Iran's exports of crude oil and condensate dropped to a seven-month low this month, hit by refinery maintenance and a lull in demand ahead of winter, according to an industry source with knowledge of the nation's tanker loading schedule.

Still, loadings of the light oil condensate grade were robust - the second highest for the year - due to Iran's attractive pricing relative to other producers, the source said.

Iran this month exported 1.07 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and condensate, down 13 percent from revised figures in September and the lowest since March, when India and Japan took no oil to stay within sanction limits, said the source who keeps a close watch on the producer's shipping programme.

Asia's Iranian crude oil imports for the last two years have dipped in October, however, before recovering due to seasonal winter demand, and some industry sources said Chinese loadings are likely to rebound again in the coming months.

Iran's exports of condensate, a by-product of natural gas output, in October totalled 240,000 bpd, the second-highest this year and down 10 percent from top-month September.

Industry sources attributed the recent high condensate shipments in part to Unipec - the trading arm of Chinese state giant Sinopec - resuming its purchases after laying off the light oil for several months, taking about 1 million barrels each month in September and October.

Regional grades such as Australia's North West Shelf condensate have also become more expensive and Iranian supply more competitive, industry sources said.

"Iranian condensate is very cheap and we have been paying close attention," said a source with a North Asian buyer of condensate from Iran's South Pars gas fields.

To counter competing condensate from Qatar, among others, Iran has offered discounts to retain market share after its crude exports have more than halved from 2.5 million bpd in 2011, sources said.

Officials at state-owned National Iranian Oil Company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Iranian crude and condensate loadings by Tehran's main customers - China, India, Japan and South Korea - declined for a third straight month to around 850,000 bpd in October, down 12 percent from September.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/iran-oil-asia-idUSL3N12Q15K20151028

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Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes dropped to $1.77billion from $5.85billion a year earlier. The firm’s upstream business bore the brunt of the financial dip.

Chief executive Ben van Burden said:“Shell’s integrated business and our performance drive are helping to mitigate the impact of low oil prices on the bottom line, in what is a difficult environment for the industry today.

“We continue to improve the operational performance of our assets, and production volumes are up. Costs are falling across the company and Shell’s performance drive is delivering at the bottom line.
Our financial framework is highly competitive, with balance sheet gearing at 12.7%, similar to year ago levels, despite a halving of oil prices. Both net investments and dividends have been covered by operating cash flow over the last year, when oil prices have averaged $60 per barrel.

“While our cash flow and our operating performance in the quarter were strong, the headline numbers we’re reporting today include substantial charges. These charges reflect both a lower oil and gas price outlook and the firm steps we are taking to review and reduce Shell’s longer-term option set.

“We have halted exploration activities offshore Alaska, and stopped the construction of the Carmon Creek in-situ oil project in Canada.

“These are difficult, but impactful decisions. I am determined that Shell will become a more focused and competitive company as a result.”

The company leader confirmed its takeover of BG was still on track for 2016 target date. He said the deal would act as a “springboard to focus Shell into fewer and more profitable themes, especially deep water and integrated gas.”

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/91735/shell-suffers-major-financial-hit/

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French oil and gas company Total's net adjusted profit tumbled 23 percent to $2.756 billion in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago, the firm said on Thursday, hit by a sharp fall in global oil prices.

The firm however revised its production growth target higher to more than 9 percent this year from 8 percent previously following a 10 percent jump in production in a third quarter boosted by new projects.

Analysts on average had expected $2.391 billion in net adjusted profit, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates.

"In a context where the oil price has fallen by 50 percent in one year, Total was able to demonstrate its resilience by limiting to 23 percent the decrease in its third quarter adjusted net income of $2.8 billion," Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

Record-high margins in the European refining sector boosted profits at Total's downstream division, which were up 82 percent on the previous year in the third quarter.

Total said that it was on track to more than beat its target of $1.2 billion in cost reductions in 2015, while organic investments after nine months were $16.6 billion, in line with the objective of $23-24 billion for 2015.

