Friday, May 24, 8:27 AM
Eni (E) could spend more on acquisitions in Belgium as it looks to close the gap on the power retail leader in the country, GDF Suez-owned Electrabel. CEO Paolo Scaroni isn't deterred by the 2008 purchase of Belgium's Distrigas; Eni overpaid but only in the context of the global economic meltdown, Scaroni says.
Comment![Energy]
Thursday, May 23, 8:39 AM
PetroChina (PTR) says it will seek to increase cooperation with companies including Exxon (XOM), BP, Shell (RDS.A), Chevron (CVX) and Eni (E), potentially teaming up to make acquisitions or joint exploration activities, as it makes expansion abroad a priority. PTR plans to invest ~$60B this decade in global oil and natural gas assets to increase the share of overseas output to half of its total.
2 Comments[Energy]
Monday, May 20, 10:47 AM
Abu Dhabi’s state oil company is under pressure to take a quick decision on which foreign companies will get concessions in one of the few major oil producing areas in the Persian Gulf where international companies are still allowed to hold an equity interest. Prequalified companies are BP, XOM, RDS.A, TOT, STO,OXY, E, PTR, OJSCY.OB, Inpex, Korea National Oil.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Friday, May 17, 11:58 AM
Major oil producers launch a joint program to beef up their Arctic oil spill response plan in a bid to convince the Arctic Council they are ready for large-scale development in the region. There are plenty of doubters, of course, and incidents such as BP 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill and Shell's recent problems north of Alaska with two drill ships don't help.
6 Comments[Energy]
Wednesday, May 15, 5:36 PM
Fitch Ratings warns of massive fines along the lines of UBS' $1.5B Libor settlement if an EC probe into oil price manipulation finds any wrongdoing. While oil company balance sheets likely would absorb any fines thanks to big cash reserves, an offender "could face longer-term risks from damage to reputation," Fitch says, noting BP's exclusion from some business in the Gulf of Mexico after the Macondo spill.
4 Comments[Energy, Global & FX]
Tuesday, May 14, 2:36 PM
Eni (E) also receives a request for information from the European Commission as part of a price-index publisher probe, adding that its offices hadn't been raided. BP, Shell and Statoil were raided earlier and said they are cooperating with the probe.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Friday, May 10, 8:56 AM
Eni (E) says it now expects oil output from the massive Kashagan field in Kazakhstan to begin by October. The Kashagan project, which includes large oil companies such as Exxon (XOM), Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Total (TOT), is years behind initial schedule and has had cost overruns worth billions of dollars.
1 Comment[Energy, Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 8, 2:30 PM
Eni (E) says it started an accelerated book-building procedure to sell an 11.7% stake in Italian natural gas distributor Snam to institutional investors as part of its divestment from Italy's gas grid. Eni expects to give final terms of the sale tomorrow. Based on today's closing share price, the stake is worth €1.51B ($1.98B).
1 Comment[Energy, Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 8, 9:32 AM
Eni (E) loses an appeal to get an earlier European Union cartel fine scrapped or reduced, after the EU's Court of Justice upheld an earlier ruling that it must pay €181.5M ($237.5M). Eni was one of five companies fined a combined €519M for participating in a cartel seven years ago; the others were Bayer, Shell, Dow Chemical, Unipetrol of the Czech Republic and Poland's Trade-Stomil.
Comment![Energy]
Monday, May 6, 2:45 PM
Exxon Mobil (XOM +0.7%) has kicked off a six-month drilling campaign off southwestern Ireland, and a rig previously stationed offshore Liberia reportedly was relocated to the area last month. The XOM-led consortium includes Eni (E), Repsol and Ireland-based Providence Resources, which says drilling at the Dunquin well began last month; cost estimates are ~$200M.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Monday, May 6, 11:43 AM
Talisman Energy (TLM +1.6%) and Petro Vietnam are expected to start commercial oil production from Hai Su Trang field offshore Vietnam next week, the state-owned Vietnamese company says. TLM holds a 60% stake in the field, which currently produces 15K bbl/day. Meanwhile, Eni (E) secures a rig to drill a prospect off the country's coast.
1 Comment[Energy, Global & FX, On the Move]
Monday, April 29, 8:59 AM
KazMunaiGas, Kazakhstan's no. 2 oil producer, says it plans to invest ~$10B in exploration during the next 10 years as it aims to nearly double its oil and gas reserves, but it will not buy out ConocoPhillips' (COP) 8.4% stake in the Kashagan field, the world's largest oil discovery in more than four decades. KazMunai holds a 16.8% stake in Kashagan, along with XOM, TOT, RDS.A and E.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 24, 2:56 PM
Eni's (E +1.2%) Q1 profit slides 42% Y/Y, in line with expectations, after a sharp fall in total oil and gas output due to unexpected shutdowns at operations in Libya, Nigeria and the U.K. Expects the massive Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan to begin production in June; daily output this year should average 10K-15K bbl/day. Says key renegotiations of natural gas supply contracts are progressing well.
Comment![Energy, Earnings]
Wednesday, April 24, 9:04 AM
Eni (E) increased by 6.7% its natural gas find estimates in offshore Mozambique after completing the appraisal phase. Eni says results at the Mamba South 3 well exceeded expectations, allowing it to update its estimates for the Mamba Complex and Coral gas discoveries to 80T cubic feet.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Friday, April 19, 6:06 PM
For more than a decade, the promised bonanza from the Caspian Sea's giant Kashagan oil field has been a $30B mirage for its developers - including XOM, E and RDS.A - and it still isn't clear when the first drop of oil is coming. Delays beyond Oct. 1 could subject the companies to new financial penalties and heighten tensions with a frustrated Kazakh government.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]
Tuesday, April 9, 5:54 PM
Eni (E) says its activities in Iran could result in U.S. sanctions against it, and they could be material. Italy's biggest oil and natural gas company has operated in Iran for several years as part of four service contracts; Eni says all four projects have been completed except one, which is wrapping up and being handed over to the national Iranian oil company.
Comment![Energy, Global & FX]