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☆ Guyana expects proposal from India for long-term crude purchases
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Neil Marks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Vessels carrying supplies for an offshore oil platform operated by Exxon Mobil are seen at the Guyana Shore Base Inc wharf on the Demerara River, south of Georgetown, Guyana January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Luc CohenGEORGETOWN, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Guyana expects to soon receive a proposal from India for long-term purchases of the South American country's oil, President Irfaan Ali said on Tuesday, a new attempt to reach a government-to-government deal potentially leading to better sale terms for Guyana. Guyana's government is entitled to a share of crude produced off the nation's coast by a consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N). In 2022, Ali's government received a total of 13 cargoes of crude, and it expects to receive and export 17 cargoes this year, the finance minister said earlier this week. Guyana and India in 2021 failed to reach an agreement for direct sales of Guyana's sweet crude to Indian state refiners.

☆ Italy's Eni, Esso, other firms' offices searched in fuel pricing probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Monday it had searched the offices of several oil companies, including Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) and Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) ESSO Italiana unit, over alleged fuel price violations. The authority, which carried out the inspections with the help of Italy's tax police, said it was probing irregularities concerning prices being charged at the pump which were higher than those advertised, as well as failures in advertising fuel prices. Eni, Esso, Italia Petroli, Kuwait Petroleum Italia and Tamoil allegedly failed to adopt appropriate measures "to prevent and counteract this unlawful conduct to the detriment of consumers", the competition watchdog said in a statement. Fuel prices have taken centre stage in Italy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's executive dropped a costly reduction in excise duties introduced by the previous government when the price of petrol exceeded 2 euros per litre. Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, Francesca Landini, editing by Federico Maccioni, Valentina Za and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) also is looking to work in Guyana in collaboration with ONGC Videsh, two people close to the talks told Reuters. Guyana is offering three deepwater and 11 shallow-water blocks, each averaging 2,000 square kilometers (722 sq miles). Exxon is considering bids on the blocks, said the company's Guyana country chief, Alistair Routledge. To bring more companies into the auction, Guyana did not restrict the amount of blocks companies can bid for, but will limit the awards to three per company. Last year, Exxon, Hess Corp (HES.N) and China's CNOOC (0883.HK) ramped up oil output and exports with their second production vessel.

☆ Exxon set to order 5th Guyana oil vessel, sizing up more blocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The efforts would add significantly to the $30 billion committed thus far by Exxon and Guyana partners Hess Corp (HES.N) and CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK). Guyana has emerged as the world's fastest-growing oil region since Exxon made its first offshore discovery in 2015. It would be the consortium's largest and most expensive project, outstripping the $10 billion cost of the fourth project. Its oil would start flowing in 2027 and continue for 20 years, according to the Guyana government's estimate. Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali visited India last week to try to entice private companies and the government to join its oil business.

☆ Italy's Eni, Esso offices raided in antitrust probe over fuel price breaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Monday the offices of several oil companies, including Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) and Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) ESSO Italiana unit, have been searched over alleged fuel price violations. Eni, Esso, Italia Petroli, Kuwait Petroleum Italia and Tamoil allegedly failed to adopt appropriate measures "to prevent and counteract this unlawful conduct to the detriment of consumers," the competition watchdog said in a statement. Eni had no immediate comment, while the other companies involved were not immediately available for a comment. Fuel prices have taken centre stage in Italy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's executive dropped a costly reduction in excise duties introduced by the previous government when the price of petrol exceeded 2 euros per litre. Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, Francesca Landini, editing by Federico Maccioni and Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Exxon prepares to start up $1.2 bln Texas oil refinery expansion - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Initial startup of a 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) at the 369,000 bpd refinery is expected by Jan. 31, the sources said, making the Beaumont refinery the second largest in the United States. SHALE OIL TO DIESELExxon had no immediate comment on the start up of the new processing unit, called the Beaumont Light Atmospheric Distillation Expansion (BLADE) project. BLADE, considered as early as 2014 and formally approved in 2019, was planned to process Exxon's crude oil pumped from the Permian shale field in West Texas and New Mexico. Operators at the Beaumont refinery this week were purging the new CDU of air in preparation to introduce its first crude, the people familiar with the matter said. POST-PANDEMIC MILESTONEExxon's Beaumont expansion marks a return to an era of steady refining capacity gains through processing tweaks and adding new equipment to existing plants.

