WTI Rises Above $45 For The First Time In 2016. Early Wednesday in the U.S., Brent was up 2.21% to $46.75 and WTI by 2.04% to $44.94, after both benchmarks hit 2016 highs in post-settlement trading after closing Tuesday ~3% higher. Earlier, the U.S. benchmark rose by as much as $1.09 to $45.13/bbl. [Oilpro]
Exxon Loses S&P’s ‘AAA’ Rating For The First Time In Nearly 70 Years. ExxonMobil lost its AAA credit rating on Tuesday, with Standard & Poor’s downgrading it to AA+ on expectations of continued low oil prices. S&P told CNBC that the super major has had an AAA rating since July 5, 1949. [Oilpro]
‘Big Oil’ May Have To Cut Dividends. Dividends are sacrosanct in the world of integrated oil and gas, but Goldman Sachs’ global head of commodities research said Tuesday prices may stay low enough for long enough to force big oil to cut the payouts. [CNBC, Oilpro]
Engineer Kidnapped In Libya While En Route To Inspect Oilfield. On Saturday, Miroslav Tomic, a maintenance engineer working for a German company, was kidnapped while en route to inspect an oilfield about 750 miles from Tripoli. [Oilpro]
New Interim CEO For Struggling Prosafe. Amid a deteriorating oil services market, Prosafe Management has decided to replace its CEO. Stig Christiansen is the new interim ceo, replacing Karl Ronny Klungtvedt at the world’s top owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels. [Splash 247, Oilpro]
Hess Corp. Beats 1Q Estimates… “With our balance sheet strength, oil-leveraged portfolio and attractive growth opportunities, we believe the company is well positioned to deliver strong cash flow growth and long term value as oil prices recover”,said CEO John Hess. [Hess Corp]
…So Does Total, On Strong Downstream Performance… “Refining & Chemicals improved its results compared to 2015 despite the decrease in refining margins to 35$/t, thanks to a record high utilization rate of 94% and favorable petrochemicals margins.” [Total]
…While Baker Hughes Posts Bigger Than Expected Loss… “During the quarter, the industry faced another precipitous decline in activity, exceeding even the most pessimistic predictions, as E&P companies further cut spending in an effort to protect cash flow ,” CEO Martin Craighead said.
…& Statoil Maintains 2016 Guidance. “We delivered strong operational performance across all business areas, high production efficiency and results in line with expectations from liquids trading and refining. The guidance for 2016 is maintained,” says Eldar Sætre, President and CEO of Statoil. [Statoil]
Earnings Show That… The new magic number in the oil industry is $50. BP Plc, rig-owner Nabors Industries Ltd. and explorer Pioneer Natural Resources Co. all said in the past 24 hours that prices above $50 will encourage more drilling or provide the needed boost to cash flow. [Bloomberg]
石油圈
