Rania El Gamal: APRIL 30, 2018

DUBAI (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is fully committed to its gas joint venture in Iraq, after the energy major exited its oil assets in the OPEC country, and plans to boost its gas output there to 1.4 billion cubic feet (bcf) a day by 2020, a senior executive said. Iraq’s gas development plans have long focused on Basra Gas Co (BGC), a $17 billion, 25-year project in which Iraq has 51 percent, Shell 44 percent and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) 5 percent. The project was designed to aggregate gas from fields in the south including West Qurna 1, operated by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N); Zubair, operated by Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI); and Rumaila, developed by BP (BP.L). FULL ARTICLE read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Apr 20, 2018, 10:00 PM CDT

Oil major Shell has snapped up over 8 million barrels of June-loading crude oil grades from the Middle East and Russia and has resold some of the cargoes in Asia, taking advantage of the strong Asian demand, Reutersreported on Friday, citing five trading sources.

Wider Brent premium over the Middle Eastern benchmark Dubai this month has made Atlantic crude oil supplies more expensive than the Middle Eastern and Russian supplies, which are priced off the Dubai benchmark. read more

• Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari met with Shell on Wednesday as part of talks that could lead to a $15 billion investment in his country.
• Oil accounts for approximately 35 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, according to OPEC.

Justina Crabtree | @jlacrabtree: 19 April 2018

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari met with Shell on Wednesday as part of talks he said were to secure $15 billion of investment in his country. “I saw Shell Group, they came here, they saw me, they are preparing to invest $15 billion in Nigeria… so really, we are not doing too badly,” Buhari said to applause at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London on Wednesday. He was speaking as part of a panel on the ease of doing business between Commonwealth countries. FULL ARTICLE read more

A pump jack in a Permian Basin oil field in West Texas. The area has been a focus of the shale drilling boom. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS: JAN. 28, 2018

HOUSTON — A substantial rise in oil prices in recent months has led to a resurgence in American oil production, enabling the country to challenge the dominance of Saudi Arabia and dampen price pressures at the pump. The success has come in the face of efforts by Saudi Arabia and its oil allies to undercut the shale drilling spree in the United States. Those strategies backfired and ultimately ended up benefiting the oil industry. Overcoming three years of slumping prices proved the resiliency of the shale boom. Energy companies and their financial backers were able to weather market turmoil — and the maneuvers of the global oil cartel — by adjusting exploration and extraction techniques. FULL ARTICLE read more

The sale process is led by investment bank Rothschild, the sources said. Shell and Rothschild did not respond to requests for comment. The Mukhaizna heavy oil field, operated by Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N), reached an average oil production rate of 127,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2016, according to Occidental’s annual report. Shell is not selling its 34 percent interest in Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) which operated more than 160 oil fields mostly in the centre and south of the Middle East sultanate, according to the sources. FULL ARTICLE read more

FULL ARTICLE: BP and Shell profits under renewed pressure as oil price hits 2017 low

Summary

• The myth of a secure price range for OPEC in its battle against shale.
• Why OPEC has painted itself into a corner, forcing it to extend lower output.
• What’s far more important than OPEC and others’ cuts.
• Cuts or not – low-cost shale producers like Shell will produce at a profit.

FULL ARTICLE

By The Motley Fool  Nov 7, 2016

Deal in danger

My bearish view on Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) hasn’t improved over the weekend, either, following news of fresh bickering between OPEC members.

On Monday, OPEC’s Mohammed Barkindo was forced to deny that the wheels are not falling off its much-lauded supply freeze agreement, with the group’s secretary general announcing that all 14 member states remain committed to the deal.

But rumours that Saudi Arabia vowed late last week to raise its own production, should members fail to rubber-stamp the deal this month, negates any suggestion of cross-cartel unity. Some members like Iran have been exempted from cutting, or even holding, their own production, causing other group members to publicly call for similar exemptions. The political and economic ramifications of getting an agreement over the line are clearly colossal. read more

Dividend Income: 5 October 2016

Summary

• OPEC has agreed to put a ceiling on oil production at 32.5 million barrels per day, representing a 900k cut from its current output at 33.4 million.
• The news supported oil’s rise by nearly 10 percent, and benefits some companies significantly more than others.
• The author still recommends to stay away from offshore, but upstream producers with lower break even cost could be an attractive investment. Integrated majors’ dividends are also safer than ever.

News Summary

To the surprise of everyone, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC) has agreed to put a ceiling on oil production at 32.5 million barrels per day, which is significantly less than its current 33.4 million barrels per day of production. The news has helped oil price rally nearly 10% to almost $51.50 per barrel Brent.

