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[adrian j boris] 02/2/2019 19:35

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (February 2, 2019).

HOUSTON -- The world's largest Western oil companies shrugged off a 38% plunge in oil prices during the final months of 2018 to post some of their biggest annual profits in years.

Strong fourth-quarter earnings Friday by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., following similar results by Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday, proved the extent to which the oil giants have transformed amid lower crude prices.

The top five generated more profits last year, when crude prices averaged just $71 a barrel, than in 2014, when global crude sold for an average of almost $100 a barrel.

Including estimates for BP PLC and Total SA, which report next week, they are set to post 2018 profits of about $84 billion, according to FactSet data. That is about $10 billion more than four years ago.

The companies are seeing benefits from a more disciplined strategy focused on returns and profitability over growing production, a demand from many investors who have been disappointed by lackluster performance in recent years. Exxon and Chevron stock prices rallied by more than 3%. Shell's U.S.-denominated shares rose by more than 4% Thursday, the most in three months Chevron's board authorized a $25 billion share repurchase program after the company bought back $1 billion in stock in the fourth quarter, a signal to investors that returns continue to be a top priority.

Collectively, the companies have restructured their businesses, sold off assets and positioned themselves to thrive even when crude prices swing up and down wildly.

Exxon, Chevron, BP and Shell are also turning to U.S. shale drilling in the booming Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, where it is possible to increase production without a multibillion-dollar project that could take at least a decade to make money.

Despite the fall in prices at the end of the fourth quarter, Exxon still generated $6 billion in net income in the period -- lower than the year before, which was boosted by the U.S. tax overhaul, but still better than analysts had expected. Chevron said net income was $3.73 billion, up 19% from the same time a year ago.

"These companies have figured out how to operate in this new environment, and they have adjusted well" to lower prices, said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

"The key going forward will be maintaining discipline. This is now a low-growth industry, so you've got to invest well," he added.

Exxon and Chevron stock prices rallied by more than 3%. Shell's U.S.-denominated shares rose by more than 4% Thursday, the most in three months. Chevron's board authorized a $25 billion share repurchase program after the company bought back $1 billion in stock in the fourth quarter, a signal to investors that returns continue to be a top priority.

Shell, Exxon and Chevron shares have rallied. Chevron's board authorized a $25 billion share repurchase program, signaling to investors that returns continue to be a priority.

On Thursday, Shell said it nearly doubled profits in 2018 from the previous year, posting net income of about $23 billion.

Production at Exxon rose above 4 million barrels a day of oil and gas for the first time since early 2017.

Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods has embarked on a $230 billion plan to revitalize the oil giant, targeting drilling opportunities around the world that he has said are the most attractive he's seen in decades. Those include shale wells in West Texas, natural gas export facilities in Papua New Guinea, a string of giant discoveries in the South American nation of Guyana and developments in Mozambique and Brazil.

While many analysts consider those projects to be extremely attractive, they aren't set to pay off in a big way for a few more years.

Exxon's shares fell about 15% in 2018, including dividends, the worst performance for the company in at least 20 years, according to FactSet data.

Mr. Woods said the company's ability to produce massive amounts of oil and gas while also having the logistics and refining capability to process barrels into fuel and other products was a critical bulwark in 2018.

"The price environment in 2018 was unpredictable, which once again demonstrated the value of our integrated business model," Mr. Woods said. That vertical integration "allowed us to avoid the impact of market dislocations and thus capture the full value of our barrels," he added.

Mr. Woods also signaled that Exxon is set to step up asset sales in its exploration and production business, which he plans to reorganize into three new companies beginning in April.

The company recorded a $429 million impairment charge in the quarter, much of which was from assets in North America "with limited development potential." Total revenue and other income rose 8.1% to $72 billion.

Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth said the company has been in discussions with U.S. officials related to its operations in Venezuela and believes they will continue operating in a safe and stable way for the foreseeable future. Chevron was among the companies that received an exemption from U.S. sanctions imposed this week against Venezuela's oil industry.

