TXO Plc Share Discussion Threads

[lofuw] 11/10/2015 08:17

After weeks of floundering in the mid-$40s per barrel, a new rally for crude oil got underway this week. WTI jumped to $50 per barrel and Brent is now over $53 per barrel. There are several reasons behind the rally, some of which we have touched on before. U.S. oil production is declining, despite confusing weekly data from the EIA that sometimes suggests otherwise. The rig count fell sharply last week, which underpinned the notion that the sector is contracting.

This week, a few more bullish developments surfaced. One was a sudden weakness in the U.S. dollar. After minutes were released from the latest Fed meeting, global financial markets saw hesitation on the behalf of the central bank to raise interest rates. The possibility that the Fed might hold off pushed down the dollar, which tends to push up the price of crude.

Related: Does This Offhand Gov't Comment Signal A Big Oil Opportunity?

Another reason oil prices are rising is the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Russia’s airstrikes in Syria are raising concerns about a worsening conflict. It is hard to imagine that the war in Syria, now more than four years old, could possibly get worse. However, Russia’s intervention adds even more complexity and potential for deterioration. The U.S. military is dramatically scaling back its assistance to Syrian rebels after the multiyear effort has proved to be an utter failure. The move is also being made with an acknowledgment about the seriousness of Russia’s intervention. Privately, the Obama administration believes that Russia will get itself bogged down in a conflict that has no viable solution at this point. In any event, it has been a while since geopolitical conflict has slapped a risk premium on the price of crude oil, but Russia’s actions appear to be doing just that.

Goldman Sachs, which has made headlines with its bearish calls for oil, reiterated its stance this week. The investment bank says that the recent rally is overblown and that the underlying fundamentals in the oil market for supply and demand are unchanged. Global oil markets are still oversupplied. Despite a contraction in U.S. production, other producers from around the world are making up for the shortfall. After everyone realizes that the rally in prices is too much, too soon, “we expect this rally to reverse and reiterate our forecast for lower prices for longer,” Goldman analysts wrote.

Related: Historic Failure For Brazilian Oil Auction

The Bank of England is growing concerned about the financial system’s exposure to the collapse in commodity prices. The regulator asked British banks to disclose their exposure to plummeting values of commodity assets. In particular, the selloff of Swiss mining giant Glencore (LON: GLEN) over the past month caused the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority to step in. Glencore saw its share price melt down by 30 percent in a single day last week. The regulator wants to make sure that banks are preparing themselves for a lower-for-longer bust in commodity prices.

Encana (NYSE: ECA) announced plans to divest itself from oil and gas assets in Colorado. The Canadian company hopes to raise $900 million by selling 51,000 net acres from the Denver Julesburg Basin, and Encana will use the revenue to shore up its balance sheet. After taking damage from the collapse in crude prices, Encana is streamlining its operations and plans on focusing on four key areas: the Eagle Ford, the Permian, and the Duvernay and Montney Basins in Canada.

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The movement by the oil and gas industry to convince the U.S. Congress to repeal the ban on oil exports continues to play out in Washington, despite some hiccups. After appearing to pick up inexorable momentum, the campaign has now become split along party lines after the White House issued a veto threat. The House will vote on a bill to lift the ban on October 9, and while passage is likely with Republican support, the bill is probably going nowhere unless Republicans can figure out ways to bring on board reluctant Democrats. The conversation has shifted to what kind of incentives can be added to the package to sweeten the deal, such as an extension of tax credits for renewable energy and funding for land conservation. Those sorts of things may attract Democrats, but an approach that includes a bunch of amendments may also collapse under its own weight, as too many unrelated interests bog down the effort. Meanwhile, the Republicans’ disarray over who will become the next Speaker of the House will absorb all of Washington’s attention until it is sorted out.

Related: Energy Storage Just Got A Massive Vote Of Confidence

Investment in renewable energy reached $70 billion in the third quarter of this year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The total was down 1 percent from a year earlier, but the Americas saw a large increase in activity. Brazil saw investment in renewables jump by 131 percent; Chile’s investment shot up by more than eight-fold; and the United States saw investment surge to $13.4 billion, a 25 percent increase. Falling costs are allowing technologies like solar and wind to increasingly compete with fossil fuels around the world.

Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company Petronas is reaffirming its determination to develop a massive LNG project on Canada’s Pacific Coast. Petronas said that the C$36 billion (USD$28 billion) Pacific NorthWest LNG project will proceed despite the significant downturn in LNG markets. According to IHS Inc., only one in every 20 proposed LNG export terminals around the world will actually be needed by 2025. Japan is returning to nuclear power, which will cut into its LNG demand. China’s LNG demand is not growing as much as expected. As a result, many of the proposed projects will never be built.

By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com

[lofuw] 11/10/2015 08:12

Can The Panama Canal Fulfill Its Global LNG Promise?

     

By Alexis Arthur
Posted on Thu, 08 October 2015 17:14 | 0

After delays, strikes, and cost overruns, the Panama Canal expansion is finally set to open in April 2016. But the global energy landscape has changed in the eight years since construction began, with opportunities first expanding and now, potentially, contracting. The question today is whether the new canal can still fulfill a promise to transform global LNG trade.

When Panamanians approved the expansion project by national referendum in 2007, planners could not have predicted the impact of the shale revolution on the production of natural gas in the United States, nor the potential for the Panama Canal to play such an important role in creating a global LNG market. By doubling the waterway’s capacity, the new canal will be able accommodate over 88 percent of the world’s LNG fleet, up from just 8.6 percent today.

By 2014, the United States was on track to become a net exporter of natural gas. Operators along the U.S. Gulf Coast clambered to get export terminal proposals approved by the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). By 2020, when liquefaction projects are completed, the United States will have the third largest LNG export capacity in the world, behind Qatar and Australia.

The Panama Canal was now positioned to play a decisive role in shipping this excess capacity to lucrative Asian markets with a growing appetite for natural gas.

In addition to demand, prices were the other major driver behind this LNG market growth. Unlike oil, natural gas markets have always been regional, with prices varying wildly as a result.

The Henry Hub price in the United States has kept well below $5 per million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) since 2009. Bentek Energy expects the average price to stay at $2.68/MMBtu for 2015, rising to $2.84/MMBtu next year.

Prices in Asia, by comparison, generally reflect long-term contracts indexed to the price of oil. Japan LNG prices regularly topped $16 between 2012 and 2014.

Related: LNG Bust Could Last For Years

The Fukishima nuclear accident in 2011 also contributed to a spike in natural gas demand - and prices. In the aftermath, Japan’s power mix adjusted almost immediately. Nuclear power disappeared and natural gas-fired power jumped from 30 to 43 percent.

(Click to enlarge)

These factors combined led experts to predict that with the expansion of the Canal facilitating U.S. LNG exports, regional markets would slowly become global as prices eventually converged.

In addition to the United States, the other major regional natural gas exporter, Trinidad & Tobago, could also benefit from the new route. Even smaller producers such as Colombia took notice.

Yet in October 2015, the global landscape has shifted again. U.S. shale production has finally dropped in the wake of plummeting oil prices. Natural gas prices in Asia have followed suit.

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(Click to enlarge)

LNG imports in China, South Korea, and Japan were also down an average 6.7 percent in the first half of 2015. South Korea is leading the decline. According to the EIA, milder weather combined with government policies favoring coal-fired and nuclear power are major drivers.

Related: Decoding Saudi Arabia’s Strategy In Its Oil Price War

A drop in prices, supply, and demand should be major concerns for the Panama Canal Authority.

Despite these challenges, there is still enormous potential for the Panama Canal - and for Panama’s economy. The trip from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia is 11 days shorter via the Panama Canal, resulting in significant cost savings from fuel to personnel. A lower natural gas price in Asia will eat into profits but the market remains worthwhile.

Related: Lithium Market Set To Explode – All Eyes Are On Nevada

There are also regional benefits. The journey from Trinidad to Quintero, Chile will be 6.3 days shorter via the Panama Canal than the Strait of Magellan. Chile’s growing economy relies on LNG imports to meet its energy needs.

