The continuous oil price fall is one side of the coin. The other side is showing rosy picture as six major oil companies have more than enough funds to snap up competitors. It's estimated that world's top six listed oil companies have over $0.5 trillion in stocks and cash enough to fund takeovers plans. ExxonMobil lead the pack, while Chevron, BP Plc, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Total are in the top-six positions.
Energy
Oil slump hits $125-mn property debt in North Dakota
The continuous drop in oil price for the past 18 months may impact $125 million real estate-backed securitized loans in North Dakota. The oil drillers in North Dakota have reduced their activity in the wake of lower oil prices. The reduced activity in shale hubs is poised to dampen the property market in North Dakota.
Mexico's Pemex to slash down jobs in 2016
Mexico oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is planning to trim its headcount in 2016. The State-run company has suffered a record loss, while its production is declining to 25-year low. Pemex has taken up a restructuring exercise to bring back profitability to the company.
Congress to abolish crude export restrictions, oil refiners to receive $3 a barrel tax break
The US Congress is pushing a tax break for oil refiners as a compromise to finally allow unrestricted crude-oil exports. According to The Wall Street Journal, the bill could potentially end the long-time ban on U.S. oil exports, which has been around for forty years.
Oil supply glut creating traffic jams at sea
The skyrocketing oil inventories are paving the way for more traffic jams on the seashores as oil tankers are queuing up along the US Gulf Coast. The uncompromised Opec's decision to continue its production level coupled with shale production in the US is adding to huge volumes of inventories.
Latest News
The oil production in Colombia is poised to drop below the target of one million barrels per day in 2016 following the slowing down of drilling activity and ageing of major oil fields.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has lowered outlook for the US crude production in 2016. EIA has reduced the forecast for 2016 by one percent in the US oil production.
Amidst a major accounting scandal, Japanese electronics major Toshiba is in the process of offloading its $7.4 billion (GBP4.87billion) commitment on US liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
Oil prices dropped on low volumes as investors preferred to book profit to take advantage of overnight rally. The oil price is hovering above $50 a barrel on disruption in production in Brazil and Libya.
The oil drilling activity in Canada is taking a hit as crude oil price is still hovering at $50 a barrel. The current situation is forcing Canadian oil companies to lower drilling activity in 2016.
Crude oil prices continued to trade in low range amid sagging demand and its bleak outlook for remaining part of 2015. Speculators are withdrawing from their previous bets on rising prices. The front-month US crude futures were trading at $44.65 per barrel 12 percent lower than the peak level in October. ANZ Bank forecasts that oil price to remain under pressure for the rest of the year.
It's yet not over for oil prices to go plunging as BP and Shell will report this week that billions of pounds were shelled off their profits as the aftermath of low oil price associated with exploration failures strike two of Britain's biggest companies.
AltaGas Ltd has put its investment plan of C$600 million ($464mn) on hold over an ongoing dispute over the tax on imported equipment. AltaGas has drawn a plan to export Liquefied Natural gas (LNG), but couldn't take it forward as it's involved over a tax dispute with the government. AltaGas is optimistic that the dispute will be resolved shortly and expected to take the project off in November.
By the end of this year and next year, the global oil market will be in a fair and sensible condition. This is according to the expectation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries secretary-general on Sunday.
