Friday 29 September 2017

It’ll take oil above $50 for shale boom, oil sands to pay off | GulfNews.com

It’ll take oil above $50 for shale boom, oil sands to pay off | GulfNews.com:

"Shale drillers and oil sands producers have posted some healthy profits so far this year, but it’ll take oil consistently above $50 (Dh183.64) a barrel for their investments to pay off in the long run.
That’s the conclusion of a Moody’s Investors Service study of 37 exploration and production companies in the US and Canada released on Thursday. It’s also why legendary hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, who’s shorting shale driller Continental Resources Inc., says independent explorers have been a bad deal for shareholders.

Shale oil producers “are creatures of the capital markets”, Chanos told Bloomberg TV’s Julia Chatterley, Joe Weisenthal and Scarlet Fu. “Because the wells deplete so quickly, they constantly need to raise money to replace the assets.”
"



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Russia's Rosneft elects former German chancellor Schroeder as chairman

Russia's Rosneft elects former German chancellor Schroeder as chairman:

"Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder faced further criticism at home after he was elected as chairman of Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) on Friday.

Schroeder, a Social Democrat who led Germany from 1998 to 2005, prompted widespread criticism in his homeland in August when he was nominated to Rosneft’s board, given Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s frosty relations with the Kremlin.

Shareholders in state-controlled Rosneft, which is subject to the sanctions, elected Schroeder to its board at a meeting on Friday, and shortly afterwards Schroeder told a news briefing he was pleased to have been chosen to be chairman."



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Banks assess loan exposure as Qatar crisis deepens

Banks assess loan exposure as Qatar crisis deepens:

"Qatari banks and financial institutions in neighbouring countries that have severed diplomatic and transport ties are assessing their exposure to each other and seeking to sell loans in the secondary market as the crisis threatens to deepen.

Qatar’s economy has been under pressure since June 5 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed travel and trade restrictions and accused Qatar of backing terrorism, a charge that Doha denies.

Banks on both sides are concerned that the situation is deteriorating and could further affect regional and global business. Lenders are reviewing existing exposure while writing new loans remains on hold."



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Middle East oil producers turn to crude trading to boost incomes

Middle East oil producers turn to crude trading to boost incomes:

"Middle East oil producers are venturing into trading crude as three years of weak oil prices has encouraged them to find new sources of income beyond the business of exporting their output. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is among those making the shift. A subsidiary of state-owned Saudi Aramco plans to start trading non-Saudi crude, according to sources familiar with the issue. Other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are joining in as oil prices remain at roughly half their levels of mid-2014."



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Saudi Arabia to widen foreign investment access again in 2017 -CMA chairman

Saudi Arabia to widen foreign investment access again in 2017 -CMA chairman:

"Saudi Arabia plans to further open up its stock market to foreign investors later this year as it seeks to become an international capital markets hub, Mohammed Abdullah Elkuwaiz, chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) told Reuters on Friday.

Qualified foreign institutions (QFIs) were allowed to begin investing directly in Saudi stocks in 2015 and qualification requirements were eased late last year.

“We are likely to follow up with a version three (of the QFI programme) and maybe a version four shortly thereafter by continuing to deregulate foreign investor access,” said Elkuwaiz, who became chairman of the body in August."



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Offers for AccorHotels' property unit stake seen in October: report

Offers for AccorHotels' property unit stake seen in October: report:

"Investors looking to buy at least 51 percent of the property unit of French hotel group AccorHotels (ACCP.PA) are due to submit their letters of intent in October, French daily Les Echos said on Friday.

French asset manager Amundi (AMUN.PA), U.S. property group Colony North Star (CLNS.N), Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have been in the running for several months though other contenders could join the race, the paper said, without citing its sources.

AccorHotels declined to comment while Amundi, Colony North Star, GIC and PIF could not be immediately reached for comment."



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RPT-Mideast OPEC producers fret oil price rally may burn out

RPT-Mideast OPEC producers fret oil price rally may burn out:

"Middle East OPEC producers are concerned weak demand and excess supply in the first quarter of 2018 may undermine an oil price rally that has pushed Brent crude about 30 percent higher since June, OPEC and industry sources said.

Supply cuts since Jan. 1 by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers helped lift prices, while Hurricane Harvey added to gains when it knocked out nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity.

Benchmark Brent rose above $59 a barrel this week, its highest level in more than two years and nearing the $60 mark. Gulf oil sources have said OPEC’s largest producer Saudi Arabia would like to achieve that level this year. Brent is now trading around $58."



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FCA’s Bailey Says Regulators Eager to Solve MiFID Research Snag - Bloomberg

FCA’s Bailey Says Regulators Eager to Solve MiFID Research Snag - Bloomberg:

"Regulators are working to find a solution for asset managers and banks that will be stuck between U.S. and European Union rule books when MiFID II takes effect in January, Andrew Bailey, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive officer, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

Bailey said FCA representatives attended a meeting with the 40 biggest asset managers and banks that was aimed at seeking clarity on the financial markets overhaul.

The meeting “was really about one particular issue, and it’s about research,” the 58-year-old Bailey said."



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Unstoppable Force Meeting Immovable Object Stumps Oil Market - Bloomberg

Unstoppable Force Meeting Immovable Object Stumps Oil Market - Bloomberg:

"The oil market is battling with a paradox: what happens when the unstoppable force of OPEC production cuts and soaring global demand meets the immovable object that’s U.S. shale? The answer will determine not only the price of crude, already at its highest in two years near $60 a barrel, but also the fortune of Big Oil companies and energy-rich countries from Saudi Arabia to Russia and Brazil. For many at the annual Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore, one of the global oil industry’s biggest events, the clash means prices will remain in a narrow band of $50-$60 a barrel the rest of the year and into 2018. Yet a growing minority -- notably oil trading giant Trafigura Group -- believe the paradox will be resolved next year as U.S. shale proves it isn’t an immovable object that can continue capping prices."



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