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[maywillow] 17/5/2018 22:10

BP, Conoco said to be in talks for asset swap deal
By Kelly Gilblom and Dinesh Nair on 5/17/2018

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc and ConocoPhillips are in discussions for an asset swap deal that would see the UK energy major gain a greater foothold in a key project in the North Sea and the U.S. explorer gain Alaskan assets, according to people familiar with the talks.

BP is considering taking Conoco’s stake in Clair field, in which BP already holds a 28.6% stake and is the operator, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. In exchange, Conoco is likely to take some of BP’s assets in Alaska. BP describes Clair as “the largest undeveloped hydrocarbon resource” in the UK.

The world’s biggest oil companies, including BP, have largely been selling their aging North Sea assets as they move funds to areas where it’s cheaper to produce oil and natural gas. Still, the area has seen a revival in recent years as new entrants infuse additional capital and fresh technology. BP itself has said it will focus on a few projects as it targets increasing output from the region.

No decision

No final decisions have been reached between the companies and talks could still fall apart. A BP spokesman declined to comment. Conoco is not looking to sell its UK North Sea assets, CEO Ryan lance said at the company’s annual general meeting this week.

“Unless formally announced by the company, we don’t comment on business development activity," Emma Ahmed, a spokeswoman for Conoco, said by email.

The people didn’t say which Alaskan assets BP is putting on the table. The biggest of its fields there is Prudhoe Bay, which started production in in the 1970s.

Conoco has been reducing its exposure to the UK as fields age, and is keen to focus more on U.S. shale, one of the world’s fastest-growing oil-producing regions. The Houston-based explorer said in April it intended to cut 450 jobs in Britain between Oct. 1 and April 2020 as it ceased output through its Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal.

[maywillow] 17/5/2018 18:39

Thursday 17 May 2018 4:59pm
Opec will not increase oil supply, calling price surge short-term spike despite prices reaching $80 per barrel
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Torjus Roberg
Torjus Roberg is a reporter for City A.M. He covers energy markets, mining, phar [..] Show more
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Kuwait Promises To Increase Oil Production In Case Of War
The oil price has not been as high since November 2014 (Source: Getty)

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has said that that it will not rethink its supply strategy even after oil reached $80 (£59) per barrel, labelling it a short-term spike rather than supply shortage.

Brent crude price reached $80 per barrel today, which is the highest point since November 2014, and is a result of geopolitical tension after President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Opec, which is a consortium of oil exporting nations, has this far not filled the supply hole in the market as it believes that the issue is not a lack of supply, but rather a a short-term spike in the market that will eventually blow over.
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Read more: Premier Oil ramps up oil production to pay off £2bn debt

Oil and gas research analyst Jack Allardyce at cantor Fitzgerald Europe said: “There is now a firmer consensus around the potential impact of lost Venezuelan/Iranian exports, and as such, we see little to drive benchmarks much higher in the immediate term.”

“While global inventories are approaching long-run averages, there is a building concern over demand growth, partially on account of higher prices. In short, it feels that fundamentals have found a bit of balance, although firmer indications of the impact of renewed sanctions on Iran may well change the picture.”

Iran's oil production has declined and is expected to continue to do so when US sanctions are reimposed and Venezuela's production has also reduced dramatically as the country has not invested enough in its industry.

There is now a concern that because of the decrease in supply and Opec choosing to cut production by 1.8m barrels per day until the end of 2018, the prices could continue to increase to as much as $100 per barrel within the next few years.

Senior market analyst Fiona Cincotta at City Index said that although the increased US production is putting pressure on the oil prices, they are now overshadowed by the lack in production from both Iran and Venezuela.

She said: “Venezuela's problems are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon and could be exasperated if Trump aims sanctions at the troubled country following rigged and unfair elections. Also if the US can get China to loosen energy ties with Iran, then regardless of increased US shale production, the price could close in on $100.”

According to investment bank Morgan Stanley, new international shipping regulations will cause Brent crude to reach $90 by 2020 as shipping vessels will be forced to use lower sulphur fuels triggering the need for more crude.

[waldron] 17/5/2018 16:43

Total CEO says oil price could hit $100 'in coming months'
Published May 17, 2018 10:32pm

WASHINGTON - The CEO of French oil giant Total said Thursday he would not be surprised to see the price of a barrel of crude reach $100 "in the coming months."

Patrick Pouyanne's remarks come as oil prices continue to rise on geopolitical instability fears. Toward 0950 GMT, a barrel of North Sea Brent passed $80 for the first time since November 2014. — Agence France-Presse

[cpap man] 17/5/2018 16:25

UOG



United Oil & Gas Plc - Update




Hello Everyone,

Earlier this week, we announced the completion of a 2,250 sq km 3D seismic acquisition survey over the Walton-Morant licence, offshore Jamaica, which includes the high-graded Colibri target. United holds a 20% equity interest in the 32,065 sq km Walton-Morant licence, with the remainder held by the operator, Tullow Oil plc, the leading independent oil and gas exploration and production company. A copy of the announcement is attached.

Key points to note in this morning’s announcement:

First ever 3D seismic survey in Jamaica completed over Walton-Morant licence, ahead of schedule

Focused on de-risking multiple structures to drill-ready status including Colibri, a high grade target estimated to hold gross mean prospective resources of over 200mmbbls

Fast-tracked data expected mid-June 2018 with the final data-sets due later in the year

The technical case for Colibri is further strengthened by the recent identification of an active thermogenically derived offshore oil seep to the south of the structure.