The exemption is set to expire in later this year, but it is possible several companies may continue to receive waivers, according to analysts.

Chevron plans to continue buying back significant quantities of shares, and the company is set to purchase a Texas refinery. That will allow the company to step up how much light crude it can process as it ramps up production in the Permian Basin. Like Exxon, Chevron nearly doubled its output in the region in 2018.

"We continue to maintain our commitment to capital discipline," Mr. Wirth said. "We intend to win in any environment."

Total revenues at Chevron rose 13% to $42 billion, and production of oil and gas rose 7% to the equivalent of 2.93 million barrels a day.

Excluding asset sales, the company said it expects production to grow by 4% to 7% in 2019.

Allison Prang and Kimberly Chin contributed to this article.

Write to Bradley Olson at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

[sarkasm] 02/2/2019 17:20

Have decided to bring silly chance predictions to the BB

TARGET PRICE WITHIN 3 MONTHS 61.70 euros

[grupo guitarlumber] 02/2/2019 11:37

Operators make handful of important deepwater discoveries in 2018
01/01/2019
Norphlet play figures prominently in new findings
Bruce Beaubouef, Managing Editor

The outlook for deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been slowly improving over the past year. The number of drilling rigs in the Gulf is up by four, from 19 to 23, compared to last year, according to the Baker Hughes rig count of Dec. 14, 2018. And that number is up by one compared to two years ago (2016), when the active US GoM rig count stood at 22.

And, operators reported finding a number of new and important oil discoveries in the deepwater US Gulf in 2018.

In January, both Shell and Total announced new deepwater discoveries. Shell Offshore Inc. reported that it had made one of its largest US Gulf of Mexico exploration finds in the past decade from its Whale deepwater well. The well encountered more than 1,400 net ft (427 m) of oil-bearing pay. Evaluation of the discovery is ongoing, and appraisal drilling is under way to further delineate the discovery and define development options.

[maywillow] 02/2/2019 09:22

Saudi Aramco, Total ink deal with Daelim to build Polyisobutylene facility
02-02-2019 Argaam
0



Saudi Aramco and Total have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daelim, a South Korean petrochemical company, to build a new Polyisobutylene (PIB) plant with a production capacity of 80,000-ton, the oil giant said in a statement on Thursday.



The front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the PIB plant will be launched this month and is expected to be finished in Q4 2019. The plant will likely come on-stream in 2024, the statement said.



The new petrochemicals facility will be using feedstock from the Amiral complex in Jubail to develop the PIB product for the first time in the Kingdom, it said.



This specialty chemical project will be part of the large-scale petrochemical complex of Amiral, located in the value park.



PIB is a high value-added chemical product and has a wide range of industrial applications such as adhesives, lubricants and fuel additives, it added.

[maywillow] 02/2/2019 08:34

Total E&P to take up a stake in oil refinery

February 1, 2019
Written by Jeff Mbanga

Two sticky points that were at the centre of the deadlock currently holding back investors in Uganda’s oil industry from making huge financial investments appear to have been resolved after Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and chief executive officer of French oil major Total E&P, and President Yoweri Museveni had a closed-door meeting at State House Entebbe on January 18.

The two points are holding back the signing of a $3.5 billion final investment decision for the crude oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania. In November 2018, we reported that the three main oil companies in Uganda, led by Total E&P, had asked government to channel all the available oil resources towards the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline, and delay building the government-preferred oil refinery until the year 2026.

In arguing its case then, Total E&P, which is leading the construction of the crude oil pipeline from Hoima in western Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula in eastern Tanzania, said that if all the available all resources – the country has about 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil – are not channeled to the pipeline, the tariff they would charge for exporting the crude would go to at least $16 per barrel, higher than the earlier agreed $12.7 per barrel.
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These demands appeared to have rattled some government officials, some of whom called for Museveni to come in and offer leadership. But now, The Observer has seen a copy of an internal memo to Total E&P Uganda staff, where Pierre Jessua, the general manager of the company, says the “discussion between Patrick Pouyanne and President Museveni was warm and fruitful and has led to significant progress in view of sanctioning the project [the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.]

