Total Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 20/12/2019 17:10

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Total
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Engie
14.75 +1.72%


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485.05 +0.29%

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150.68 -0.34%

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[waldron] 19/12/2019 17:16

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13.846 +0.20%


Total
49 +0.80%

Engie
14.5 +0.10%


Bp
483.65 +0.91%

Vodafone
151.2 +0.47%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,269 +1.11%

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2,272.5 +1.07%

[waldron] 18/12/2019 17:04

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23,628.87 -0.01%


Eni
13.818 +0.85%


Total
48.61 -0.36%

Engie
14.485 -1.66%


Bp
479.3 +0.09%

Vodafone
150.5 +0.82%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,244 +0.49%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,248.5 +0.87%

[waldron] 17/12/2019 18:02

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 66.02 +1.04%
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3,745.28 -0.75%
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13,287.83 -0.89%
Ftse Mib
23,630.77 +0.45%



Eni
13.702 +0.57%


Total
48.785 +1.05%

Engie
14.73 +0.58%

Orange
13.445 +0.75%


Bp
478.85 +2.32%

Vodafone
149.28 +0.65%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,233 +2.64%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,229 +3.19%

[waldron] 17/12/2019 14:17

Total to acquire ownership stake in two offshore licenses in Angola

Oil & GasUpstreamOffshore

By NS Energy Staff Writer 17 Dec 2019

To date, four discoveries have been made at the two blocks that include Cameia, Mavinga, Bicuar and Golfinho
oil-rig-2191711_640

Image: Total will acquire majority stake in two new offshore licenses. Photo: courtesy of C Morrison from Pixabay.

French oil and gas giant Total has signed an agreement to acquire stakes in Blocks 20/11 and 21/09 located in the Kwanza Basin, offshore Luanda, Angola from Angola’s state-owned firm Sonangol.

Under the terms of the deal, Total will acquire a 50% stake in Block 20/11 and a further 80% stake in Block 21/09 by paying $400m on the closing of the deal. The firm will also pay another $100m upon completion of final investment decision (FID).

An additional amount of up to $250m could be paid by Total to Sonangol over the project’s life, depending on production and pricing.

Until date, four discoveries have been made at the two blocks including Cameia, Mavinga, Bicuar and Golfinho.
Total to further explore potential resources in the two blocks

Besides unlocking the discovered resources’ value by creating a development hub, Total is planning to explore for further potential resources in the two blocks.

Upon completion of the deal, which is subject to approvals of the competent authorities and partners, Total will operate the Block 20/11 with 50% interest alongside Sonangol (20%) and BP (30%). The block is located water depths ranging from 300m to 1,700m.

Additionally, Total will operate Block 21/09, located in water depths ranging from 1,600m to 1,800m, with 80% stake. The remaining 20% stake will be held by Sonangol.

Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “We are very pleased to demonstrate once again our pioneer spirit and our commitment to continue developing Angola’s energy sector by becoming the first company to undertake a development in the Kwanza Basin.”

Separately, Total and its partners have agreed with national oil, gas and biofuels agency ANPG and Sonangol to extend the Block 17 production licenses to 2045.

Located 150km off the Angolan coast in water depths ranging from 600m to 1,400m, the Block 17 is currently producing around 440,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has capacity to further produce more than 1 billion barrels.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sonangol will acquire 5% interest in Block 17 and an additional 5% interest in 2036.

Upon completion of the deal, the Block 17 will be operated by Total with 38% interest, alongside Equinor (22.16%), Exxon Mobil (19%), BP (15.84%), and Sonangol (5%).

In November 2019, Total has officially inaugurated the Kaombo project, a $16bn deep offshore development in Angola.