The Company expects to receive a fast-tracked version of the data by mid-June 2018 with the final processed data-sets due to be available later in the year. Subject to the results, an exploration well could be drilled in 2020, with success significantly de-risking numerous follow-up structures that have already been identified across the Licence.

In addition, we were very pleased to announce that the Colter Joint Venture partnership signed a letter of intent to secure an Ensco jack-up rig to drill the Colter well in Q3/Q4 this year. The Colter discovery is adjacent to the largest onshore oil field in Europe, Wytch Farm, which has produced in excess of 450 million barrels of oil. Colter was originally drilled by offshore well 98/11-3 in 1986 which recovered oil on test from a 10.5 metres oil column within the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone, the main reservoir at Wytch Farm. More recently, merged and reprocessed 3D seismic data has indicated potential up-dip of the discovery well. The target is in shallow water, which enables the use of an offshore jack-up rig, keeping costs to a minimum. A copy of this announcement is also attached.

This is an exciting period for United and I look forward to providing further updates on our progress, including our M&A activity.

Thank you again for all your support.

Kind regards

Brian Larkin
Chief Executive Officer
United Oil & Gas Plc
Phone: [phone]

www.uogplc.com

[the grumpy old men] 17/5/2018 11:02

Major oil and gas project reports reveal the value of collaborative working

Published by David Bizley, Editor
Oilfield Technology, Thursday, 17 May 2018 10:30

Guidelines to help oil and gas companies to collaborate have been hailed a success after two major UK projects revealed the benefits of joint working included a 10% reduction in costs.

The Callater Field and Brent Bravo decommissioning project both applied collaborative principles set out in the Project Collaboration Toolkit, which has been developed by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and the Offshore Project Management Steering Group (OPMSG). The toolkit was created to help the UK’s oil and gas industry improve its efficiency in a competitive global market by sharing skills and expertise to keep costs down.

The Callater Field project, which began production of 14 000 bpd in August 2017, was the result of a collaborative effort by joint block owners Apache Corporation, Subsea7 and Quad Way. The project was anchored around open and honest communication between partners and role selection based on need and competence, not on company rank or position. Key achievements cited in the case study report include faster project start-up, more efficient working practices and a 10% cost saving.

The Brent Bravo decommissioning project involved operator Shell and contractors Wood and Stork forming a cohesive team and integrating their operations to work more efficiently. Learning lessons from similar work on the Brent Delta platform, the onshore and offshore teams involved were smaller, due to less duplication of roles across the organisations involved, and more agile, meaning work started within six weeks rather than the typical three-month ramp up. The cost savings were significant: 10% less than the amount originally budgeted and 70% less than the comparable Brent Delta project.

Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, said: “Collaboration on projects is a great way for the industry to stay competitive in what remains a challenging operating climate. The ECITB designed its Project Collaboration Toolkit to enable effective, collaborative relationships in the sector, helping oil and gas companies to boost productivity and keep costs down. These reports clearly show a collaborative approach is helping the industry overcome delays and overspends that have historically hampered effective and efficient delivery of key infrastructure projects.”

Deirdre Michie, Chief Executive of Oil and Gas UK, said: “These significant case studies show the UK offshore industry at its best - in relentless pursuit of smarter ways of working which help to raise our competitiveness to the next level. “They are proof that collaborative working can yield successes across the lifecycle of the basin, from generating efficiencies and cost-savings which drive new prospects across the investment line, to making strides in efforts to reduce the decommissioning bill.

“I’m delighted to support this initiative alongside our Efficiency Task Force, which works across industry to promote efficient practice. With these great examples of collaboration in action I am sure we can look forward to hearing of many more.”

Gunther Newcombe, Director of Operations at the Oil and Gas Authority, said: “Since the OGA issued its UKCS Project Lessons Learnt Report in early 2017 we have seen increased collaboration within the industry to deliver improved project value. It is highly encouraging to see the ECITB Project Collaboration Toolkit being used to such good effect and the OGA will also be ensuring that the Robust Project Delivery Stewardship Expectation is implemented by industry, coupled with improved collaboration with the supply chain using Supply Chain Actions Plans (SCAPs).”

Steve Phimister, VP Upstream; Director Shell UK, said: “The ECITB Project Collaboration Toolkit will help all those involved in projects to realise the benefits of collaborative behaviours in project delivery. The case studies for the Callater Field Development and Brent Bravo Topsides Preparation Decommissioning Projects show what collaboration can really achieve. Whilst maintaining competitiveness, such improvements in project delivery performance and efficiency, as a direct result of collaborative behaviour, are hugely important to securing the future of UK Oil & Gas.”

Jim Lenton, Co-Chair of the Offshore Project Management Steering Group and Managing Director of Integrated Solutions at WorleyParsons, said: “The Offshore Project Management Steering Group were tasked by industry, following the 2015 ECITB project management conference, to create a tool to help our firms collaborate more successfully. This was identified as critical in our drive to maximise economic recovery. The toolkit is the product of this and I’m delighted that we now have a framework that can help industry drive better project outcomes by truly working together. I congratulate Callatar and Brent Bravo in this regard.”

The Project Collaboration toolkit aims to share best practices within the industry and to help clients and contractors to work together to make the industry more efficient and cost-effective. The ECITB and OPMSG are now looking at making the toolkit available to other industries.