Jessua’s memo goes on to say: “On the refinery, Total reiterated its commitment to support a 60,000 barrels per day refinery and take a participating interest in the project.”

The memo, which did not specify the exact interest Total would take in the refinery, continued: “On the pipeline project, Total agreed on a fixed tariff of $12.7.” The French company said their target is to sign the final investment decision by June 2019. The final investment decision is expected to spark off huge cash investments into the industry.

These resolutions are an interesting turnaround for a company such as Total E&P, which some experts had thought would be able to get a higher tariff for the crude oil pipeline at the least.

On the other hand, the January 18 meeting is a massive achievement by Uganda’s government, especially for those officials who have put in a lot of sweat to get the oil refinery project moving ahead.

Pouyanne and Museveni, according to the memo, also “agreed to smoothly work on translating into a law all the elements of the Inter-Governmental Agreement” which Uganda and Tanzania signed in May 2017 “in order to create the necessary framework for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.”

Another key item that was on the agenda during the State House meeting was the failure to come to some common agreement that would lead to the closure of Tullow Oil’s $900 million farm-down of 21.5 per cent of its Uganda interests to Total and Cnooc. A capital gains tax bill of $167 million, which Tullow Oil disputes, has delayed the completion of this deal.

Tullow Oil argues that the proceeds from the sale of part of its Uganda interests will be invested in the crude oil pipeline as a share of its of its capital investment and, therefore, should not attract a capital gains tax. The Uganda government, on the other hand, says Tullow Oil has benefitted from the sale and, therefore, the deal should attract a tax.

Jessua said that Pouyanne suggested to Museveni “a pragmatic approach” to achieve the closing of the Tullow transaction, which Museveni agreed to. It is not clear what this pragmatic approach is all about, but our sources say Total E&P suggested that it would pay about $80 million to $85 million of the tax bill. We could not independently verify this because of the sensitivity of the State House meeting.

On November 21, 2018, Irene Muloni, the minister of Energy and Mineral Development, gave a conditional consent to Tullow Oil to complete its farm-down pending resolution of the tax issue.

At the completion of the deal, Total E&P will operate the oil fields in the northern part of license area two while Cnooc Uganda Limited would operate the southern part. Pouyanne and Museveni agreed to meet regularly to ensure the success of the pipeline project.

[e-mail]

[waldron] 01/2/2019 17:03

FTSE 100
7,020.22 +0.74%
Dow Jones
25,141.98 +0.57%
CAC 40
5,019.26 +0.53%

Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 61.98 +1.87%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.42 +3.00%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.78 -1.21%

(WTI)
- 01/02 17:49:44
54.52 USD +1.21%



Total
48.21 +0.48%


Engie
14.09 +0.75%

Orange
13.595 +0.18%


Eni
14.772 -0.23%



BP
521.5 +0.27%


Shell A
2,384 +0.93%


Shell B
2,384.5 +0.68%

[waldron] 01/2/2019 16:23

Total: Riding The Clean Energy Wave
Feb. 1, 2019 10:29 AM ET|
1 comment
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About: TOTAL S.A. (TOT), Includes: CEO, PBR
Power Hedge
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Macro, energy, alternative energy, contrarian
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Energy Profits in Dividends
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Summary

Total and CNOOC just discovered a huge natural gas and condensate field in the North Sea.

This field is near a few of Total's other production operations, allowing for ease of development.

Demand for natural gas from all over the world is expected to surge over the next few decades.

Total is also active in the renewables area, mostly in solar.

The company is very well-positioned to prosper off of the energy economy of the future and is currently trading for a very reasonable valuation.

