As the global oil market eagerly anticipates the upcoming OPEC(+) production decision—a potential shift in the current production cut strategy—most eyes are on Saudi Arabia or Aramco leaders. However, there's a new player in town, already hinting at a dramatic strategy change without OPEC's approval. Sources in Abu Dhabi suggest the Emirate is no longer convinced of the necessity of OPEC+ production cuts, given the current volatile oil markets and increased demand. Simultaneously, ADNOC sources indicate an imminent production increase.…

ExxonMobil continues to expect that the U.S. antitrust authority will give the green light to its proposed $60-billion all-stock acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by the end of the second quarter, Exxon’s chief financial officer Kathy Mikells told Bloomberg in an interview on Friday. Exxon said in its Q1 earnings release today that it expects the transaction, which has been approved by Pioneer shareholders, to close in the second quarter of 2024, pending regulatory approval.    The Federal Trade Commission…

Four expatriate workers lost their lives, and two others sustained injuries in a recent drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq's Kurdistan region. This attack, reported by an advisor to the Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister and a senior Kurdish political source, has also resulted in the suspension of production at the site. The ramifications of the assault extend beyond casualties, impacting electricity generation in the region. Kurdistan's electricity ministry stated that the drone attack disrupted gas supplies to power plants, leading to an…

Russian oil production has remained strong despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country’s gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries, on the other hand, have suffered due to limited pipeline infrastructure and reliance on Western companies. Rystad Energy expects Russian piped gas to China to increase due to new infrastructure, but the outlook for Russian LNG is less rosy. The Kremlin has set an ambitious plan to commission 100 million tonnes of LNG capacity by 2030 but our…

TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE) saw its first-quarter adjusted net income drop by 22% from a year ago, but the French supermajor’s adjusted earnings beat the consensus estimate. Stable oil prices and healthy refining margins failed to fully offset a decline in natural gas prices, but helped TotalEnergies beat analyst forecasts as it reported Q1 earnings on Friday. The company announced additional share buybacks and an increase in the first interim dividend for 2024. TotalEnergies posted an adjusted net income of $5.1 billion for the first…

TotalEnergies CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, disclosed plans for a potential New York listing during an analyst briefing on Friday, citing the desire to attract a larger share of U.S. investors. With 47% of institutional shareholders and 39% of global investors based in the United States, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) aims to strategically position itself within the American financial landscape. While a definitive decision awaits board deliberations, Pouyanne emphasized the importance of adapting to investor preferences, especially in light of market dynamics…

TotalEnergies CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, disclosed plans for a potential New York listing during an analyst briefing on Friday, citing the desire to attract a larger share of U.S. investors. With 47% of institutional shareholders and 39% of global investors based in the United States, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) aims to strategically position itself within the American financial landscape. While a definitive decision awaits board deliberations, Pouyanne emphasized the importance of adapting to investor preferences, especially in light of market dynamics…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count fell by 6 to 613 this week, compared to 755 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs fell by 5 this week, after gaining 5 in the week prior. Oil rigs now stand at 506--down by 85 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 this week to 105, a loss of 56 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 2. Meanwhile,…

As governments focus on developing their renewable energy capacity, many are overlooking a vital element to boosting clean energy security –energy waste management. Countries worldwide must fix their existing systems to ensure that energy is not lost in transit and use and that electricity grids are prepared for the influx of new clean energy projects expected over the coming decades.  The founder and chairman of the environmental non-profit organization Solar Impulse Foundation, Bertrand Piccard, is calling for greater focus on reducing…

The Hammerfest LNG export plant offshore Norway is expected to remain offline until Saturday, April 27, following a gas leak earlier this week, according to the latest data from gas infrastructure operator Gassco published on Friday.   The gas treatment plant at Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG, the only large-scale LNG export plant in Europe, was taken offline on Tuesday in an unplanned outage after a gas leak prompted evacuation at the facility. The current assessment provided by Gassco is that the LNG export plant will return online…

