Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Lower Oil News

09 Jan 2024

US Trade Deficit Shrinks on Falling Imports

© sheilaf2002 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in November as imports of consumer goods fell to a one-year low amid slowing domestic demand, a trend that, if it persists in December, could result in trade having no impact on economic growth in the fourth quarter.The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed exports declined in November amid cooling demand overseas. Demand is slowing both in the United States and abroad following hefty interest rate increases by global central banks since 2022 to tackle rampant inflation.The Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle has likely ended…

26 Jan 2021

BIMCO: Tanker Market Hangover Continues

© unikyluckk/AdobeStock

Tanker shipping was in many ways the odd one out of the shipping sectors in 2020; at the start of the pandemic, the market was strong, only to finish off the year in the doldrums, while the other sectors stayed profitable. Even a demand boost in December only managed to lift earnings slightly, raising the question, what will it take for tankers to return to profitability?In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic being declared, tanker shipping appeared immune, but it too has suffered from lockdowns and travel restrictions.

20 Nov 2020

CMA CGM Sees Strong Final Quarter on Shipping Recovery

© dbvirago / Adobe Stock

Container shipping group CMA CGM said on Friday shipping activity remained strong in the final quarter of 2020 after a rebound from initial coronavirus-related disruption boosted the French company's third-quarter profits.CMA CGM, the world's fourth-largest container shipping line, said its EBITDA margin rose to 21.0% in the third quarter from 17.2% in the previous quarter and 13.3% in the year-earlier period.Brisk shipping activity should allow CMA CGM to increase the EBITDA margin further in the final quarter, it said.Like market leader Maersk, which this week raised its full-year earnings t

04 Sep 2020

CMA CGM Sees Strong Shipping Rebound After Coronavirus Storm

© sheilaf2002 / Adobe Stock

Container shipping group CMA CGM on Friday reported higher second-quarter profits and said it expects results to improve again in the current quarter as the shipping sector recovers quickly from disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.French-based CMA CGM recorded a net profit of $136 million for the second quarter compared with a year-earlier $109 million loss.Core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 26% to $1.2 billion as favourable freight rates and reduced costs, linked to lower oil prices and an efficiency programme, offset a drop in sales caused by the

24 Apr 2020

Maersk Drilling to Mothball Several Rigs, Reduce North Sea Headcount

A Maersk Drilling rig - Image Credit: Maersk Drilling

Danish offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling is set to mothball several offshore drilling rigs, and as a consequence, reduce the number of offshore workers, citing low oil prices and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as the reason."The COVID-19 pandemic and the lower oil price environment are impacting offshore drilling activity. Some tenders and projects are being delayed or canceled which adversely affects commercial prospects," Maersk Drilling said Friday.As previously reported, Tullow Oil in March sent an early termination notice for the Maersk Venturer drillship in Ghana.

21 Apr 2020

US Crude Futures Plunge to Lowest on Record

© Grispb / Adobe Stock

U.S. crude oil futures collapsed below $0 on Monday for the first time in history, amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut, ending the day at a stunning minus $37.63 a barrel as desperate traders paid to get rid of oil.Brent crude, the international benchmark, also slumped, but that contract was nowhere near as weak because more storage is available worldwide.While U.S. oil prices are trading in negative territory for the first time ever, it is unclear whether that will trickle down to consumers…

16 Dec 2019

Deepwater Investments to Grow +5% in 2020

Though overall global upstream investments in 2020 will decrease by around 4%, deepwater will be the only segment expected to grow above 5% next year, spelling a boom for the industry, said a report.Rystad Energy is forecasting that overall global upstream investments in 2020 will decrease by around 4%. Investments in shale/tight oil are expected to contract the most next year by almost 12%.Rystad Energy believes that the lower oil price and weaker cash flows will force shale companies to reduce activity. Deepwater is the only segment expected to grow above 5% next year, spelling a boom for the industry.On a regional level, only Africa…

11 Nov 2019

Bourbon Commits 100+ Vessels to Fleet Xpress

(Photo: Bourbon)

Marine services firm Bourbon has signed a contract committing more than 100 offshore support vessels (OSVs) to Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress, the maritime broadband service that combines the speed of Ka-band with continuous back up from Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband operating on L-band.The deal represents a breakthrough offshore contract for Fleet Xpress, which is already installed on some 7,000 vessels - mainly seagoing merchant ships, the company said.“This contract is substantial in…

12 Sep 2019

OFS Sector Expected to Take a Hit

Lower oil prices will push the global oilfield services (OFS) sector into a recession in 2020 after three successive years of growth, according to Rystad Energy.In a new sector outlook update, Audun Martinsen, head of oilfield services research at Rystad Energy, forecasts a 4% decline in global oilfield service revenue if oil prices stay flat next year.“Lower oil prices call for negative growth in the service market in 2020,” says Martinsen. “For suppliers, this means that a three-year growth story will come to an end regardless of which market segment you look at.”The service market will likely achieve a 2% growth in 2019, to $647 billion.

