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Texas oil production for March was up 1 percent from the previous month, state data show, as crude oil prices staged a sustained recovery.
The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state energy regulator, reported preliminary crude oil and condensate production figures for March at 87.8 million barrels, a 1.1 percent gain from the previous month. Year-on-year, the daily crude oil production rate of 2.5 million bpd for March was up 8.6 percent.
Crude oil prices rallied 7 percent in March, which may give energy companies in Texas more incentive to produce. The rig count, a loose barometer used to gauge the health of the industry, remains in decline, however.
Texas is the No. 1 oil producer in the United States and its rig count represents roughly 45 percent of all activity in the country.
Analysis group Wood Mackenzie said in early May that energy companies working in the Eagle Ford shale basin in Texas may be acclimating to the lower price of crude oil, down about 18 percent last year. Information reported by Fuel Fix, an energy site for the Houston Chronicle, shows Texas producers could break even with oil at around $41 per barrel by next year.
So far this year, more than 5,000 people have lost their job in Houston, where many energy companies have their U.S. headquarters, because of the market downturn. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said the state economy was damaged by the downturn, with sectors outside of energy starting to feel the impacts.
Keith Phillips, a senior economist with the bank, said there's little chance, however, of a formal recession for Texas. A metric created by the bank, the Texas Business Cycle Index, finds that, overall, the state economy is expanding.
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Halliburton, Baker Hughes to contest DOJ action to block acquisition
HOUSTON --Halliburton and Baker Hughes today announced that the companies intend to vigorously contest the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) effort to block their pending merger. The companies believe that the DOJ has reached the wrong conclusion in its assessment of the transaction and that its action is counterproductive, especially in the context of the challenges the U.S. and global energy industry are currently experiencing.
According to a joint statement, the proposed merger of Halliburton and Baker Hughes is pro-competitive and will allow the companies’ customers to benefit from a more flexible, innovative, and efficient oilfield services company. The transaction will provide customers with access to high quality and more efficient products and services, and an opportunity to reduce their cost per barrel of oil equivalent, the companies added.
Early in the process, Halliburton proposed to the DOJ a divestiture package worth billions of dollars that will facilitate the entry of new competition in markets in which products and services are being divested. Both companies strongly believe that the proposed divestiture package, which was significantly enhanced, is more than sufficient to address the DOJ’s specific competitive concerns.
The companies intend to demonstrate that the DOJ has underestimated the highly competitive nature of the oilfield services industry, the many benefits of the proposed combination, and the sufficiency of the divestitures. Once completed, the transaction will allow customers to operate more cost effectively, which is especially important now due to the state of the energy industry and oil and gas prices.
Halliburton and Baker Hughes previously agreed to extend the time period to obtain regulatory approvals to no later than April 30, 2016, as permitted under the merger agreement. If the judicial review extends beyond April 30, 2016, the parties may continue to seek relevant regulatory approvals or either of the parties may terminate the merger agreement.
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The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Faroe Petroleum Norge AS a drilling permit for well 31/7-1 A, located offshore Norway.
Well 31/7-1 A will be drilled from the Transocean Arctic (mid-water semisub) drilling facility in production license 740. Faroe Petroleum Norge AS is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 50 percent. Core Energy AS is a licensee holding the remaining 50 percent stake.
The area in this licence consists of parts of blocks 31/7 and 30/9. This is the first well to be drilled in the license. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.
Global Upstream Oil And Gas Spending To Fall In 2016. The International Energy Agency says it expects global upstream investments to plummet 24 percent this year.[Reuters]
Scotland Touts Performance of North Sea Energy. Scottish officials say production at North Sea oil and gas fields is up by around 20 percent from last year. [UPI]
UK, Argentina To Cooperate On Falklands Oil And Gas Restrictions. It's been over 30 years since both nations fought a war in the South Atlantic and now both countries are working to remove measures restricting industries around the Falkland Islands. [YNet]
Pemex Discovers New Crude Deposits In Gulf Of Mexico. Mexico's state oil company said it had disovered six new deposits, which have only now been made public as officials worked to quantify the reserves. [Petroleum World]
Industry Presses On With Dakota Access Pipeline. Industry leaders are moving forward with the controversial pipeline "for the sake of the nation's oil economy." [UPI]
Southern California Gas Reaches $4 Million Settlement Over Leak. Company officials and state officials reached a $4 million settlement in a case focused on a 2015 gas leak that forced the evacuation of 6,000 people. [The New York Times]
Norway Acknowledges Energy Market Pressures. Norwegian officials say the government surplus is declining and the economy is facing pressure from low oil prices. [UPI]
Wall Street Looks At Higher Open Amid Oil Volatility. Uneasy oil prices makes for uneasy trading. [CNBC]
China's Crude Imports Will Keep Surging. As Beijing continues to fill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Chinese crude imports will remain strong amid off-the-mark reports about the nation nearing its maximum inventory. [Forbes]
Anadarko To Acquire Freeport-McMoRran's Gulf of Mexico Assets. Anadarko agreed to purchase Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas' deepwater Gulf of Mexico properties in a deal expected to close later this year. [Offshore Magazine]
Magnum Hunter Resources has emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The company had voluntarily taken the move five months ago as it looked to restructure the company.