The Hammerfest LNG export plant offshore Norway is expected to remain offline until Saturday, April 27, following a gas leak earlier this week, according to the latest data from gas infrastructure operator Gassco published on Friday.   The gas treatment plant at Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG, the only large-scale LNG export plant in Europe, was taken offline on Tuesday in an unplanned outage after a gas leak prompted evacuation at the facility. The current assessment provided by Gassco is that the LNG export plant will return online…

Just days after the Biden administration signed a new military aid package worth billions of dollars to Ukraine, Kyiv launched a series of suicide drone attacks on Russian oil refineries. Biden's top officials have pleaded with Kyiv to stop attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure because of the fears that turmoil in crude markets would send pump prices in the US higher ahead of the presidential elections in November.  "Our region is again under attack by Ukrainian UAVs," Smolensk Governor Vasily…

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) booked slightly higher earnings for the first quarter than analysts had expected, thanks to higher oil and gas production that offset part of the weaker refined product margins and low natural gas prices. Chevron reported on Friday earnings of $5.5 billion, or $2.97 per share, for the first quarter of 2024, down from $6.6 billion, or $3.46 per share, for the first quarter last year.   Analysts had expected earnings per share of $2.92 for January to March 2024. The annual drop in Q1 earnings…

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) booked slightly higher earnings for the first quarter than analysts had expected, thanks to higher oil and gas production that offset part of the weaker refined product margins and low natural gas prices. Chevron reported on Friday earnings of $5.5 billion, or $2.97 per share, for the first quarter of 2024, down from $6.6 billion, or $3.46 per share, for the first quarter last year.   Analysts had expected earnings per share of $2.92 for January to March 2024. The annual drop in Q1 earnings…

Oil prices are set to post a gain this week as a combination of inventory declines, a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing, and escalating tensions in the Middle East boost bullish sentiment. Friday, April 26th 2024Even if headed towards the first weekly gain since early April, oil prices have so far failed to break out above the psychologically important $90 per barrel mark. A higher-than-expected draw in US crude inventories, a notable slowdown in US manufacturing that sparked hopes of a June interest rate cut, and continuing tensions in…

1. BHP-Anglo Merger Could Create World’s Largest Copper Miner - The global mining sector might see a whirlwind of M&A activity over the upcoming weeks should the world’s largest miner BHP Group succeed in taking over Anglo American, its UK-based peer. - Potentially creating the world’s largest copper mining company, BHP’s power move is conditional upon AngloAmerican first splitting off its South African platinum and iron ore units. - AngloAmerican shareholders, with the company currently boasting a $34 billion…

June West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures have experienced significant volatility this week, ultimately poised to close higher following a late-week recovery. This recovery was significantly influenced by positive economic remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, which countered earlier market fears driven by economic data and geopolitical developments. Economic Weakness and Market Sentiments Throughout the week, oil markets were beleaguered by concerns over a slowing economy exacerbated by persistently high interest rates.…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The UN envoy for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, has resigned from his post, slamming the country’s rival parties and external meddlers for making it impossible to work toward elections and political stability. Bathily sees further instability on the horizon in Libya. He also struck out against dangerous external actors who are meddling in other countries from Libya. While Bathily’s resignation is not hugely significant, the reasons for it are, and his absence is likely to lead to an uptick in destabilizing…

By the time you read this, it is likely that the two largest American oil companies, Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), will have reported their calendar Q1 results, due out on Friday morning. We cannot know at this point exactly what they will say, but based on analysts’ estimates we can be pretty sure that both will report EPS that is significantly less than they showed in the same quarter last year. That is a dynamic that is expected to apply to most of the energy sector, and yet, as this chart for the SPDR Energy sector ETF (XLE) shows,…

Europe is on edge, more so now that the U.S. has approved a $61-billion aid package to Ukraine after much stalling. The spy dens of the Cold War are back in operation, and the propaganda machines are running in full force, far beyond anything the Cold War could have produced and spread. Germany has detained two suspected Russian spies for allegedly planning to sabotage U.S. military facilities there. Germany has also arrested four others for spying for China. One of those arrested was tied to the top candidate for European elections in June for…