Abducted Swire crew released after pirate attack in Equatorial Guinea
Offshore vessel operator Swire Pacific Offshore has informed that seven of its crew members, abducted in a pirate attack offshore Equatorial Guinea in November, have now been released.
At the time of the attack, the anchor handling vessel was supporting offshore field operations in Equatorial Guinea. There were 15 crew members on board at the time of the pirate attack.
The company said that, on their release, after 31 days in captivity, the crew were met by senior representatives from SPO. Immediate medical checks and other necessary arrangements were organized, and all have now returned to their home countries, SPO added.
SPO has not provided further details about the abduction or release of the seven crew members.
Managing Director, SPO, Peter Langslow, said: “I would like to recognize our crew members and their families for the extraordinary courage, resilience, and patience they demonstrated throughout this ordeal. We are relieved that it has been possible for the crew to be reunited with their families in time for the Christmas and year-end holidays, and SPO will continue to provide them with our full support in recovering from the trauma of the event.”
The company also said that, for reasons of confidentiality and safety, it would not be making any further comment.
Spanish oil company Repsol reported a drop in 3Q 2019 profit. Net profit for the quarter was 333 million euros, a 46,7% drop from 625 million euros in 3Q 2018. Adjusted net income in the third quarter was €522 million, 11% lower year-on-year.
In Upstream, adjusted net income was €218 million, €150 million lower than in the same period of 2018 mainly due to lower oil and gas realization prices. This was partially offset by higher production, lower exploration costs, the appreciation of the dollar against the euro and lower taxes as a result of a lower operating income.
In the upstream business, lower realization prices had a negative impact on the operating income of €377 million. Higher volumes impacted positively the operating income by €14 million.
In Downstream, adjusted net income was €372 million, 11% higher year-on-year. The improved performance of the Commercial businesses (Mobility, Lubricants and LPG), Repsol Peru and the appreciation of the dollar against the euro more than compensated lower results in Refining, Repsol said.
Upstream production reached an average of 711 kboe/d in the third quarter of 2019, 19 kboe/d higher year-on-year, primarily due to the connection of new wells in Marcellus and Eagle Ford (USA), Akacias (Colombia) and Duvernay (Canada), the startup of Buckskin (USA) and the acquisition of Mikkel (Norway).
Repsol said that the increase in production in areas mentioned above was partially compensated due to operational issues and maintenance activity in Trinidad & Tobago, lower production in Libya due to the impact of force majeure periods, lower gas demand in Bolivia and Malaysia together with the divestment of MidContinent (USA), the expiration of the Jambi Merang license (Indonesia) and the natural decline of fields. During the third quarter of 2019, 1 appraisal well was finished and it is currently under evaluation.
U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips recorded a smaller quarterly profit in 3Q 2019 due to lower realized oil prices and higher exploration expenses.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance; Image by Bartolomej Tomic
ConocoPhillips on Tuesday reported third-quarter 2019 earnings of $3.1 billion, compared with third-quarter 2018 earnings of $1.9 billion.
Excluding special items, third-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings were $0.9 billion, compared with third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion. Special items for the current quarter were primarily due to a gain realized on the completed United Kingdom divestiture.
Earnings increased compared with third-quarter 2018 primarily due to the gain from the UK divestiture, partially offset by lower realized prices.
Excluding special items, adjusted earnings were lower compared with third-quarter 2018 due to lower realized prices and higher exploration expenses from increased dry hole costs, partially offset by higher volumes.
The company’s total realized price was $47.07 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE), 18 percent lower than the $57.71 per BOE realized in the third quarter of 2018, reflecting lower market prices.
Production excluding Libya for the third quarter of 2019 was 1,322 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOED), a 98 MBOED increase over the same period a year ago.
Adjusting for closed dispositions and acquisitions, underlying production increased 83 MBOED primarily due to production growth from the Big 3 unconventionals, development programs, and major projects in Alaska, Europe, and Asia Pacific. This growth more than offset normal field decline. Production from Libya averaged 44 MBOED.
Ryan Lance, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “This quarter extends our successful track record of performance since we reset our value proposition in 2016. In November, we’ll present a 10-year capital and financial plan at our Analyst & Investor Meeting that emphasizes free cash flow generation with competitive returns on capital and returns of capital.”
ConocoPhillips’ fourth-quarter 2019 production is expected to be 1,265 to 1,305 MBOED. The guidance excludes Libya and reflects the impacts from the completed UK divestiture.
KrisEnergy to dispose of interest in Indonesian block
KrisEnergy has accepted a binding letter of offer by a ‘major international oil and gas company’ for the disposal of a 30% non-operated working interest in the Andaman II production sharing contract (PSC) in the Malacca Strait, offshore Indonesia.
Andaman II PSC; Source: KrisEnergy
The binding letter of offer for the disposal was accepted after taking into consideration the future exploration cost and risks associated with deepwater activities, KrisEnergy said on Tuesday.
“The board believes it is more prudent to allocate KrisEnergy’s limited capital to funding near-term development. Completion under the disposal including its terms is subject to inter alia obtaining all necessary approvals from the Government of Indonesia for the assignment of the working interest and the satisfactory completion of due diligence by the intended purchaser,” the company said.
The long stop date for the disposal is March 31, 2020. The terms of the disposal set out in the letter of offer are subject to certain assumptions and the execution and delivery of a definitive sale and purchase agreement and the consideration for the disposal will be payable only upon completion.
The Andaman II PSC is an exploration block over the North Sumatra Basin covering an area of 7,400 sq. km. The disposal is in line with the group’s risk mitigation, intention to reduce future exposure to exploration capital expenditure and strategy to focus its limited financial resources on optimizing operations at its existing producing assets in Bangladesh and the Gulf of Thailand and progressing the development of the Apsara oil field in Cambodia block A.
KrisEnergy noted that, due to confidentiality obligations and the conditional nature of the disposal, the identity of the intended purchaser and the purchase price could not be disclosed at this time but the company would make such disclosure at the appropriate time.
There is no certainty or assurance as at the date of this announcement that the disposal will be completed, KrisEnergy concluded.
Premier Oil is the operator of the Andaman II PSC with a 40% interest and Mubadala Petroleum has a 30% interest.
It is also worth mentioning that Mubadala last July signed an agreement with Premier Oil to farm out a 20 percent participating interest in each of the Andaman I and South Andaman Gross Split Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs). Mubadala Petroleum is the operator of both the Andaman I and adjacent South Andaman PSCs.
In Upstream, adjusted net income was €218 million, €150 million lower than in the same period of 2018 mainly due to lower oil and gas realization prices. This was partially offset by higher production, lower exploration costs, the appreciation of the dollar against the euro and lower taxes as a result of a lower operating income.