Panama has also set its sights on transforming global shipping in other ways. As more stringent emissions controls come into effect, the global shipping industry is making a transition from fuel oil and diesel to natural gas. Canal authorities are considering the construction of an LNG receiving terminal and bunkering facilities for transiting ships.

Beyond LNG, the new Panama Canal is unlikely to have that much impact on the global oil market. The expanded canal will be able to accommodate tankers carrying 400,000 - 680,000 barrels of crude but that is much smaller than the majority of crude shipments. The only taker is likely to be Venezuela, which sends around 300,000 barrels of oil per day to China. Most petroleum is shipped on very large crude carriers (VLCC), which will exceed the draft limit of the new Canal.

It is undeniable that volatility in the global oil markets will have an impact on global LNG trade and with it, the Panama Canal’s fortunes. Still, global LNG markets are changing, and the Canal remains an influential player.

By Alexis Arthur for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

[fishermansfriend] 11/10/2015 06:44

The oil slops business is going great temm, why don't you contact TXO and tell them you have £100k you want to invest and can they issue you with 100k shares in return - they would bite your hand off, if you actually had that sort of money to waste.

In the year to 30 Sep 14 GBG had revenues of just under £190k (2013 £189k - not exactly a great growth year!), Made a LOSS of just over £670k (2013 £938k), had debts of £1.65M (2013 £0.874M) all shown as current liabilities. The Goodwill is £5.8M (2013: 5.4M). Thus TXO' Balance Sheet, which claims to have a NAV of £1.63M (2013 1.13M), includes Goodwill from GBG of £2.07M. Wow that is a lot for a loss making cash hungry monster, which had to have £500k destined for TXO diverted to it and needs another loan of £500k this year (it is not going to be diverting repayments on its loan to TXO anytime soon is it?). GBG may come good in 2 or 3 years time but that will be long after the corpse of TXO has rotted away.

There is goodwill associated with leases of £67k.

TOG has quite rightly been written down to zero carrying value, but the outstanding loan to TOG should also have been written down so take off another £230K from TXO NAV.

In the year to 30 Sep 14 ORS had revenue of £115K and made a LOSS of £221k. At 28 Feb 15 ORS had debts of £423k all shown as current liabilities NAV is negative at MINUS £217k. Goodwill is £1.79M. Thus another £449K of goodwill in TXO's balance sheet. ORS has not filed its annual report. I suspect that is because it is effectively bust and is also reliant on the ARL IPO to bail it out, which ain't gonna happen any time soon. It is currently subject to strike off action yet again. If it does not file its annual report, on 15 Dec 15 it will be struck of and any proceeds from sale of assets go to the crown.

Now I am sure we all remember what Tim said about ORS at time of acquisition:



"ORS has acquired all of Ian Roos' and FQC's intellectual property rights, know how, assets (including ongoing contracts) and staff under the transfer of undertaking regulations. In the year to date, FQC had revenues of GBP110,000, with GBP650,000 in outstanding and ongoing contracts and net assets valued at GBP300,000."

Does not exactly match up with the revenue and NAV figures we are now seeing does it?

No figures are given for OTR nor any for ARL.

So within TXO's claimed NAV of £1.63M (77p per share at current number of shares in issue) at least £2.8M is goodwill / bad debt write off. When the stake is finally driven through the heart of TXO there will be nothing for long suffering shareholders. But go ahead temm, if you believe I am being paid by someone to make all this stuff up and TXO is really a thriving business that has been brought down by nefarious parties, get on the phone to them on Mon morning and offer them more of your cash. Alternatively drive to Northampton and do it in person and get yourself checked for HIV while you are there.

[lofuw] 10/10/2015 18:27

Offshore slops treatment

Efficient treatment for oily slops and sludges offshore

Offshore slops treatment

A significant volume of oil slop waste, containing a potentially hazardous mixture of oil, rainwater, chemicals and solids, is generated by the oil and gas industry.