15 Aug 2019

Saudi Aramco, World’s Most Profitable Co, Again

Saudi Aramco announced that its net income was $46.9 billion for the first half 2019, compared to $53.0 billion for the same period last year. That easily outstripped corporate titans such as Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and other big oil producers, many of which suffered larger declines in profit as output and crude prices fell. Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser, said: “Despite lower oil prices during the first half of 2019, we continued to deliver solid earnings and strong free cash flow underpinned by our consistent operational performance, cost management and fiscal discipline."Disclosing its  financial results for the first time…

05 Aug 2019

Investments in Exploration Drilling to Double

Rystad Energy sees investments both in offshore and onshore exploration drilling doubling in the next five years, compared to the last five years. Conventional onshore demand will be driven by Asia, Africa and South America.Europe on the other hand, will be a hot spot for offshore exploration, led by investments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the energy research and business intelligence company said.In the past few years conventional exploration drilling has been on a rocky road, dropping from 3000 exploration wells drilled in 2012 down to just 900 wells in 2016 – a whopping 70% decrease.Exploration has been constrained not only by lower oil prices…

01 Aug 2019

MOL Group On Track to Meet 2019 Guidance

Hungarian international oil and gas company MOL Group delivered an EBITDA of USD 1.15bn in H1 2019, exactly half of the full-year 2019 guidance.Upstream EBITDA was 10% lower in H1 2019 at USD 553mn, as higher volumes were more than offset by lower oil and gas prices. The segment remained the largest free cash flow generator of the Group. Average daily hydrocarbon production was 111.8 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) higher by 2% year-on-year.Downstream Clean net income EBITDA amounted to USD 403mln in H1 2019, 18% lower year-on-year. Materially weaker refining macro put pressure on EBITDA.Consumer Services EBITDA growth remained double-digit in local currencies…

24 Feb 2019

U.S. Fracking Shrinks by 25% in 2H2018

The new median estimate for nationwide fracking activity in December 2018 suggests 36 frac jobs per day, said a research.The energy research and business intelligence company Rystad Energy revealed in a study that 25% contraction in fracking activity between the peak in May-August 2018 and the end of the last year.It should be noted that in both November and December 2018 fracking activity level exhibits negative year-over-year change, it said."There is no doubt that significant part of this decline was driven by seasonal weather and capital constraint factors," the study said."Yet we keep hearing about somewhat disappointing pace of post-winter recovery.

10 Feb 2019

Size Matters in Shale Industry

Having taken a closer look at the detailed economics of the most recent 1,000 wells drilled in the most popular shale hotspot – the Wolfcamp A zone of the Permian Delaware basin – Rystad Energy can see a clear pattern emerging that favors large players.As US crude production is set to grow significantly over the next decade, analysts still debate whether shale drilling is actually a profitable endeavor. Some skeptics claim operators overstate their well production profiles, while others say operational cash flow from shale wells will never be sufficient to cover corporate costs and old debt.Analysts and investors are now waiting to see…

15 Nov 2018

Teekay Expects Recovery in Tankers Market

Crude tanker rates have continued to strengthen during the early part of the fourth quarter of 2018, particularly in the Atlantic Basin with Aframax tanker rates in this region attaining levels not seen since December 2016 and Suezmax tanker rates averaging the highest since March 2017, says Teekay Tankers.The conventional tanker fleet operator said that crude tanker spot rates firmed counter-seasonally during the third quarter of 2018, which is typically the weakest quarter of the year, as higher OPEC and Russian oil production, coupled with strong crude oil exports out of the U.S. Gulf, offset the impact of seasonally lower oil demand.Crude tanker rates during the third quarter of 2018 averaged higher than rates in the second quarter for the first time since 2014…

23 Oct 2018

LNG Shipping Rates Double Since End-August

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Headline rates for shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Pacific and Atlantic basins stand at around $140,000 to $150,000 a day for a 160,000 cubic meter LNG tri-fuel diesel electric (TFDE) vessel, brokers say.That is a 6-year high and compares to Atlantic basin rates of $75,000 at the end of August and around $95,000 at the end of September.Rates have jumped due to supply from new plants, longer distances traveled and anticipation of higher prices prompting shippers to lock in longer-duration contracts."Charterers continue to lock in multi-month contracts ahead of the winter and we continue