Looking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of Energy Profits in Dividends get exclusive access to our model portfolio. Get started today »

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019, France's Total S.A. (TOT) and China's CNOOC (CEO) announced the discovery of a large natural gas and condensate field in the North Sea. This discovery was at the Glengorm prospect in the UK portion of the sea and is believed to contain approximately 250 million barrels of oil equivalents. If this is correct, then this represents one of the largest discoveries in the North Sea over the past several years. The North Sea is generally considered to be a mature area of the world for energy production, so the discovery of such a large find provides us with significant reasons for optimism, especially given that oil companies seem increasingly optimistic about the potential of the area. As might be expected, on a more personal level, this discovery should prove to be a net positive for the companies involved.
About The Discovery

As mentioned in the introduction, the announced discovery is located in License P2215 at the Glengorm prospect. This License is located off of the eastern coast of Scotland in the North Sea. This is somewhat close to Total's operations at Elgin-Franklin and Culzean.

Source: Europa Wire

The fact that this discovery is somewhat close to Total's existing facilities and infrastructure is good news. As I have explained in recent articles, this allows the company to share some of the infrastructure between the two fields. This reduces development costs as well as decreases the total time needed to bring the field to a production state.

With that said though, CNOOC is the operator of this license, not Total. This means that CNOOC has the largest equity stake in the license and ultimately has the final say on how the development will proceed. It was Total, which only holds a 25% stake against CNOOC's 50%, that suggested the use of its nearby infrastructure, though so it seems likely that some sort of deal will be reached for CNOOC to accelerate development.

As already mentioned, the discovery is estimated to contain approximately 250 million barrels of oil equivalents. When we consider the size of the field, it seems highly unlikely that CNOOC will decide not to proceed with the development of this. The company has not at this time released any sort of development timetable though, so we do not know when the field will come online and begin contributing to the revenues of each company.
Natural Gas Prospects

One of the nice things about this discovery is that it was all natural gas and condensates. This is an area of the energy economy that is likely to show strong growth over the coming years as national governments seek to increase the prevalence of clean-burn fuels, such as natural gas, at the expense of oil and coal in their respective energy mixes. According to the Energy Information Administration, natural gas consumption is expected to increase more than that of any other fuel between now and 2050 in absolute terms, although renewables will see the largest growth in percentage terms.

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2018

Admittedly, the EIA's projections are solely for the United States, but it is much the same over the rest of the world. For example, China has been trying to reduce its coal-caused air pollution problems by converting to natural gas and renewables for electricity generation. This is one of the reasons why China is expected to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas by 20% over the 2017-2025 period:

Source: WoodMackenzie, GasLog

The discovery that the companies made is located in Europe, which is also expected to increase its demand for natural gas at a very high rate. We just recently saw the continent increase its imports from North America by 500% year over year. The fact that the continent is growing its imports clearly shows that there is a very real thirst for natural gas from the continent. Thus, developing this newly discovered field should prove beneficial for CNOOC and Total.
Renewables

As just mentioned, renewables are expected to grow more in percentage terms over the next few decades than natural gas. This is due to their much smaller currently installed base. As investors, we are often more concerned with percentage growth than we are absolutes as we are interested in generating the highest percentage return that we can. Therefore, they may be pleased to know that Total has also been actively working to expand its presence in the renewable energy sector.

As I discussed in a previous article, Total owns five solar plants located at sites around the world:

The five sites above represent a total of 849 megawatts of generation capacity, which is only a tiny fraction of the 303 gigawatts of solar energy generation capacity that the IEA estimates is installed worldwide. Despite this relatively small scale, the renewables unit is generating about $115 million a quarter in adjusted operating income. So, clearly, Total is making money off of its renewable operations.

Total is working to expand this operation. In the middle of last year, it partnered with Petrobras (PBR) to investigate the potential of constructing solar and onshore wind farms in Brazil, for example. The company is also likely to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Thus, the firm's presence in renewable energy seems likely to grow going forward, which will naturally boost its profits from this emerging sector of the economy.
Valuation

As is always the case, it is critical for us to make sure that we do not overpay for any asset in our portfolios. This is because overpaying for any asset is a surefire way to ensure sub-optimal returns. In the case of an energy company like Total, the most common way to value the firm is by using a metric known as the price-to-earnings growth ratio. This is a way of adjusting the more familiar price-to-earnings ratio to account for the company's forward earnings per share growth. As a general rule, a price-to-earnings growth ratio of 1.0 or less is indicative of a stock that is overvalued based on its forward earnings growth and vice versa. According to Zacks Investment Research, Total is expected to grow its EPS at a 10.05% rate over the next three to five years. That gives the company's stock a price-to-earnings growth ratio of 0.98 at the current stock price. Thus, Total appears to be slightly undervalued based on the current stock price.
Conclusion