We offer specialist services for the treatment of oily slops and sludges offshore. Combining settling, flocculation and centrifugation, slops treatment separates oil, water and solids from the mixture. Recovered solids are either sent for additional processing through an on-board TWMA TCC RotoMill or transferred onshore for further treatment whilst water is safe to be discharged and oil is suitable for reuse. Absence of high temperature treatment means recovered base oil retains its original quality and is suitable for immediate reuse in the drilling mud system, delivering significant cost savings for operators.

We offer a containerised treatment system for the handling and treatment of slops offshore. The system includes the following modules:
•Feed stock container
•Process container
•Settling tank
•Recovered solids skips

Onshore slops treatment

We also offer skip and ship or bulk transfer of offshore slops to one of our onshore treatment plants located in key global oil and gas centre

[lofuw] 10/10/2015 18:26

Crude oil washing


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Crude oil washing (COW) is washing out the residue from the tanks of an oil tanker using the crude oil cargo itself, after the cargo tanks have been emptied. Crude oil is pumped back and preheated in the slop tanks, then sprayed back via high pressure nozzles in the cargo tanks onto the walls of the tank. Due to the sticky nature of the crude oil, the oil clings to the tank walls, and such oil adds to the cargo 'remaining on board' (the ROB). By COWing the tanks, the amount of ROB is significantly reduced, and with the current high cost of oil, the financial savings are significant, both for the Charterer and the Shipowner. If the cargo ROB is deemed as 'liquid and pumpable' then the charterers can claim from the owner for any cargo loss for normally between 0.3% up to 0.5%. It replaced the load on top and seawater washing systems, both of which involved discharging oil-contaminated water into the sea. MARPOL 73/78 made this mandatory equipment for oil tankers of 20000 tons or greater deadweight.

Although COWing is most notable for actual tankers, the current chairman for Hashimoto Technical Service, Hashimoto Akiyoshi, applied this method in washing refinery plant oil tanks in Japan. Hashimoto is currently using this method in the Kyushu, Chugoku, and Tohouku regions in Japan.[1] Because of the logical nature of the technical complexities of COW, crude oil wash is still frowned upon by many who are not able to understand the exact mechanism behind COW; however, it is undeniable that COWing will become the norm not only in saving money for oil companies but moreover for recycling crude oil waste that should not be dumped and neglected.

Seawater washing[edit]

Originally oil tankers used one set of tanks for cargo and about one third of the same tanks were for water ballast on their empty trips. High pressure, hot, seawater jets were used to clean the tanks and the mixture of seawater and residue called slops discharged into the sea, as was the oil-contaminated ballast water. The 1954 OILPOL Convention attempted to reduce the harm by prohibiting such discharges within 50 miles (80 km) of most land and 100 miles (160 km) of certain particularly sensitive areas.

Load on top[edit]

The discharges from seawater washing were still considered a problem and during the 1960s the load on top approach began to be adopted. The mixture of cleaning water and residue was pumped into a slop tank and allowed to separate by their different densities into oil and water during the journey. The water portion was then discharged, leaving only crude oil in the slop tank. This was pumped into the main tanks and the new cargo loaded on top of it, recovering as much as 800 tons of oil which was formerly discarded.

History[edit]

Even with load on top there is still some oil in the discharged water from the slop tank. Starting in the 1970s, equipment capable of using crude oil itself for washing began to replace the water-based washing, leading to the current technique of crude oil washing. This reduces the remaining deliberate discharge of oil-contaminated water and increases the amount of cargo discharged, providing a further benefit to the cargo owner.

Crude oil washing equipment became mandatory for new tankers of 20,000 tons or more deadweight with the 1978 Protocol to the 1973 MARPOL Convention. Revised specifications for the equipment were introduced in 1999.

Modern tankers also use segregated ballast tanks and these remove the problem of discharge of oily ballast water.

External links[edit]
International Maritime Organization description of Crude Oil Washing
Scanjet Crude Oil Washing Machine[dead link]

Source[edit]

1.Jump up ^ hxxp://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~hts.wak/473/494.html[dead link]

2.hxxp://www.hts-g.co.jp/maintenance-eng.html




Categories: Petroleum production
Ocean pollution

[temmujin] 10/10/2015 18:20

hows the oil slop business doing these days?

[bili1946] 07/10/2015 20:22

Not really working for you is it lofuw?