[waldron] 16/12/2019 17:23

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4,711.55 +1.19%
Euro STOXX 50
3,772.74 +1.16%
DAX
13,407.66 +0.94%
Ftse Mib
23,524.76 +0.84%



Eni
13.624 +0.15%


Total
48.28 +0.96%

Engie
14.645 +0.41%

Orange
13.345 +0.53%

IAG
Price (GBX) 640.00 +1.68% (Up +10.60)


Bp
468 +1.20%

Vodafone
148.32 +1.42%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,175.5 +1.07%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,160 +1.15%

[waldron] 16/12/2019 17:04

Total SA (FP.FR) said Monday that its consortium with Equinor ASA (EQNR.OS), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and BP PLC (BP.LN) has extended its production licences in Angola through 2045.

The consortium has reached an agreement with Angola's national oil, gas and biofuels agency ANPG and state-owned Sonangol to extend all its licences in Block 17 offshore Angola, the French energy major said.

Sonangol will get a 5% stake in Block 17 when the agreement comes into effect and an additional 5% interest in 2036, Total said, which is the operator of the block.

"Additionally, the consortium will pay some production bonuses to the State of Angola along the life of the license and will spend [$20 million] for social programs," Total said.

Block 17 currently produces 440,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and has more than 1 billion barrels yet to be produced, Total said.



Write to Cristina Roca at [e-mail]; @_cristinaroca



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 16, 2019 11:40 ET (16:40 GMT)

[ariane] 15/12/2019 16:28

France's Total to begin drilling offshore Lebanon next month

Beirut is keen to kick-start exploration as it looks to reduce its energy import bill
Lebanon's economic crisis has led to nationwide protests over the last two months. The country needs its exploration programme to work to reduce its energy import bill.
Jennifer Gnana
Jennifer Gnana

December 15, 2019

French energy oil major Total will begin drilling for gas in the eastern Mediterranean waters offshore Lebanon as the country looks to kick-start oil hydrocarbons exploration.

The company, which is part of a consortium consisting of Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek, will drill a well in Block 4, that was awarded in 2017.
Read More

Exclusive: France's Total to stay clear of Lebanese maritime area contested by Israel

Development of Gaza Marine field not in the immediate future, says Energean

“The launch of this licence and handing it over to the consortium of Total, Eni and Novatek is the first step in the discovery of potential oil and gas reserves in Lebanon,” Lebanese Energy Minister Nada Boustani said.

The drilling process could take up to two months, with an additional two months required to evaluate the commercial viability of any potential gas discoveries, she added.

The Total-led consortium won two blocks offshore in Lebanon’s first licensing round held under the government of now caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri.

Lebanon has one of the highest debt to gross domestic product ratios in the world, with public debt reaching $86 billion (Dh325.8bn), equivalent to 150 per cent of GDP. The country’s worsening economic crisis fuelled nationwide protests the past two months. The country’s debt crisis has worsened in recent years, exacerbated by political uncertainty, internal disagreements and the burden of hosting more than a million Syrian refugees, about a quarter of the population.

Revenue from the offshore oil and gas deposits would help the country shore up its finances and be a net positive.

The licensing round and plans for exploration and production are key to lowering the country’s energy import bill. Lebanon imports about 90 per cent of its energy needs, which is environmentally inefficient fuel oil, to keep power stations running. That still does not meet demand and energy cuts through the day range from three to nine hours across the country.

Several high-profile discoveries in the Mediterranean over the past couple of years, notably in Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus, have raised hopes of a similar yield offshore of Lebanon. However, an absent government and political bickering has stalled plans to pursue exploration work in the disputed area, and efforts to tender the blocks.

In 2018, Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanne told The National the consortium would stay clear of waters contested by Israel, which is technically in a state of war with Lebanon.

“We are a commercial company and we do things respecting the laws of the country and in the end, we do not target to drill anything near the Israeli border,” he said.

Israel, which launched a simultaneous licensing round, completed its second round of bid auctions for oil and gas concessions in July. It is currently preparing to start production from Leviathan, its largest natural gas field. The country also plans to export the fuel to Egypt, with plans in the works to deliver gas to neighbouring Jordan.