In conclusion, the recent discovery of a large natural gas reservoir in the United Kingdom by Total and CNOOC will help the companies satisfy the world's growing demand for natural gas. In addition, Total is becoming a serious player in the renewables industry, which will likely be a major source of growth for energy companies going forward. Total looks to be somewhat undervalued at its current price, so may be worth considering for your portfolio.

At Energy Profits in Dividends, we seek to generate a 7%+ income yield by investing in a portfolio of energy stocks while minimizing our risk of principal loss. By subscribing, you will get access to our best ideas earlier than they are released to the general public (and many of them are not released at all) as well as far more in-depth research than we make available to everybody. We are currently offering a two-week free trial for the service, so check us out!

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

[waldron] 01/2/2019 16:13

HOUSTON -- The world's largest Western oil companies shrugged off a plunge in oil prices in the final months of 2018 and posted some of their biggest annual profits in years.

The strong fourth-quarter earnings Friday by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., following similar results by Royal Dutch Shell PLC Thursday, demonstrated that the big oil companies are seeing benefits from a more disciplined strategy focused on returns and profitability over growing production.

The companies have restructured their businesses, sold off assets and positioned themselves to thrive even when crude prices swing up and down wildly.

Global crude prices fell 38% at the end of the fourth quarter, but Exxon still generated $6 billion in net income in the period -- lower than the year before, which was boosted by the U.S. tax overhaul, but still better than analysts had expected. Chevron said net income was $3.7 billion, up 19% from the period a year ago.

Both companies substantially increased U.S. shale production in the booming Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.

Even with global crude prices averaging about $71 a barrel last year, about a third lower than in 2014, the five biggest companies including Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP PLC and France's Total SA are on track to post combined annual profits of about $84 billion, 13% higher than four years ago, when oil sold for more than $100 a barrel before falling, according to FactSet data.

"These companies have figured out how to operate in this new environment, and they have adjusted well" to lower prices, said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis. "The key going forward will be maintaining discipline. This is now a low-growth industry, so you've got to invest well."

Shares of Exxon and Chevron rose in premarket trading Friday.

Production at Exxon rose above 4 million barrels a day of oil and gas for the first time since early 2017. On Thursday, Shell said it nearly doubled profits in 2018 from the previous year, posting net income of about $23 billion.

Exxon recorded a $429 million impairment charge in the quarter. Total revenue and other income rose 8.1% to $72 billion. The company announced Thursday that it would reorganize its drilling and production business into three new companies, effective in April.

Total revenue at Chevron rose 13% to $42 billion, and production of oil and gas rose 7% to the equivalent of 2.93 million barrels a day. Excluding asset sales, the company said it expects production to grow by 4% to 7% in 2019. Chevron also had a $270 million write-off in the quarter.

Allison Prang and Kimberly Chin contributed to this article.

Write to Bradley Olson at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 01, 2019 09:39 ET (14:39 GMT)

[florenceorbis] 01/2/2019 14:12

07/02/19 THURSDAY


Year 2018 Presentation of the results

[florenceorbis] 01/2/2019 13:44

19 viewsFeb 1, 2019, 07:50am
Will The Majors Beat The Market In 2019?
Wood Mackenzie
Simon Flowers
Contributor
Wood Mackenzie
Contributor Group
Energy

How to beat the stock market in 2019? The Majors will take on board the success most had in 2018 when the peer group outperformed an oil and gas sector beset by collapsing oil prices late in the year. So what worked last year and can we can expect more of the same?

First, higher distributions to shareholders. The Majors spent the downturn shoring up finances, reducing investment, cutting costs and selling non-core assets to raise funds. At the start of 2018, most were set to cope at U.S.$50/barrel. When oil prices rose well beyond that in the early months of the year, there was cash to spare.