In this article, I will try to dissect the news and its effect on integrated majors, upstream producers and offshore producers. Of course, the news benefit some of these companies significantly more than others, which are actually unaffected or evenly negatively affected by the news. Similarly, I will analyze how it will affect the United State Oil ETF (NYSEARCA:USO) and other oil related ETFs going forward. read more

Oil falls as investors cash in on OPEC deal rally, dollar rises

The United States, now the world’s biggest oil producer but not a member of OPEC, said it had little faith in the deal leading to higher prices in the long term. Amos Hochstein, the U.S. energy envoy, said in a Reuters interview the deal will either lead to higher U.S. production and trigger another price fall or allow U.S. producers to expand market share.

By Karolin Schaps | LONDON

Oil prices fell on Friday on a stronger dollar and as investors cashed in on a 6-percent rise in just one day after OPEC members agreed to reduce output for the first time in eight years to stifle a two-year price slide.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $1.03 at $48.21 a barrel by 1006 GMT, but still 4.5 percent higher than before the OPEC agreement on Wednesday.

U.S. crude CLc1 was down 66 cents at $47.17 a barrel, around 5 percent higher than before the OPEC announcement. read more

OPEC decision on daily oil output freeze to have no impact on Shell’s strategy

September 29, 2016

Baku-APA. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) agreement to freeze daily oil output will not affect Royal Dutch Shell ‘s current strategy, a spokesman for one of the world’s largest oil companies told Sputnik on Thursday, APA reports quoting Sputnik.

On Wednesday, OPEC oil producing countries agreed a preliminary deal on the sidelines of an international energy forum in Algiers, Algeria. The output ceiling was set at 32.5-33 million barrels a day for the whole cartel.  read more

By Ed Crooks: September 23, 2016

One of the most reliable features of negotiations over oil production is a divergence between what countries say and what they do.

Three weeks ago, Russia and Saudi Arabia were discussing co-operation to stabilise the oil market. This week there was talk of a year-long agreement between Russia and Opec to cap production. At the same time, however, Russia has been stepping up its drilling in the mature fields of western Siberia, taking its oil output to new record highs. Its production is forecast by Goldman Sachs to grow a further 590,000 barrels per day over the next three years. read more

By Ed Crooks: June 10. 2016

Two of the most widely respected energy analysts – BP’s economics team and the International Energy Agency – published reports this week, and both brought bad news for fossil fuel producers. They differed, however, in the focus of their gloomy perspectives. For BP, publishing its 65th annual Statistical Review of World Energy, it was coal that came off worst. As Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist, put it in his presentation, “2015 was undoubtedly an annus horribilis for coal”. The shift to natural gas for power generation in the US gathered pace, and there was a second consecutive year of declining consumption in China. read more

By Ed Crooks: April 1, 2016

Oil prices went sideways all week, with Brent crude edging up above $40 on Thursday.  Hedge funds have made record bets on rising crude prices, but everyone is still watching prospects for the scheduled meeting of Opec and non-Opec oil producers in Doha, Qatar on April 17. Qatar’s oil minister said 12 countries had so far agreed to attend, including most Opec members and Russia. Reuters provided a useful factbox on the countries that could be present at the meeting.  Ecuador is one of the Opec members trying to persuade non-member countries to join in a commitment to freeze production. read more

By Muhammad Ali Khawar on Feb 12, 2016 at 1:58 pm EST

The biggest energy deal of 2015, between Royal Dutch Shell Plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) and BG Group, is just three days away from its closing. On Monday, the two European energy giants will merge to form one of the biggest companies in the global oil and gas industry.

Today is the last trading day for BG Group on the London Stock Exchange. The company would be delisted from the Stock Exchange, effective February 15.

Though $70 billion may seem a lot to many people in the low oil environment, Bidness Etc believes the benefits of the merger are likely to outweigh its costs in the long-run. read more

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and DIANE CARDWELL: A version of this article appears in print on January 26, 2016, on page A1 of the New York edition

Barely a month after world leaders signed a sweeping agreement to reduce carbon emissions, the global commitment to renewable energy sources faces its first big test as the price of oil collapses.

Buoyed by low gas prices, Americans are largely eschewing electric cars in favor of lower-mileage trucks and sport utility vehicles. Yet the Obama administration has shown no signs of backing off its requirement that automakers nearly double the fuel economy of their vehicles by 2025. read more