Total Plans US$ 1 Billion Annual investments In Brazil lweb.es/f2523 12.28.2016
The decision by Total E&P do Brasil to expand operations in Brazil with annual investments of US$1 billion comes on the heels of Total agreeing to acquire assets from Petrobras as part of the latter company’s asset sales program. Technical cooperation will be strongly reinforced between the two companies including joint assessment of the exploration potential in key prospective areas in Brazil, and the development of new technologies. Total will also enter the integrated gas and power market in Brazil. Petrobras and Total jointly participate in 19 E&P consortiums worldwide.
The collapse in world oil prices since mid-2014 has reinforced two imperatives for the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE: First, the need to raise revenue in order to balance state budgets; and second, the strengthened focus on the understanding that diversification away from dependence on oil is both essential and long overdue. Thus, many of the GCC governments have been discussing and attempting to promote economic reform, with a particular emphasis on the need for wide-ranging privatization.
OPEC is not the name it was compared to the early 1970s when it controlled more than 50% of global market share. Its recent deal to cut production has kept the oil price above $50 a barrel, but gains will be effectively capped once low-cost shale producers ramp up production again. And this is happening when oil is waning in importance in the global energy mix; when U.S. domestic production has almost doubled because of the shale revolution; and when Canada has become the major supplier of oil to the U.S.
The oil industry must brace for five energy “tsunamis” that threaten to drag prices as low as $10 a barrel in less than a decade, according to Thierry Lepercq, head of research, technology and innovation at Engie SA. The falling cost of solar power and battery storage, rising sales of electric vehicles, increasingly “smart” buildings and cheap hydrogen will all weigh on crude: “Even if oil demand continues to climb until 2025, its price could drop to $10 if markets anticipate a significant fall in demand.” 
Wood Mackenzie’s global corporate outlook for 2017 forecasts that the oil and gas industry will turn cash flow positive for the first time since the downturn, if OPEC production cuts drive oil prices above $55 a barrel. Focus is on five themes: strengthening finances as a top priority; U.S. Independents to lead the sector into a new investment cycle; portfolios will adapt, down the cost curve and into new energy; modest growth in production despite past capex cuts; and an improved value proposition for exploration and mergers and acquisitions.
According to the International Energy Agency oil stockpiles will decline by about 600,000 barrels a day in the next six months as curbs by OPEC and its partners take effect. Oil has gained about 17 percent since OPEC agreed on November 30th to trim output. The accord was expanded on December 10th with the participation of 11 non-members including Russia and Kazakhstan. The stockpile declines will only occur if OPEC reduces supply enough to maintain a target of about 32.7 million barrels a day, said the Agency. 
U.S. field production of crude oil increased in 2015 for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 9.42 million barrels per day. This was the highest crude oil production level since 1972. In 2015, production gains were highest in Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, and North Dakota, as these three regions accounted for 77% of the country’s total increase. Although annual production for 2015 grew, monthly U.S. crude oil production has declined since April 2015. Lower oil prices led to slower development activity, and production fell to 8.74 million b/d in August 2016.
This 2016 Energy Outlook from the company JLL looks at global macroeconomic trends and considers the recovery timeline to expect once oil prices stabilize. The net effect on property markets of the structural changes that are currently redefining the energy industry is then discussed, focusing on the performance of office and industrial inventories in energy-centric cities. The influence of renewable energy on the health of real estate markets today and into the future is also covered. Lastly, U.S. and Canadian trends, deals and fundamentals are presented.