Shell, Total and Chevron all began substantial buy-back programs during the year. This was the first important signal to investors: returning cash to shareholders ranked higher than growth expenditure. Bolstering defensive credentials seems an important step towards regaining investor confidence.

Second, companies showed a measured approach to new investment in 2018. As cash flow has recovered, most have resisted the urge to re-invest. Capital expenditure is starting to pick up, which is no surprise after the steep cuts of the last few years and the lows of 2017. So far, most Majors have held any increase to single digits.

ExxonMobil has been the very visible exception. We estimate it beefed up annual investment by 33%, or U.S.$5 billion, in 2018, embarking on a new investment cycle focused on its world-class growth plays in Guyana, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and U.S. tight oil. ExxonMobil’s share price was the poorest performer among the peer group, seemingly underlining investors’ preference for the defensive.


We expect the other Majors to proceed gingerly on spend again in 2019. Yet the number of final investment decisions is on the rise, suggesting the early stages of a broader new investment cycle. It’s certainly going to happen in LNG. Shell’s go-ahead for LNG Canada and BP’s for the Tortue FLNG project in Mauritania at the end of 2018 kicked off a new wave of big new projects in which ExxonMobil, Total and Eni will also be involved.

Third, companies continue in their efforts to bolster portfolio resilience. The Majors have used M&A adroitly through the downturn to strengthen advantaged positions – BP’s acquisition of BHP’s U.S. L48 assets is the stand-out example of 2018. Accessing low-cost oil was also a feature last year, with almost 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent of resource secured in UAE (Total/Eni), Oman (Shell/Total), Algeria (Total) and Azerbaijan (Equinor). These contracts may be low margin, but a key attraction is the ability to generate cash at low oil prices.

Fourth, production grew despite reduced investment since the downturn. We estimate production rose by 4% on average in 2018; and the outlook in the medium-term is impressive. The combination of exploration, M&A, asset upgrades and access to discovered resource opportunities has boosted forecast production to 2025 by 10%, or 2.4 million barrels per day, compared with how we saw things in 2017. This is some feat after four years of lower capital spend. It’s the second important signal to investors – there’s no pressing need to step up investment to sustain production volumes.

The fifth theme jars with the defensive narrative, but it’s a good one, nonetheless – exploration is making money again. The Majors, like the rest of the industry, slashed spend on exploration after 2014. A more focused approach to prospect evaluation, lower costs and faster project delivery has led to much-improved economic performance. 2018 was the best year in a decade, with full cycle industry returns averaging 13%. The Majors weighed in with 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of reserves discovered, one-third of the industry’s 2018 total. Eni and Total’s Calypso gas discovery in Cyprus and ExxonMobil’s Guyana oil finds accounted for well over half the Majors’ total.

If stock market out-performance is the metric of success, defensive is winning. We’d expect the Majors to keep the winning formula in 2019 and return surplus cash to shareholders. But it’s not a sustainable strategy for the long run and, in the not-too-distant future, the Majors will rely again on new growth opportunities from exploration to keep the business ticking over. It’s reassuring to know they’ve got their mojo back.
Simon Flowers
Simon Flowers Contributor

[maywillow] 31/1/2019 18:42

31/01/2019 | 6:58 p.m.

Cayenne (AFP) - The Cayenne Administrative Court on Thursday dismissed the applications of Total, Esso and Hardman, who challenged the refusals of the ministers of the Ecological Transition and the Economy to grant them exclusive permits for hydrocarbon research in the country. wide of Guyana.
PUBLICITY
inRead invented by Teads

The three companies were refused hydrocarbon exploration licenses on January 31, 2018, a consequence of the coming into force of the Hydrocarbure law (or Hulot law), adopted at the end of 2017, aimed at putting an end to French production. hydrocarbons by 2040.

In three decisions handed down on Thursday, the court "found that the law (...) of 30 December 2017, known as the Hulot law, imposed the immediate and definitive halt of research and exploitation of hydrocarbons in France." noted the administrative court in a statement.