Updated: December 15, 2019 06:26 PM

[gibbs1] 14/12/2019 09:30

Chevron, Total sanction $5.7bn development of Anchor oil field

Oil & GasUpstreamField Development

By NS Energy Staff Writer 13 Dec 2019

The Anchor oil field, which is estimated to contain more than 440 million barrels of recoverable oil-equivalent resources, is expected to begin production in 2024
oil-rig-2191711_640(3)

Chevron and Total to move ahead with development of Anchor oil field. Photo: courtesy of C Morrison from Pixabay.

Chevron and Total have taken final investment decision (FID) on the Anchor oil field development in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico (US GoM), which involves an investment of around $5.7bn for its first stage.

The Anchor oil project is being pursued in the Green Canyon region, nearly 225km offshore Louisiana, to exploit more than 440 million barrels of estimated recoverable oil-equivalent resources.

Contained in water depths of nearly 1,524m, the Anchor field is likely to be developed in multiple stages. The offshore oil field is expected to begin production in 2024.
Stage 1 development of Anchor oil field

Stage 1 of the Anchor project will involve drilling of seven subsea wells that will be connected to a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU). According to the partners, the Anchor project FPU will have a design capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The Anchor oil project is said to be the first development in the industry to use high-pressure technology. Chevron said that the new technology, which can handle pressures of 20,000 psi, also gives access to other high-pressure resource opportunities across the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron North America exploration and production president Steve Green said: “For new projects in the Gulf of Mexico, we have reduced development costs by nearly a third, compared to our last generation of greenfield deepwater investments.

“We’re doing this by standardizing equipment, utilizing fit-for-purpose surface facilities that require less capital and employing drill to fill strategies. At Anchor, we streamlined our front-end engineering and design phase and are utilizing more industry standards in our designs and equipment to lower costs while maintaining Operational Excellence.”

Chevron is the operator of the Anchor oil field, through a 62.86% stake held by its subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Total holds the remaining 37.14% stake through its subsidiary TOTAL E&P USA.

Total said that it also holds stakes alongside Chevron in other leases located near the Anchor project that have exploration potential. The French oil and gas company said that any discoveries on the jointly owned leases can be tied back to the facilities at the Anchor field at competitive costs.

In another development, Total launched front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the North Platte discovery, which is also located in deepwater Gulf of Mexico, offshore Louisiana.

The French oil and gas firm, which expects to take an FID for the North Platte development, is the operator with a 60% stake. Total is partnered by Equinor (40%) in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater project.

Total exploration and production president Arnaud Breuillac said: “The FID for Anchor and the decision to launch FEED for North Platte are tangible examples of our strategy to increase our footprint in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

“The Anchor project benefits from reserves with upsides, allowing for a stand-alone development at a competitive cost. The North Platte project, meanwhile, marks Total’s return to the region as an operator.”

[waldron] 13/12/2019 17:19

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 65.08 +1.37%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.66 +1.89%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.28 -1.68%
(WTI) 59.85 USD +0.47%

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28,112.97 -0.07%
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Euro STOXX 50
3,731.07 +0.56%
DAX
13,282.72 +0.46%
Ftse Mib
23,329.33 -0.26%


Eni
13.604 -0.34%


Total
47.82 +0.41%

Engie
14.585 +0.59%

Orange
13.275 -0.78%

IAG
Price (GBX) 629.40+13.08% (Up +72.80)

Bp
462.45 -1.47%

Vodafone
146.24 +1.32%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,152.5 -1.49%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,135.5 -1.41%

[sarkasm] 13/12/2019 14:51

13 December 2019
News
Total reaches final investment decision on Anchor oil field
Share

French oil and gas firm Total has reached the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Anchor oil field located in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico (GoM), off the coast of Louisiana.

Total holds a working interest of 37.14% in Anchor field, while Chevron operates the field with 62.86% interest. The company noted that the Anchor oil field will be developed with seven subsea wells connected to a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU).

The FPU will be operated at a capacity of 75,000 barrels (bbls) of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet (mcf) of gas a day. First oil from the field is slated for 2024.

According to Total, any discoveries that are jointly leased by Total and Chevron could be connected to the Anchor oil field facilities. Additionally, it has started front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for the North Platte discovery located in the US GoM.

