World’s largest independent refiner Valero Energy: earnings per share double lweb.es/f615
OEF REVIEW:The world’s largest independent refiner, Valero Energy, which has 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 2.9 million barrels a day, plus 11 ethanol plants and a wind farm, presented its second quarter 2015 business update: – Earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.66 versus $1.22 in the second quarter of 2014. – Refineries operated at 96% throughput capacity utilization. – Advances made in capital investments designed to increase the company’s ability to access and process more North American crude oil.
OEF REVIEW:Prime facilities for the “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline, the world’s most expensive contract, are to be completed on schedule in 2018 and will make it possible for Russia to supply natural gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutia gas production centres to the Russian Far East and China. It will also develop gas infrastructure and boost economic growth in the eastern part of Russia.
OEF REVIEW:This Energy Information Administration (EIA) presentation for the October 2015 Oil and Money Conference covers the following questions: 1) What are the key cyclical and structural factors driving oil demand? 2) How is demand changing in developing countries? 3) To what extent will a prolonged period of low prices result in a return to higher demand growth? and 4) How is the landscape of oil trading changing with the decreasing presence of key financial institutions? Note for the article: CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy.
OEF REVIEW: According to the Global Times, China, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement will not isolate China or seriously hurt the Chinese economy. Some Chinese experts explain in this article that it could be beneficial for the growth and development of the country.
OEF REVIEW: Oil and gas hedging protections for North American exploration and production companies will fall in 2016 to 11% of total production volumes leaving many companies at a high risk of financial stress. For the remainder of 2015 such companies have 28% of production hedged.
Energy ministers from the G20 affirmed their commitment to renewable energy at the first G20 Energy Ministers Meeting this October in Istanbul. This is the first time that renewable energy is on the G20 agenda.
OEF REVIEW: Solar installations have grown 25-30% in 2015 compared to last year, accordinbg to Mercom Capital Group’s global forecast. Global solar installation figures are illustrated from 2007 to 2015, and country-by-country forecasts are made for China, U.S., UK, India and Japan.
OEF REVIEW: According to the EIA, decreases in the cost to drill shale gas wells and continued investment in domestic production have allowed China to increase its development of shale gas. Even though shale gas is still a small proportion of the country’s overall production it could eventually help reduce natural gas imports, especially since China’s technically recoverable reserves of shale gas are the largest in the world.
OEF REVIEW:The UK Energy Statistics Report for the Second Quarter of 2015 highlights that total energy production in the UK was 10.8% higher than the same quarter of 2014, and final consumption was 2.9% higher. Total primary consumption rose 0.6% over the same period. In terms of electricity generation, gas had a share of 30.2% and coal 20.5%. Renewable electricity generation rose 51.4% compared to a year earlier, and wind generation rose 65.2%.
OEF REVIEW: This Chatham House paper considers the Asia-Pacific region’s current power distribution with regard to the four principal powers, the United States, China, India and Japan, as well as reviewing the main factors for influence in the region, that is military power, diplomacy, economic strength, development assistance, and control over natural resources. The paper then looks toward 2030 explaining what could be the possible distribution of power for that time and what such a situation could mean for regional relations.
OEF REVIEW: President Putin talks with Charlie Rose about: the Islamic State and Syria; his relations with President Obama; how Russia and the U.S. cooperate for a better world; about his popularity in Russia; his views on the U.S.; Ukraine and the Minsk agreements; the disintegration of the USSR; the Baltic States; and what he sees as his legacy.
Statoil and its partners have put the first subsea gas compression facility on line at Aasgard in the Norwegian Sea. Subsea compression will add some 306 million barrels of oil equivalent to total output over the field’s life.
Risk assessment in the oil sands industry should consider the repeated decadal droughts that are a common feature of the regional hydroclimate but have not occurred since the industry was established. The long-term trends and variability in river flow examined in this paper extend beyond the Athabasca River Basin, and thus the lessons for water resource management are transferrable to watersheds across Canada’s western interior.
OEF REVIEW: Decline rates in conventional fields will play a critical part in rebalancing the oil market and determining where oil prices settle in the longer term. Decline rates will cut output by several million barrels a day in 2016 and 2017 unless oil producers invest to maintain production levels from existing fields and develop replacement fields.
Baker Hughes Incorporated announced that the worldwide rig count for August 2015 was 2,226, up 59 from the 2,167 counted in July 2015, and down 1,416 from the 3,642 counted in August 2014. The average U.S. rig count for August 2015 was 883, up 17 from the 866 counted in July 2015, and down 1,021 from the 1,904 counted in August 2014.
Crude oil production for October from seven major U.S. shale plays is expected to drop 80,000 barrels a day to 5.21 million b/d.
“Drillers will increasingly contend with diminished backlogs,rig values,fleet sizes, and margins if oil prices do not bounce back to the $70-80/bbl range, which we believe could support an increase in shallow-water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater drilling”, says Moody’s in an industry report.
Total has entered a special licensing agreement with Eni for use of Eni Slurry Technology (EST), which has been developed by the Italian operator to convert heavy bottom-of-the-barrel feedstock into lighter, high-value products.