"This situation means that the Community Directive of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for the granting and exercise of hydrocarbon authorizations no longer applies, nor does the principle of European Union law relating to the stability of legal situations ", added the court, which rejected the three applications.

The companies Total and Esso requested, each in an application, "to annul the decision" of 31 January 2018 "by which the Minister of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition and the Minister of Economy and Finance rejected the joint request and Solidarity "formed by Esso Guyana French Exploration and Production SAS (EGFEP) and the company Total E & P French Guiana SAS (TEPGF)" of exclusive research license called 'UDO permit' ".

For its part, the company Hardman Petroleum France SAS asked in particular in its request "to annul the decision by which the two ministers" rejected the request, dated May 15, 2013, for exclusive license for research of hydrocarbons mines liquids or gaseous said 'Permis Maritime Guiana SHELF' ".

This decision comes as seven associations filed at the same time on December 12 before the Administrative Court of Cergy-Pontoise, an appeal against the State, this time concerning drilling authorizations granted to the group Total, still off Guyana, before the Hulot law. The associations denounce "irregularities and (or) gray areas" in the prefectural authorization decree dated October 2017.

Agefi-Dow Jones The financial newswire

[waldron] 31/1/2019 17:08

FTSE 100
6,968.85 +0.39%
Dow Jones
24,990.93 -0.10%
CAC 40
4,992.72 +0.36%


Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 62.17 +1.02%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.41 +0.24%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.81 -1.51%

WTI (WTI)
- 31/01 17:54:47
55.29 USD +1.51%


Total
47.98 +2.04%


Engie
13.985 +0.65%

Orange
13.57 +0.44%

Eni
14.806 +1.11%



BP
520.1 +1.70%


Shell A
2,362 +3.78%


Shell B
2,368.5 +3.63%

[la forge] 31/1/2019 12:43

The Baltic Times

Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Business
Analysis
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Total: New Global Supplier in the Lithuanian LNG Market

2019-01-31 TBT Staff

VILNIUS - Total, one of the biggest players in the global energy market, has joined the suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivering LNG to Lithuania. Gas and electricity supplier Lietuvos Energijos Tiekimas (LET) signed a gas purchase agreement with an international company Total Gas & Power Limited.

According to the provisions of the agreement, LET is to acquire one LNG cargo from Total. The cargo purchased in the LNG spot market.

“We are delighted that Lithuania has a new LNG market player with a considerable experience and global recognition. Totalʼs LNG cargo will diversify LET’s gas portfolio and will enable it to offer its customers attractive prices and reliable supply,” Mantas Mikalajūnas, General Manager of LET, said.

Total’s cargo should reach Klaipeda at the beginning of the third quarter this year. The companies do not specify the price of the transaction or provide any other commercial details.

Lietuvos Energijos Tiekimas is the only company in the Baltic region which has gas supply from three different sources. The company has a long-term LNG supply agreement with the Norwegian company Equinor, it also buys gas in the LNG spot and short-term agreement market; besides, it purchases gas delivered through pipelines and uses the Latvian Inčukalns underground gas storage facility.

Total is the second LNG supplier in the world in terms of its size and occupies 10 % of the market. It is estimated that the Group will have taken into its control about the 40 million tons of annual LNG portfolio by 2020.

[la forge] 31/1/2019 10:57

(Boursier.com) - Winds are blowing this Thursday on Total. The second capitalization of the CAC40 climbed 1.7% to 47.82 euros in the morning, in the wake of a favorable rating broker and the good performance of the price of black gold. Due to the crisis in Venezuela and yesterday's announcement of less sustained oil stocks than expected, a barrel of crude continued its recovery in recent hours. Brent for March delivery was still 0.4% to 61.9 dollars around 11 am.
Analyst Cover

Regarding the news specific to Total, Cowen, who took over the monitoring of the French oil major with a positive bias, will highlight the boost. The US research bureau advises its clients to "overweight" the stock by setting the fair value at 51 euros. With this decision, the consensus of place remains resolutely bullish on Total with 25 opinions to purchase against only 6 opinions "neutral". The average goal of analysts is about 58 euros.