Rival BP on Tuesday announced a third round of spending cuts and more asset sales over the coming years to tackle the extended period of low oil prices and help pay for its $54 billion U.S. oil spill settlement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/29/total-results-idUSP6N0QQ01Z20151029

PetroChina Co., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, posted its worst quarterly profit as a plunge in crude prices punished revenue.

Net income dropped to 5.2 billion yuan ($818 million), or 0.03 yuan a share, from 27.9 billion yuan, or 0.15 yuan, a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday. That compared with the 10.9 billion yuan average of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“It’s a pretty weak performance across all segments,” Neil Beveridge, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said by phone from Hong Kong. “PetroChina is struggling in the low crude environment and needs to find a way to stop the bleeding.”

PetroChina relies on oil and gas production for most of its revenue, and the tumble in crude prices since last year has taken a toll on the explorer.

Sales dropped 29 percent to 427 billion yuan in the third quarter. The company’s realized crude price fell 49 percent to $51.16 a barrel in the first nine months, according to the statement, while oil and gas output rose 3.6 percent to 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-29/petrochina-third-quarter-profit-falls-81-as-oil-prices-plunge

In the third quarter, the Company achieved a total net production of 127.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), representing a significant increase of 23.8% year over year (yoy). Net production from offshore China reached 83.3 million BOE, a 28.2% yoy increase, primarily due to the production contribution from newly commenced projects in Bohai and the Eastern South China Sea. Meanwhile, net production from overseas rose 16.5% yoy to 44.3 million BOE, mainly because of maintenance at the Buzzard oilfield during the same period last year and new production from the Golden Eagle project in the U.K. North Sea.

CNOOC Ltd said its third-quarter unaudited sales revenue from oil and gas fell 32.3 percent on low oil prices as its average realized oil price declined by 51 percent to $48.84 a barrel.

The company reported sales of 36.25 billion yuan ($5.70 billion) for the third quarter, compared with 53.57 billion a year earlier, according to a filing with the Hong Kong bourse. The state-controlled firm does not publish quarterly earnings.

The company said its capital expenditure fell 44.0 percent on year to roughly 14.75 billion yuan ($2.32 billion) amid belt-tightening.

During the period, the Company made 3 new discoveries and drilled fourteen successful appraisal wells in offshore China . The Caofeidian 6-4 structure was successfully appraised and proved to be a mid-sized oilfield, which represents a significant breakthrough after several years of oil and gas exploration in western Bohai. The new discovery of Liuhua 21-2 further demonstrated the exploration potential of Baiyun Sag in Pearl River Mouth basin and is expected to be developed jointly with adjacent oil structures in the area, including Liuhua 20-2. In the third quarter, the Luda 10-1 oilfield comprehensive adjustment project commenced production, while other projects progressed smoothly.

In the third quarter, the unaudited oil and gas sales revenue of the Company reached approximately RMB36.25 billion , representing a decline of 32.3% yoy. The Company's average realized oil price declined by 50.7% yoy to US$48.84 per barrel, while the average realized natural gas price declined by 3.0% yoy to US$6.41 per thousand cubic feet.

Facing a low oil price environment, the Company continued to lower costs and enhance efficiency, in addition to decreasing its full-year capital expenditures. During the period, the Company reduced its capital expenditures by 44.0% yoy to approximately RMB14.75 billion .

Mr. Li Fanrong , CEO of the Company commented, "In the third quarter, the Company made smooth progress in overall business, including exploration, development and production. Our cost controls and enhanced efficiency measures were executed effectively and achieved remarkable results as we aimed to proactively respond to the impact of low oil prices. Meanwhile, we are confident that we will achieve our production and operation targets for the year."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cnooc-limited-announces-key-operational-082700545.html

France’s Engie said it has executed a 5-year deal with US LNG player Cheniere to buy up to 12 LNG cargoes per annum.

According to the agreement, the cargoes will be delivered ex-ship at the Montoir-de-Bretagne regasification terminal in France from Cheniere’s Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass LNG export plants currently under construction in Texas.

The sales price for the LNG cargoes is linked to Northern European indexes. The deliveries will start in 2018, Engie said on Wednesday.

