria that were affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta, the oil company on Friday said in a joint statement with the Dutch division of Friends of the Earth. The money will benefit the communities of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria, that were impacted by four oil spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007. "The settlement is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills," Shell said. After the appeals court's final ruling last year, Shell said it continued to believe the spills were caused by sabotage.

☆ Australia's parliament approves gas price cap, $1 bln energy relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sonali Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia's parliament on Thursday passed legislation setting a price cap on natural gas for one year and providing A$1.5 billion ($1.03 billion) in relief for households and small businesses hit by soaring energy costs due to Russia's war in Ukraine. The price cap will apply to new wholesale gas sales by east coast producers. The law also clears the way for the government to regulate gas sales when producers and buyers fail to agree on a contract price. The price cap met with fierce opposition from the gas industry but was supported by manufacturers and the Australian Workers' Union. Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy, building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, urged the government to require Queensland gas producers to make LNG available for the domestic market at "reasonable prices".

☆ Australian PM to meet gas producers over price cap concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he would speak this week with the gas industry lobby, which is seeking an urgent meeting over the government's plan to cap gas prices for one year. "We'll meet with them when we meet with them this week," Albanese told ABC Radio. The prime minister did not specify if he would meet the gas producers before the legislation is introduced in the parliament. Parliament will hold a special session on Thursday to vote on the plan to cap gas prices at A$12 ($8.14) per gigajoule and coal prices for power producers at A$125 per tonne. The move, announced late Friday, comes amid soaring energy prices that have resulted in windfall profits for miners and gas producers.

☆ Australia seeks to limit gas producers' profits as prices soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Samuel Mckeith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move, detailed late Friday, comes as gas producers face fierce criticism over soaring energy prices that have resulted in windfall profits from their Australian operations. The government said it would cap gas prices at A$12 per gigajoule (GJ) and coal prices for power plants at A$125 per tonne for one year in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said were "extraordinary measures" to drive down energy bills. It would not apply to gas sales on the spot market, and would remain in place until the regulator advised the government that domestic gas prices were "reflective of the underlying costs of production". "This may be taken as a declaration of war on the gas industry on the east coast," Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said. The government earlier this year forecast household gas and power prices would rise by 20% to 30% over each of the next two years.

☆ European shares rise as industrials, financials gain on China optimism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Amruta Khandekar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ECB may raise rates by 50 basis points next week, according to a Reuters poll, following two straight 75 basis point increases. Industrial stocks such as Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) were among the biggest boosts to the index, while some China-exposed financials such as Prudential Plc (PRU.L) also rose. Energy stocks (.SXEP) led sectoral declines, falling 0.4% dragged down by a fall in shares of heavyweights such as Shell Plc and BP Plc (BP.L). Credit Suisse shares rose nearly 3% after the embattled bank hailed a "milestone" in its turnaround plan on Thursday after raising 2.24 billion Swiss francs ($2.39 billion) as part of a 4 billion franc cash call. Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shell, Exxon face delays in exiting California oilfield
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: Petroleum pump jacks are pictured in the Kern River oil field in Bakersfield, California November 9, 2014. The closing is expected by the end of the first quarter next year, said Patrick Evans, a spokesperson for IKAV. Shell owns a 51.8% stake and Exxon the remainder of the 25-year-old Bakersfield, California, venture that pumped about 95,000 barrels of oil and gas per day last year. A Shell spokesperson confirmed the delay. Shell has said it faces a $300 million to $400 million impairment charge on the deal.

☆ Exxon plans to raise spending in 2023 closer to $25 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The largest U.S. oil producer also said it will raise to $17 billion its spending in lower carbon projects through 2027, up from $15 billion. Exxon has one of the most ambitious plans in the industry to increase crude production over the next five years. Exxon stuck to its target to raise oil and gas production to a record 4.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by end-2027. But short-term production was reduced and will stay flat in this year and 2023 at 3.7 million boepd - assuming a $60 per barrel Brent price. By year-end 2022, Exxon expects to distribute about $30 billion to shareholders, including $15 billion in dividends and $15 billion in buybacks.