[sarkasm] 31/1/2019 06:58

Total: Cowen resumes outperformance tracking by targeting EUR 51.

[waldron] 30/1/2019 17:05

FTSE 100
6,941.63 +1.58%
Dow Jones
24,907.13 +1.33%
CAC 40
4,974.76 +0.95%


Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 62.43 +2.01%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.43 +3.97%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.87 -1.00%

WTI (WTI)
- 30/01 17:52:09
54.8 USD +2.83%


Eni
14.644 +0.84%


Total
47.02 -0.47%


Engie
13.895 -1.07%

Orange
13.51 +0.15%



BP
511.4 +1.67%

Vodafone
136.7 +1.20%

Shell A
2,276 +1.70%


Shell B
2,285.5 +1.65%

[florenceorbis] 30/1/2019 10:30

Wood Mackenzie: Glengorm ‘largest UK gas find since 2008’

Published by David Bizley, Editor
Oilfield Technology, Wednesday, 30 January 2019 10:00

"At 250 million boe, CNOOC Ltd’s Glengorm is the largest gas discovery in the UK since Culzean in 2008,” Kevin Swann, a senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s North Sea upstream team, said after CNOOC and its partner Total announced the discovery.

“There is a lot of hype around frontier areas like West of Shetland, where Total discovered the Glendronach field last year," he added. "But Glengorm is in in the Central North Sea and this find shows there is still life in some of the more mature UK waters.”

“The gas at Glengorm is subject to very high pressures and temperatures (HP/HT), which makes it more challenging and costly to develop. However, there are other HP/HT fields in the vicinity, such as Elgin/Franklin and Culzean, which could be used as tie-back hosts.

“Mr Swann said: “This was third time lucky for CNOOC at Glengorm. Technical problems saw it try and fail to drill the prospect twice in 2017, so persistence has paid off. This is a good start to what could prove to be a pivotal year for UK exploration with several high-impact wells in the plan.”

“Glengorm continues a spectacular run of high-impact exploration success for both CNOOC Ltd and Total, ranked fifth and third in the world respectively, by exploration volumes discovered in 2018.

“Dr Andrew Latham, vice president, Global Exploration, said: “CNOOC Ltd is a 25% partner in the prolific Stabroek Block in Guyana, where 5 billion boe has been found since 2015. It has also found over 1.5 billion boe offshore China since 2017.”

“He added: “Total has reset its exploration strategy under new leadership since 2015 and it is now seeing much improved results.

““Over the past year, Total operated the large Glendronach gas discovery in the UK West of Shetland and is a partner in the giant Calypso gas discovery, offshore Cyprus, as well as the Ballymore find, a major oil discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico. Through its 20% equity in Novatek, Total also holds an indirect stake in the North Obskoye gas find, offshore Russia, the world’s largest discovery in 2018 with reserves of over 11 trillion cubic feet.”

“Dr Latham said: “Exploration industry returns averaging 13% in 2018 were the highest in over a decade, driven by lower costs and a focus on drilling prospects with a straightforward route to commercialisation in the event of success. Glengorm fits this revitalised exploration model perfectly. It looks to be a valuable discovery that should help sustain the industry’s profitability into 2019.”

[waldron] 29/1/2019 16:58

FTSE 100
6,833.93 +1.29%
Dow Jones
24,585.5 +0.23%
CAC 40
4,928.18 +0.81%


Brent Crude Oil NYMEX 61.38 +2.62%
Gasoline NYMEX 1.39 +2.71%
Natural Gas NYMEX 2.85 -0.70%

WTI
- 29/01 17:44:45
53.42 USD +2.65%



Eni
14.522 +0.62%


Total
47.24 +1.19%


Engie
14.045 +1.23%

Orange
13.49 +0.04%



BP
503 +1.64%


Shell A
2,238 +1.13%


Shell B
2,248.5 +0.97%