In a statement it said it had completed a “very effective” balance-sheet restructuring which had deleveraged all of Magnum Hunter’s $1billion of pre-bankruptcy funded indebtedness and converted 100% of its post-filing debtor in possession financing.
The new board of directors is currently engaged in a search for a permanent chief executive.
The company’s current chief financial officer and senior vice president both currently serve as co-chief executives.
A spokesman said: “Magnum Hunter has worked successfully to fulfill the pre-negotiated restructuring support agreement milestones with the objective of achieving the best possible solution for all of our stakeholders. Without the cooperation of our dedicated employees and the strength of our relationships with royalty owners, vendors, suppliers and capital providers, this would not have been possible. “Under the direction of our new Board of Directors, we look forward to growing our Company strategically and profitably.”
(Bloomberg) -- Schlumberger Ltd. cut another 2,000 jobs in the first quarter as the world’s largest provider of oilfield services sees the industry in a full-scale crisis.
The reduction sent the company’s global headcount down to about 93,000 at the end of the first quarter, Joao Felix, a spokesman for the company, said by e-mail.
“The decline in global activity and the rate of activity disruption reached unprecedented levels as the industry displayed clear signs of operating in a full-scale cash crisis,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in an earnings report Thursday.
Profit fell as the company adjusts to shrinking margins in North America during the worst crude market crash in a generation.
First-quarter profit declined to $501 million, or 40 cents a share, from $975 million, or 76 cents, a year earlier, the Houston- and Paris-based company said in a statement Thursday. The profit was 1 cent more than the 39-cent average of 37 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
May 12 (Reuters) - Irish oil producer Petroceltic International Plc said a court examiner had selected its largest shareholder, Worldview Capital Management, to take control of the group.
Petroceltic, which received a 3 pence per share offer from Worldview in February, said it expected to sign an investment agreement over the coming days which would result in Worldview owning the company.
The company was placed in examinership in March, a process under Irish law that is akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and administration in Britain.
The company, which operates in Algeria, Egypt, the Black Sea region and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has been struggling due to the collapse in global crude oil prices.
Helix Energy Solutions公司发布2016年第二季度净亏损1070万美元（摊薄每股收益0.10美元）的报告，相比2015年同期净亏损260万美元（摊薄每股收益0.03美元)，相比2016年第一季度净亏损2780万美元（摊薄每股收益0.26美元）。截至2016年6月30日，公司六个月的净亏损为3850万美元（摊薄每股收益0.36美元），而截至2015年6月30日的六个月，公司净收入为1700万美元（摊薄每股收益0.16美元）。
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE: HLX) reported a net loss of $10.7 million, or $(0.10) per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2016 compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $(0.03) per diluted share, for the same period in 2015 and a net loss of $27.8 million, or $(0.26) per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016. The net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $38.5 million, or $(0.36) per diluted share, compared to net income of $17.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Helix reported adjusted EBITDA of $14.9 million for the second quarter of 2016 compared to $35.7 million for the second quarter of 2015 and $1.0 million for the first quarter of 2016. Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $16.0 million compared with $87.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated:
'The market remains very weak, but in the second quarter we started to benefit from the commencement of the Q5000 contract in the Gulf of Mexico and the seasonal pickup in the North Sea. We expect to see improvement in our financial performance for the second half of 2016 compared to the first half of the year driven by the seasonal increase in North Sea activity during the summer and the commencement of the first Petrobras contract in late 2016.'
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