☆ Shell to Buy Biogas Producer in $2 Billion Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jenny Strasburg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shell PLC has agreed to buy a European producer of biogas for nearly $2 billion, the latest move by a major oil and gas company to push into renewable fuels. The London-based company said Monday it would buy Denmark’s Nature Energy Biogas A/S, which produces a renewable fuel called biomethane that can replace conventional natural gas in heavy road and marine transport, industry and heating. Nature Energy is Europe’s biggest producer of biomethane from organic waste.

☆ Exclusive: Exxon to exit Equatorial Guinea amid wider Africa crude phaseout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The company last year pumped about 45,000 bpd in Equatorial Guinea, out of the country's total production of 93,000 bpd. For Middle East and African oil producers, cash has dwindled to 30% of global flows in the last two years, from 50% between 2010 and 2020. Much of the increase comes from the United States, Canada, Guyana and Brazil, some of the places where Exxon has increased spending on oil output. NAMIBIA AND NATURAL GASWhile crude oil production wanes in West Africa, the continent's liquefied natural gas (LNG) future is on the rise and fossil fuel output could grow elsewhere in Africa. Rising demand globally could result in a 30% rise in gas production in Africa by the end of the decade, Deloitte said.

☆ Lula to start job interviews for Petrobras overhaul, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Lula, who takes office on Jan. 1, has already signaled plans for a dramatic overhaul of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), as the company is formally known. Into the dustbin, according to Lula and his advisers: the company's privatization. To pull off that reboot of Petrobras strategy, Lula plans for sweeping turnover in the company's first- and second-tier management ranks, said people familiar with his thinking. SHORT LISTAs of last week, Lula had not had any direct conversations with candidates for the top Petrobras job, according to people familiar with the matter, although a short list has taken shape. Lula's advisers also say Petrobras should steer more of its profits into investments rather than its generous recent dividends.

☆ Shell to 'evaluate' 25 bln pound British investments after windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Shell PLC FollowLONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) said on Monday it will evaluate plans to spend up to 25 billion pounds in Britain over the next decade following the government's decision to increase a windfall tax on oil and gas producers. "We're going to have to evaluate each project on a case by case basis," said Shell's UK country chair David Bunch told the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference in Birmingham. "When you tax more you're going to have less disposable income in your pocket, less to invest." The government forecasts that the tax, which was also extended from the end of 2025 to 2028, will raise 40 billion pounds. It nevertheless allows to deduct most investments in new oil and gas projects from the tax.

☆ Shell, Chinese partner to drop off-shore wind farm project in France
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Shell PLC FollowPARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Oil major Shell (SHEL.L) and state-owned Chinese energy company CGN on Tuesday that they would drop their plan for a floating wind power project on France's Brittany coast, citing inflation and supply chain problems among other reasons. "The project faced several technical, commercial and financial challenges, all in a context of constantly increasing costs and very strong constraints in terms of inflation and supply chain," the companies said in a joint statement. The wind farm would have been located off the coast of Belle-Ile, an island popular with tourists and co-financed by a regional public investment bank. "The economic conditions linked to the project have been significantly modified", the companies said. Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, editing by Tassilo HummelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nov 9 (Reuters) - North American oil and gas pipeline company TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) said on Wednesday it was looking to sell C$5 billion ($3.7 billion) worth of assets to repay debt and fund new projects, and reported an 8% rise in quarterly profit. Canada, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, has been seeking ways to boost pipeline utilization following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has strained global oil and natural gas supplies. TC Energy Chief Executive Francois Poirier said the company planned to raise more than C$5 billion through 2023 from selling assets and minority interests. He said the company also intended to approve C$5 billion worth of projects annually throughout the decade. Earnings from TC's Canadian natural gas pipelines rose to C$409 million for the July-September quarter, from C$343 million a year earlier.

☆ Column: U.S. rush for renewable diesel may ignite fresh food fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Renewable diesel, however, is chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel - so can be consumed in place of or along with normal diesel in whatever quantities are desired by end users. US renewable diesel vs biodiesel useRenewable diesel also emits fewer emissions than both biodiesel and regular diesel. US renewable diesel vs biodiesel production capacityFurther increases in renewable diesel production capacity are expected in the near term, with the EIA projecting capacity to climb to 5.1 billion gallons a year by 2024, from less than 1 billion in 2020. But that consumption share looks set to grow further as more renewable diesel production comes on line. Other major renewable diesel suppliers include Finland and the Netherlands, although both those countries have stepped up their own domestic consumption of renewable diesel in recent years, leaving little left for exports.