The North Platte field comprises four blocks of the Garden Banks area. It is 275km off the coast of Louisiana and is present in approximately 1,300m deepwaters, with thickness exceeding about 1,200m. Total operates the North Platte field with 60% working interest, while Equinor owns the remaining 40% interest in the field.

Total Exploration & Production president Arnaud Breuillac said: “The FID for Anchor and the decision to launch FEED for North Platte are tangible examples of our strategy to increase our footprint in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

“The Anchor project benefits from reserves with upsides, allowing for a stand-alone development at a competitive cost. The North Platte project, meanwhile, marks Total’s return to the region as an operator. We’re aiming for a final investment decision in 2021.

“These two high-pressure, 20kpsi projects will help to unlock the potential of the Central Area of the Gulf of Mexico, where Total has a strong presence.”

[adrian j boris] 12/12/2019 08:53

Algeria energy
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Government to block Total deal
December 11th 2019 | Algeria | Oil and gas

Event

On December 4th Mohamed Arkab, the energy minister, announced that the government would block the transfer to Total, a French oil major, of the Algerian upstream assets formerly owned by Anadarko, a US oil company.

Analysis

Total signed a US$8.8bn deal in May to acquire Anadarko's entire African portfolio on completion of Occidental Petroleum's (US) takeover of Anadarko, which was finalised in August. The Algerian assets constitute a 24.5% stake and the right to operate Blocks 404a and 408 in the Berkine Basin, which produced about 260,000 barrels/day (b/d) in 2018, around one-quarter of Algeria's total production for the year. The French firm entered the concession with a 12.25% share in 2017 through the acquisition of Maersk Oil, a Danish company, and both deals cohere with a wider revival of the major's position in the country following settlement of a long-running contractual dispute with Sonatrach, Algeria's state oil company, in 2017. In October 2018 the two firms agreed jointly to develop a gas field and a multi-billion-dollar petrochemicals complex.

Meanwhile, the government in place since the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the former president, in April cited the urgency of attracting upstream investment to reverse prolonged production decline as justifying approval of a long-delayed new hydrocarbons law in October, the over-riding aim of which is to improve the terms on offer to international oil companies. However, Mr Arkab expressed reservations about the Total deal from the outset and his latest statement described the asset transfer as "incompatible" with Algerian legislation, without elaborating on this assessment, and indicated that Sonatrach, the majority stakeholder in the blocks, intended to exercise pre-emption rights.

While appearing to run counter to the purported investment drive, the hasty passage of the new law before the presidential election on December 12th, and its unpopular headline aim of increasing foreign upstream involvement, has prompted street protests. The reversion to promoting nationalist economic policies just days before the poll could be intended to bolster support for the incumbent political establishment. Total's role is particularly controversial because of the firm's close association with the French state, the former colonial power. Mr Arkab's intervention may also simply be another salvo in ongoing negotiations with the company.

Impact on the forecast

The fate of the deal and of wider foreign upstream involvement will depend on the election outcome but it highlights that, even with the government advocating greater foreign engagement, the policy climate will remain unfavourable for foreign firms.
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

[waldron] 11/12/2019 17:45

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 63.42 -1.43%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.62 -2.10%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.27 +0.09%
(WTI) 58.52 USD -0.91%

FTSE 100
7,216.25 +0.03%
Dow Jones
27,826.7 -0.20%
CAC 40
5,860.88 +0.22%
SBF 120
4,613.14 +0.17%
Euro STOXX 50
3,687.45 +0.50%
DAX
13,146.74 +0.58%
Ftse Mib
23,155.64 +0.14%



Eni
13.592 -0.54%

Total
47.395 -0.52%

Engie
14.64 +1.56%

Orange
13.335 +0.00%

IAG
Price (GBX) 546.20 -0.04% (Down -0.20)


Bp
463.25 -1.29%

Vodafone
143.58 +0.59%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,168 -0.32%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,145.5 -0.51%

[florenceorbis] 11/12/2019 08:14

Total S.A. (FP.FR) said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation to develop the Waha concessions.