☆ Chevron, Exxon and Total keen to invest in India, says minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Global energy majors Chevron Corp (CVX.N), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) are interested in investing in India's oil and gas exploration and production sector, the country's oil minister said in a speech on Friday. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, buys more than 84% of its oil needs from overseas and wants to quickly monetise its hydrocarbon reserves to reduce its dependence on costly imports. "India is ready to explore opportunities for joint development production of oil and gas assets for mutual benefit and also invites investment in our domestic E&P (exploration and production) sector," Hardeep Singh Puri said. The minister added that India aims to double the area under oil and gas exploration to 500,000 sq km by 2025. Reporting by Nidhi Verma Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exxon signals strong Q4 profit to drive annual record
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters GraphicsThe about $15.4 billion in operating profits excluding impairments indicates annual results will far exceed the record $45 billion Exxon posted in 2008, when oil prices peaked at $142 per barrel. The company posted back-to-back record profits in the second and third quarters last year. These record profits might lead to fresh calls to levy windfall taxes in the U.S. High international oil and natural gas prices last year generated record earnings among all oil majors. Sky-high oil prices that fueled gains for most of the year eased in the final quarter.

☆ Fangtooth oil discovery may justify Guyana's 7th platform, Hess CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Fangtooth oil discovery in Guyana's waters is big enough to potentially require a platform for itself, which would be the seventh in the country, Hess Corp (HES.N) Chief Executive Office John Hess said in a conference on Thursday. The six units will lead to an estimated output of 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas per day by 2027, Hess said. "Fangtooth itself could potentially be the seventh boat," Hess said at a Goldman Sachs energy conference. Hess' operations in Guyana and the Bakken basin in the United States, will take up 80% of the $3.7 billion the company plans to invest this year, the CEO said. The United States can lift total oil production to 13 million to 13.5 million bpd before output plateaus, Hess said.

That outage dropped the United States behind top exporter Australia as global demand for the fuel boomed. In 2022, U.S. exports of natural gas as LNG rose 8% to 10.6 bcfd, just shy of Australia's 10.7 bcfd. The United States remained ahead of Qatar, which in third place shipped 10.5 bcfd, according to data provider Refinitiv. CROWN WITHIN SIGHTHowever, the loss of Freeport LNG's supply at mid-year took away the U.S. chance to take the crown as top exporter in 2022. In 2021, when prices in Asia were higher, just 35%, or about 3.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

☆ Exxon, Chevron Focus on Oil Projects in the Americas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Collin Eaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The globe is shrinking for Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. as the two largest U.S. oil companies pull back on big international oil projects and concentrate on a handful of more lucrative assets closer to home. The two fossil-fuel giants plan to spend most of their annual budgets in the Americas this year, with Chevron saying it will pour 70% of the capital allocated for production into oil fields in the U.S., Argentina and Canada, and Exxon saying it will spend a similar portion of its budget in the Permian Basin of New Mexico and West Texas, Guyana, Brazil and liquefied natural-gas projects.

☆ JPMorgan, Citi among firms facing potential divestment by Kentucky over energy 'boycott'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Kentucky on Tuesday warned 11 major financial companies, including Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), of potential divestment over their "boycott" of energy companies. State government entities must notify the Treasurer of direct or indirect holdings in the companies in the list. They must also write to the firms, asking them to stop the "boycott" failing which, they could be subject to divestment, Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball said. In the past year, other states like West Virginia and Texas have also boycotted several financial firms. In the testimony, Blass said BlackRock is a significant investor in many energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N).

☆ Exxon Sues EU Over Windfall Profit Levy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Collin Eaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An Exxon refinery at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. About 26% of the company’s revenue came from Europe last year. BRUSSELS— Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against European Union authorities over the bloc’s decision to impose a windfall levy on energy companies’ high profits triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU approved a plan this past fall to redistribute some energy company profits and revenue in a bid to shield consumers from high energy prices. The plan sought to cap producers’ revenue from electricity generated by fuels other than natural gas and demanded that oil-and-gas companies hand over one third or more of money the EU considers to be excess profit.

☆ Exxon sues EU in move to block new windfall tax on oil companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is suing the European Union in a bid to force it to scrap the bloc's new windfall tax on oil groups, arguing Brussels exceeded its legal authority by imposing the levy. Record profits this year by oil companies benefiting from high energy prices have boosted inflation around the world and led to fresh calls to further tax the sector. The windfall profits tax is "counter-productive," discourages investments and undermines investor confidence, Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton said on Wednesday. Exxon will factor in the tax as it considers future multibillion-euro investments in Europe’s energy supply and transition, he said. Chevron Corp (CVX.N) had also warned that taxing oil production would serve only to reduce energy supply by discouraging company investments.