☆ Brazil's Petrobras to pay out $8.5 billion dividend amid squabble
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) will distribute dividends of around 43.68 billion reais ($8.5 billion) on its third quarter results, the firm said on Thursday, amid controversy over its massive payouts. Exxon has said it will pay dividends of $3.7 billion, while the other four firms will pay out a figure between $1.14 billion and $2.7 billion, according to data compiled by Reuters. Nearly all global oil majors have reported blockbuster profits this quarter, helped by surging oil prices. Workers' Party head Gleisi Hoffmann wrote on Twitter before the latest dividend was revealed that the payout policy "deprives the company of its investment capacity and only enriches shareholders." They say that while the company paid roughly 130 billion reais in dividends in the first six months of the year, investments made during the same period total only 17 billion reais.

Goldman on Monday elevated Avinash Mehrotra and Brian Haufrect as the new co-heads of Americas M&A, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Both Mehrotra, who currently is the head of global activism and takeover defense, and Haufrect, who is global head of natural resources M&A, will continue to hold their existing roles on top of their new responsibilities. Russ Hutchinson will rejoin Goldman's investment banking unit as chief operating officer of its global M&A business, according to the memo sent to employees by Goldman's global co-heads of Global Banking & Markets, Dan Dees and Jim Esposito. Haufrect, who heads Goldman's natural resources deals franchise, was made partner at Goldman in 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. Goldman's top six dealmakers - global co-heads of M&A, Stephan Feldgoise and Mark Sorrell, and M&A chairmen, Tim Ingrassia, Dusty Philip, Gilberto Pozzi and Gene Sykes - will continue running the franchise, according to the memo.

☆ Carbon-Capture Projects Are Taking Off. Here’s How They Stash the Greenhouse Gas.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Eric Niiler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sixty-five miles off the coastal Norwegian city of Bergen, a drilling rig is punching through layers of mud and rock below the North Sea. The energy firms behind the rig aren’t prospecting for oil or gas. They are searching for a place to stash vast amounts of the greenhouse gases emitted by industrial facilities across Europe. The Northern Lights project—a $2.6 billion joint venture of Shell PLC , TotalEnergies SE, Equinor ASA and the Norwegian government—is one of almost 200 carbon-sequestration projects now in operation or in development around the world, according to the Global CCS Institute, a think tank that promotes carbon capture. When completed in 2024, Northern Lights will be the world’s biggest effort to sequester, or store, carbon dioxide underground.

☆ TotalEnergies Books New $3.1 Billion Impairment on Russia Assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jenny Strasburg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TotalEnergies’ decision to retain business in Russia has come at a cost, but the company has been among the biggest beneficiaries of higher energy prices. French oil giant TotalEnergies SE has booked a new $3.1 billion accounting charge linked to its Russian assets, taking its total Russia-related impairments to nearly $11 billion this year, among the highest out of Western companies. The Paris-based company was originally defiant about maintaining business ties in Russia, in contrast with rivals including BP PLC , Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp., which quickly plotted their exits following Moscow’s February invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Shell, Awash With Cash, to Boost Dividend, Share Buybacks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jenny Strasburg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Shell PLC said it plans to boost its dividend and buy back another $4 billion of its shares in the coming months, as the oil major continued to benefit from strong demand for natural gas in difficult-to-navigate markets. Shell on Thursday reported a higher third-quarter profit compared with the same period a year ago, even as price volatility in energy markets took a bite out of earnings in its core natural-gas trading business. Earlier this month, the company had warned that natural-gas price swings and lower margins from fuel-refining would cut into its third-quarter earnings.

☆ Biden says Shell is misusing its profits by not cutting gas prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Mattydale, New York, U.S., October 27, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinSYRACUSE, N.Y., Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden blasted Shell plc (SHEL.L) on Thursday for funneling profits to shareholders rather than lowering gas prices, after the British oil giant said it would boost its dividend and buy back shares. Shell earlier on Thursday said its third-quarter profit was a near-record $9.45 billion, as it sharply boosted its dividend by 15% and announced plans to buy $4 billion more of stock over the next three months. Reporting by Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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