The French energy major said that it will help NOC develop the North Gialo and NC 98 fields which are projected to contribute an additional 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Under the terms of the agreement, Total will provide $70 million of financing up front, as well as $30 million for each field that comes on stream.

Total also said it will carry out economic development programs amounting to $20 million over a period of four years. The company acquired a 16.33% working interest in the Waha concessions in March 2018.



Write to Carlo Martuscelli at [e-mail]; @carlomartu



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 10, 2019 11:28 ET (16:28 GMT)

[waldron] 10/12/2019 18:19

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 64.33 +0.12%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.66 +0.60%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.26 +1.16%
(WTI) 59.18 USD +0.58%


FTSE 100
7,213.76 -0.28%
Dow Jones
27,902.78 -0.02%
CAC 40
5,848.03 +0.18%
SBF 120
4,605.13 +0.14%
Euro STOXX 50
3,671.78 -0.02%
DAX
13,070.72 -0.27%
Ftse Mib
23,122.82 +0.72%


Eni
13.666 +0.29%


Total
47.645 +0.13%

Engie
14.415 -0.17%

Orange
13.335 -0.93%

IAG
Price (GBX) 546.40-1.26% (Down -7.00)


Bp
469.3 -0.41%

Vodafone
142.74 -0.78%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,175 -0.07%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,156.5 -0.07%

[florenceorbis] 10/12/2019 08:04

10/12/2019 | 8:47
Total announced, as part of the call for projects launched by Citeo, a partnership with Citeo and Recycling Technologies, Nestlé and Mars, to develop an innovative industrial chemical recycling in France.

The consortium will study the technical and economic feasibility of recycling complex plastic waste, such as small, flexible or multi-layered packaging, which is now considered non-recyclable and ends up in incineration or landfill.

'This project involving major players in the packaging value chain is an important step in our ambition to produce 30% of recycled polymers by 2030', said Bernard Pinatel, Total's Director of Chemical Refining.

[waldron] 09/12/2019 17:12

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 64.29 -0.16%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.65 +0.33%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.21 -4.87%
(WTI) 59.06 USD +0.19%


FTSE 100
7,233.9 -0.08%
Dow Jones
27,948.06 -0.24%
CAC 40
5,837.25 -0.59%
SBF 120
4,598.6 -0.53%
Euro STOXX 50
3,672.18 -0.51%
DAX
13,105.61 -0.46%
Ftse Mib
22,956.9 -0.97%

Eni
13.626 -1.05%


Total
47.585 -0.77%

Engie
14.44 -1.10%

Orange
13.46 -0.96%

IAG
Price (GBX) 553.40 -1.18% (Down -6.60)


Bp
471.25 -0.39%

Vodafone
143.86 -0.36%

Royal Dutch Shell A
2,176.5 -0.21%

Royal Dutch Shell B
2,158 -0.37%

[the grumpy old men] 08/12/2019 21:15

The Best And Worst Oil Majors Of 2019
By Irina Slav - Dec 08, 2019, 2:00 PM CST
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Oil

As oil traders eagerly await OPEC’s final verdict on the production cuts, and as Riyadh puts the final touches on the Aramco IPO, some of the largest players in oil and gas are about to wrap up one of their best years.

Others, as it happens, could have done better.

Here are the top and the bottom companies in oil and gas this year based on share price performance:

Top Performers

Hess Corp and the Guyana Windfall

Hess’ shares surged by more than 50 percent in just the first eight months of 2019 and then continued up. This was thanks to one single prospect, and it wasn’t in the Permian. It was in Guyana, where Hess is a minority partner of Exxon, and the two have been making discovery after discovery offshore the tiny South American country.

After the latest discovery, Exxon and Hess have tapped some 5.5 billion barrels in oil reserves. Just how important this is for investors is evident in the fact that the share price of the company has continued to rise despite the fact that it has been in the red for two consecutive quarters now.