☆ Analysis: Wood’s ARK slammed by higher interest rates in 2022 along with other growth funds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ARK Innovation Fund has lost around 67% year to date, more than tripling the decline of the S&P 500 index (.SPX). With the S&P 500 on pace for its biggest annual decline since the Great Financial Crisis, few funds are likely to escape 2022 unscathed. Wood's fund ranked 3,544 among all 3552 actively-managed U.S. equity mutual funds tracked by Morningstar. The worst performing fund of the year, by comparison, was the Voya Russia fund, which is down 92% for the year to date. CRASH LANDINGOther funds that soared in recent years on the backs of large bets on technology stocks fell on hard times in 2022.

That works out to a 31.2% return on total average short interest of $973.6 billion throughout the year, according to S3 Partners. Stanphyl Capital portfolio manager Mark Spiegel, who has been short Tesla "constantly, in varying size" since 2014, said a bet against Tesla was his fund's most profitable individual short position this year. While higher interest rates have punished growth stocks, some investors believe Tesla CEO Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter is diverting his time running the electric car company. Long-short hedge funds, which bet on stock prices rising or falling, posted a 9.7% loss through November, according to data provider HFR. Charles Lemonides, portfolio manager at $226 billion hedge fund ValueWorks LLC, believes tight monetary policy will weigh on risk appetite next year.

☆ Tesla shares tumble, on track for worst month ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 22 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares are on track for their worst month ever as a sell-off deepened on Thursday over worries about softening demand for electric cars and Chief Executive Elon Musk's distraction with Twitter. Tesla's stock has tumbled 36% so far in December, putting it on track for its worst ever monthly performance. By comparison, Tesla's shares dropped 22% in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic tipped financial markets into a tailspin. Musk has also sold almost $40 billion worth of his Tesla shares this year, adding to pressure on the stock as investors worry he could sell more to keep Twitter afloat. Tesla's market cap vs analyst price targetsReporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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".

☆ U.S. energy envoy Hochstein calls investor hostility to shale drilling "un-American" -FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein described the refusal of the country's shale investors to ramp up drilling as "un-American" in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday. "You want to pay dividends, pay dividends. You want to pay shareholders, pay shareholders. We are asking you to increase production and seize the moment", the FT quoted him as saying. Biden has repeatedly called on U.S. oil and gas companies to use their record profits to increase production and reduce fuel prices for Americans.

☆ 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.

☆ New Tax on Buybacks Is Weeks Away, but Finance Chiefs Aren’t Too Worried
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

A new corporate tax on stock buybacks hasn’t worried finance chiefs enough for them to rethink their strategy. For Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Ulta Beauty Inc., a maker of beauty products, the impact of the tax will be minimal, finance chief Scott Settersten said. The company’s board in March authorized a new buyback program that enables Ulta Beauty to repurchase up to $2 billion in shares. It is set to be levied on net buybacks, meaning total shares repurchased minus new shares issued during the year. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS How will the new tax on stock buybacks affect company repurchase plans in the years ahead?

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☆ S&P 500, Nasdaq snap losing streaks after jobless claims rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( David French | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street's main indexes had come under pressure in recent days, with the S&P 500 shedding 3.6% since the beginning of December on expectations of a longer rate-hike cycle and downbeat economic views from some top company executives. Such thinking had also weighed on the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), which had posted four straight losing sessions prior to Thursday's advance on the tech-heavy index. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.6% gain in technology stocks (.SPLRCT). The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 232 new lows.

☆ Exxon plans to raise spending in 2023, boost share buybacks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Thursday said it will lift capital spending next year by about 10%, to between $23 billion and $25 billion, and boost share buybacks. Exxon is distributing more cash to shareholders than it is investing in new production - $30 billion between share buybacks and dividends this year. Exxon aims to raise oil and gas production to a record 4.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by end-2027. Most of the 500,000 boepd increase is expected to come from Guyana, the United States and Brazil. This year's target is down from the 3.8 million boepd Exxon set a year ago.

☆ 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, Chevron to spend billions more on oil projects next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration has criticized oil companies for not raising their oil production to help lower prices to consumers. Exxon sees potential for $100 billion in surplus cash by 2027, assuming global oil prices of $60 per barrel. Chevron should generate about $34 billion in free cash flow next year, according to Jefferies equity research, twice its oil investments levels. U.S. and European producers have also been partially recovering project spending slashed during the pandemic. The five western majors posted record profits this year, and Exxon and Chevron shares have hit historical highs this quarter.

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