Lower Oil Price News

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.

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.

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…

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.

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…

THE top three international employers and training providers shortlisted to compete to be crowned winners at the annual OPITO Safety and Competency Awards in Kuala Lumpur have been announced today (28th September, 2016). Shell Nigeria, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) and McDermott are shortlisted in the Employer of the Year category, while PT Sampson Tiara, Wild Geese and Grupo Stier have been named in the OPITO approved Training Provider of the Year section. The winning companies in each category will be unveiled during the 2016 OPITO Safety & Competency Conference (OSCC), in partnership with PETRONAS, at The Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday 16th November.

Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2015. * Net Profit for the period was US$ 20.8m before exceptional items, impairment charge of US$71 million on vessels and a one-off charge of US$8.3 million associated with debt re-financing. * The key Caspian region continued to perform strongly with robust core fleet vessel utilization of 96% (94% in 2014). Topaz signed long-term contracts with BP in the Caspian, further strengthening contract backlog and long-term earnings visibility. * Proactive focus on cost management contributed to mitigation of the EBITDA reduction. * Continued rigorous cash management program; focus on working capital cycle as well as deferring non-essential capex.

Ports on the U.S.’ eastern coast had a very busy 2015 in terms of container traffic, with 7.9 million TEU of loaded containers entering the U.S. East Coast in 2015, a 12.6 percent increase compared to 7 million in 2014, BIMCO reports. While the U.S. East Coast ports experienced a surge in incoming traffic, labor issues and port congestion gloomed over the U.S. West Coast. The start of 2015 was dominated by the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).

Euronav NV (NYSE: EURN) this morning issued a release to set the record straight with investors, from its perspective, on current market conditions in the large tanker market. According to Euronav, despite the current capital market's predominantly negative sentiment , Euronav said that it continues to experience robust and fundamental strength in the VLCC and Suezmax sectors. The average daily time charter equivalent rates (TCE) obtained by the company’s fleet in the tankers International pool in the fourth quarter 2015 was approximately $62,000 per day (4Q14: $31,650/day). The time charter equivalent earnings of the Euronav Suezmax spot fleet was above $40,000 per day for the fourth quarter 2015 (4Q14: $24,250 per day).

Opec study on the impact of lower oil price assumptions on the penetration of LNG vessels has released. In light of the regulations on sulphur emissions issued by the IMO the prospect of using LNG as an alternative bunker fuel was explored. It was concluded that LNG had the potential to become an important marine bunker fuel in the long-term. This year the subject is re-considered in light of recent market and price developments, as well as the continuing uncertainty surrounding the implementation of new IMO regulations. These new regulations are supposed to be implemented at a global level on all shipping vessels by 2020. It obliges shipping companies around the world to either install exhaust scrubbers or switch to more expensive low sulphur (0.5%) gasoil.

Rolls-Royce's new chief executive aims to strip out costs and complexity, rather than selling off chunks of the business, as he seeks to return the British engine company to growth. After four profit warnings in just over a year, and with an activist shareholder pushing for change, Warren East is under pressure to outline a revival strategy after spending much of his first four months in the job in firefighting mode. "The notion that we're going to sell big chunks is just wrong," East told reporters on a call, although he did not rule out change in the longer term. U.S.

Danish shipping and offshore energy conglomerate, Maersk Group, kept a reduced forecast made two weeks ago for a 2015 underlying profit of $3.4bn, down from the $4.0bn previously expected. The Danish  shipping giant  said on Friday that lower oil prices and lower average container freight rates had hurt its earnings. The Maersk Group – and especially Maersk Line – was severely impacted by continued low economic growth and significant market imbalances. Global container demand is expected to have grown by 0-1%, whereas the global container fleet grew by almost 9%. Container freight rates declined significantly across all trades except North America, and especially Maersk Line’s key Europe trades were impacted severely.

The Group delivered a profit of USD 778m (USD 1.5bn) negatively impacted by the lower oil price and lower average container freight rates, down 51% and 19% respectively compared to the same period last year. The return on invested capital (ROIC) was 7.6% (12.7%). The underlying profit was USD 662m (USD 1.3bn). “The Maersk Group delivered an underlying profit of USD 662m in the third quarter. The decline of nearly 50 percent compared to last year was primarily due to container freight rates deteriorating to a historically low level, especially in the later part of Q3, and profits in Maersk Oil being impacted by the lower oil price. The expected underlying result of around USD 3.4bn for 2015 reflects good performance in very challenging oil and container shipping markets…

The Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on August 11 forecasts that North Sea Brent crude oil prices will average $54 per barrel (b) in 2015 and $59/b in 2016, which is $6/b and $8/b lower than projected in last month’s STEO, respectively (Figure 1). The price decline reflects concerns about lower economic growth in emerging markets, expectations of higher oil exports from Iran, and continuing growth in global inventories. WTI prices are expected to average $5/b below Brent in both 2015 and 2016. EIA’s updated projection remains subject to significant uncertainties as the oil market moves toward balance. During this period of price discovery, oil prices could experience periods of heightened volatility.

Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk, which operates the world's largest container shipping line,  has revealed another huge share buy-back scheme a year after it launched its current programme. Maersk will buy back up to $1bn (DKK 6.7 billion) worth of shares despite its revenues being hit by the plunge in oil prices and declining freight rates. The buy-back program to be executed during a 12 months period. The Danish company reported revenues of $10.5bn for the second quarter, compared to $12bn the same time a year ago. Its profits before tax jumped to $1.5bn, however, from $348m the year before. The Group's revenue decreased by USD 1.4bn or 11.9% due to lower oil price and lower average container freight rates.

Oslo-listed offshore shipowner Subsea 7 has signed an agreement with Houston-based company, KBR and its subsidiary Granherne, to form an alliance in the delivery of concept and front end engineering and design (FEED) services. This is the second alliance in a week after signing an agreement to combine resources and collaborate on selected projects with Houston-based OneSubsea. In a statement issued Thursday, Subsea 7 said the alliance would bring two market-leading companies together to ensure the most cost- effective solutions are presented to clients in the early concept evaluation phase of a field development project. KBR’s and Granherne’s expertise in field development planning…

In trying to make sense of the global, mobile maritime industry, there is no better ‘go to’ than Shashi N. Kumar, Ph.D., Master Mariner, Fulbright Senior Specialist Fellow, Emeritus Professor of International Business & Logistics, Academic Dean, United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Last month we met with Dr. Kumar in his office to put emerging global maritime trends in perspective. “The views expressed in this article are Dr. Kumar’s own and not those of the U.S. The World: When you look at the global shipping market, what do you see and why?

British engineering group Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said it would cut 600 jobs in its Norwegian-focused marine business in response to the lower oil price, a move it said would have a "broadly neutral" impact on 2015 profits. Rolls-Royce is in the middle of a cost-saving plan in its aero-engines business and headquarters, axing 2,600 jobs, and the streamlining of its marine business comes after a year of profit downgrades and cancelled orders. The company said that from 2016, the job cuts in marine would help generate 25 million pounds of benefits.

Our Offshore Annual edition of MarineNews headlines Jane Bugler, the Technical Director of the International Marine contractors Association (IMCA). Jane is a chartered chemical engineer who worked in the chemical industry for several years before joining the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE), where she worked in a variety of roles (including work regarding pipeline regulation) before joining IMCA in 1997, when she became Technical Director. Today, Jane has overall responsibility for the extensive and varied technical program of IMCA and for liaison between IMCA and external organizations…

BP terminated contracts for two deepwater oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico as the British oil company slashes its exploration budget due to fallen oil prices. Offshore drilling company Ensco said it had received notice to terminate BP-operated rig DS-4 in the Gulf of Mexico. Rival Seadrill Partners announced this week that BP had also cancelled a contract for the West Sirius field in the same region. BP confirmed the termination of both contracts, saying the rigs were "surplus to requirements following BP's adjustment of capital expenditures in response to the new, lower oil price environment. "BP remains the largest investor and leaseholder in the U.S.

For the 2014 financial year, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S has again managed to lift both its top and bottom line to record levels. Turnover grew 7 percent to DKK 1.728 billion, and pre-tax profits reached DKK 183.7 million – an increase of 30 percent. “The market continues to embrace the new products we’ve introduced in recent years, and our growth is broadly distributed across geographies” says VIKING’s CEO, Henrik Uhd Christensen. “But we’re operating in a global market that is still under pressure in passenger and cargo shipping, marked by low newbuilding activity, over-capacity and ship decommissioning. Again, the offshore market has achieved higher growth rates during 2014 than other segments, but its growth is decelerating.

GasLog Ltd. and its subsidiaries an international owner, operator and manager of liquefied natural gas carriers, today reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. •         Agreement to acquire two additional LNG carriers from a subsidiary of BG Group plc (“BG Group”) for $460.0 million that will be chartered back to the same subsidiary of BG Group with average charters of 10 years, adding $590 million to our contracted revenue. •        16% increase in quarterly distribution from GasLog Partners LP (“GasLog Partners”) which exceeds the first Incentive Distribution Right (“IDR”) threshold, resulting in higher quarterly distributions to GasLog by $0.6 million.

DryShips Inc. and through its majority owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW Inc., of offshore deepwater drilling services, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014. For the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company reported a net loss of $24.0 million, or $0.04 basic and diluted loss per share. Included in the fourth quarter 2014 results is an impairment charge on one drybulk vessel, of $38.1 million, or $0.06 per share. Excluding this item, the Company’s net results would have amounted to a net income of $14.1 million, or $0.02 per share. The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $298.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, as compared to $179.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2013.