Shell and the Gas Wealth

When Shell bought BG Group for $53 billion in 2016, becoming the largest gas company in the world, it attracted a lot of criticism. Now, thanks to its natural gas exposure and specifically its LNG exposure, Shell is one of the best-performing stocks in the industry in the year to date. It is also the biggest public oil company by production, which stood at 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day at the end of the third quarter.

The Anglo-Dutch major is not just one of the biggest LNG producers, but also one of the biggest LNG shippers globally. It is also among the top performers in terms of revenue, ranking second in the world after China’s Sinopec. Shell is also actively expanding in renewables and energy storage, preparing the ground for future domination in the energy industry, too.

Total and the Smart Way

France’s only oil supermajor Total has been among the top performers in the industry over the past five years despite the 2014 price crash. It was also among the top-performing oil stocks this year thanks to its continued strict cost discipline and its focus on diversifying into anything that is not oil while working to boost its oil output as well. This stood at 2.8 million barrels of oil equivalent this year, but it will be higher next year as the company recently started up a field in Brazil’s prolific pre-salt zone.
Related: Will OPEC Really Risk An Oil Price Crash?

The company has an extensive presence in LNG too, with 12 assets producing and another eight under construction. Total has LNG interests across the world, from Canada through Mozambique and Papua New Guinea to Russia. Its annual output is 40 million tons of LNG.

Chevron and the Importance of Discipline

Chevron is one of the biggest players in the Permian, and it shows. It is also one of the lowest-cost producers in the shale patch, and this gives it an additional advantage over its higher-cost competitors. Chevron has placed a special emphasis on its home shale operations with several strategic asset sales in Europe and Canada to better expand at home. To date, it has 1.7 million net acres in the Permian with reserves of an estimated 11.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The company has been pumping over 3 million bpd of oil equivalent for a year now. Yet unlike pure-play shale producers, Chevron has other operations, too, and these have contributed to its outperformance as well, including the Wheatstone LNG project in Australia. But Chevron has also been very strict about cost control and shareholder returns, which has paid off.

At the other end of the performance scale are the companies that did not perform as well as their peers for a variety of reasons, including a lack of luck and the fickleness of the market.

Bottom Performers

Exxon and the Stubborn Share Price

Exxon was among the four worst performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year, with its shares only gaining about 1 percent since January. That’s in stark contrast to the performance of its Guyana partner Hess, and analysts have blamed this mostly on oil prices.

Exxon, however, has been having other problems, too, notably with investors that doubt its long-term prospects in the face of growing environmentalist and regulatory pressure that recently culminated in a lawsuit in which the New York Attorney General accused Exxon of misleading investors about the effects of climate change on the sustainability of its business.

BP and the Ghost of Disaster

BP recovered remarkably well from the Deepwater Horizon disaster eight years ago even though it ended up saddled with a compensation bill in excess of $60 billion. Now, it is also facing dividend payouts that are higher than its earnings.
Related: Morgan Stanley: Tesla Stock Could Hit $500

Debt is another problem that has dragged BP’s stock down this year. Because of slimmer profit margins and despite the company’s boasts, it breaks even at $50 a barrel. BP has been unable to pay down its debt consistently.

Like its peers, the supermajor has been targeted by environmentalists and regulators to clean up its act, and that has not been helpful with investor confidence. The latest here was an accusation of “greenwashing” its business with a major ad campaign.

Permian Independents and the Burden of Debt

In what may be a twist, the last entry on the worst performers’ list is not a single company, but a group. A lot has been said about U.S. shale and its contribution to global oil supply growth. The companies responsible for this supply growth, however, are, for the most part, running on fumes.

Debt-fueled growth has stripped most of the maneuvering space in case prices drop and, like back in 2014, has left many on the brink of collapse should the price situation change for the worse. Notably, this is despite stable prices and low production costs. This state of affairs has highlighted how interdependent the world of oil producers is. If the OPEC+ meeting today fails to result in deeper cuts, prices will tank, and U.S. shale majors will be hit harder than the integrated companies. This was made abundantly clear after Thursday’s OPEC meeting: the news of an agreement on deeper cuts moved prices only modestly and for a very short time.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com