12 Sep 2018

Offshore Optimism is Cautiously on the Rise

file Image (CREDIT: Harvey Gulf)

Following the path of oil prices, consolidation also follows myriad financial crises. What happens next isn’t altogether clear, but the long, deep trough for offshore energy may finally be in our choppy wake.In mid 2017, financial turnaround and financial repairs specialist Alix Partners made a bold statement regarding the beleaguered Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) marketplace. In a July 2017 report, following an analysis of 44 participants in the business, the restructuring team wrote: “The industry faces grave financial pressure…

19 Jul 2018

Keppel Q2 Profit up 44 Percent

Singapore's Keppel Corp posted a 44 percent rise in its second-quarter profit, citing stronger earnings from its property and infrastructure divisions that offset losses in its other segments, including offshore and marine.Keppel, whose businesses range from rig-building to property development, posted a net profit of S$246 million ($179 million)for the quarter ended June, versus S$171 million a year-ago.Total revenue at the company, in which Singapore state investor Temasek is the biggest shareholder, was S$1.52 billion, slightly lower than the S$1.55 billion posted a year ago.Profit at the company's property division rose 132 percent to S$225 million, helped by en bloc sales in some development projects and a fair value gain.Its offshore and marine (O&M) division, which builds drilling r

25 Apr 2018

Sembcorp Marine Outlook Subdued on Q1 Profit Slump

(File photo: Sembcorp Marine)

Singaporean rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd said on Wednesday first-quarter profit fell 86 percent, and signaled a subdued outlook for orders and business volumes.Sembcorp Marine said profit came in at S$5.3 million ($4 million) for the three-month period ended March, compared with S$37 million in the same period a year ago.The year-ago profit was boosted by an one-off gain from the disposal of Sembcorp Marine's stake in Cosco Shipyard Co.Overall business volume has remained significantly below peak levels…

30 Aug 2017

Borr Drilling Aims to Expand Fleet, Keep Costs Low

Borr Drilling, the Norwegian drilling start-up, which listed on the Oslo exchange on Wednesday, said it aimed to expand its fleet, taking advantage of its low cost base. The start-up, launched last year and backed by the world's biggest oil service firm Schlumberger, said it aimed to have the lowest cash break-even costs in the industry and would take advantage of current low prices for rigs. "We have no debt," Borr's Chief Executive Simon Johnson told Reuters after its shares started trading on Oslo's main market. They were previously listed on the over-the-counter market. "That might change in the future, depending on the financing needs, but we can control what we pay for assets," Johnson said.

04 Aug 2017

Overtonnage Weighs on VLCC Rates

© Jose Gil / Adobe Stock

Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) on Asian routes from the Middle East could fall to a new low for the year next week as too many ships chase the number of available cargoes, ship brokers said on Friday. That came as average rates from the Middle East to Asia have fallen close to last year's low. Average rates dropped to around 32.50 on the Worldscale measure on Sept. 23, 2016, equivalent to about 42.75 this year after Worldscale rates were recalculated for 2017.

26 Jun 2017

Rolls-Royce & the Future Tech 'Reality'

Rolls-Royce and Finland’s Tampere University of Technology are working on the support systems necessary for autonomous navigation. The systems will be developed and tested using a purpose-built autonomous ship simulator located at the University. (Photo: Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce. The words have been used by many to signify excellence – though not with the company’s permission, of course. Rolls-Royce Marine is taking a leading position in developing and introducing the systems and technologies needed for the running of a successful business in the maritime industry of the 21st century. At a company presentation held in London earlier this year, Mikael Mäkinen, President of Rolls-Royce Marine, outlined the company’s vision for the future and its strategies to put these new systems based on new technologies into place.

18 Apr 2017

Banned at Sea: Venezuela's Crude-stained Oil Tankers

In the scorching heat of the Caribbean Sea, workers in scuba suits scrub crude oil by hand from the hull of the Caspian Galaxy, a tanker so filthy it can't set sail in international waters. The vessel is among many that are constantly contaminated at two major export terminals where they load crude from Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA. The water here has an oily sheen from leaks in the rusty pipelines under the surface. That means the tankers have to be cleaned before traveling to many foreign ports, which won't admit crude-stained ships for fear of environmental damage to their harbors, port facilities or other vessels. The…