The US LNG can alternatively be shipped to other European terminals, the French company added.

http://www.lngworldnews.com/engie-strikes-5-year-lng-spa-with-cheniere/

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Italian oil contractor Saipem is asking investors to pump in fresh capital equivalent to its current market value to help it to weather the oil service recession and plot a path to recovery as main investor Eni takes a step back.

Saipem, which is 43 percent owned by Eni, said on Wednesday that it would hold a 3.5 billion euro ($3.87 billion)rights issue in the first quarter of next year as part of a new four-year turnaround plan aimed at ensuring the company's survival without its Eni safety net.

At the same time Eni said it had agreed to sell about 12.5 percent of its Saipem stake to state-owned investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI). That deal, in conjunction with a shareholder pact with FSI, will see Eni relinquish its control and cut 5.1 billion euros of debt from its balance sheet.

State-controlled Eni, the A- credit rating of which had previously helped Saipem to service its debt, is looking to focus on its bread-and-butter business of finding oil and gas and is keen to get its subsidiary on a standalone footing.

Saipem, which has now been given a Baa3 investment grade rating by Moody's, said the 3.2 billion euros of gross debt remaining after the rights issue would be refinanced by new credit lines.

"We are ready to go it alone. I think there's always a good time in the history of a company for step change. This is certainly a major change," Saipem Chief Executive Stefano Cao told Reuters.

With margins and orders battered by low oil prices, Saipem needs a large capital injection to get the group back on its feet. It has issued two profit warnings in a little more than 30 months and in July announced cost cuts including 8,800 redundancies.

Saipem, which expects the market to recover in 2017, said it had expanded a previous cost savings target of 1.3 billion euros to 1.5 billion euros and is ready to dispose of non-core assets to lift its profit margins.

"The rights issue was good news, since it was bigger than expected, but it will only happen next year and that means dragging out the pain and suffering for another four months or so," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/saipem-eni-fsi-idUSL8N12S01H20151028

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U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by robust demand for refined products and lower crude costs.

Valero also raised its quarterly cash dividend to 50 cents per share from 40 cents.

The company's shares were up 2.4 percent at $63.99 in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Refiners have been pumping out strong profits due to high crack spreads, the difference between crude oil and prices of refined products, as crude prices have more than halved since June last year due to a supply glut.

Valero expects continued healthy gasoline demand in the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Joe Gorder said in a statement on Wednesday.

Gasoline demand is expected to remain buoyant, helped by lower prices, even after accounting for a seasonal winter downturn in the consumption of motor fuel.

Valero's refining margin rose to $14.38 per barrel in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $11.81 per barrel a year earlier.

Net income from continuing operations attributable to Valero's stockholders rose 30 percent to $1.38 billion, or $2.79 per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $2.66 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Operating revenue fell 34.4 percent to $22.58 billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/valero-energy-results-idUSL3N12S3XM20151028

Hess Corp. plans to cut spending by about 27 percent next year after its oil and natural gas business lost more than $2 million a day during the third quarter.

Hess estimated its 2016 capital budget will fall to $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion from $4.1 billion this year, according to a statement from the New York-based company on Wednesday. Daily oil and gas output will decline to the equivalent of 330,000 barrels to 350,000 barrels next year, an 8.7 percent drop from the full-year 2015 target, based on the mid-range of those numbers.

The company posted a net loss of $279 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with profit of $1.01 billion, or $3.31, a year earlier, according to the statement. Excluding one-time items, the per-share loss was $1.03, beating the average estimated loss of $1.20 from analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Hess’s exploration and production unit lost $188 million during the quarter as a 53 percent plunge in the price the company received for each barrel of crude more than offset a 19 percent jump in production. Even with hedges in place intended to help the company lock in prices for its output, its average selling prices for crude was $45.66 a barrel, compared with $96.78 a year earlier.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-28/hess-beats-estimates-slashes-2016-drilling-budget-on-price-drop

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Occidental Petroleum Corp, the fourth-largest U.S. oil producer, swung to a significant net loss for the third quarter on Wednesday as it booked charges for dropping futures prices and halted projects while saying it was exiting North Dakota.

The company, which also has operations in the Middle East and Colombia, showed a net loss of $2.61 billion, or $3.42 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.55 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The result reflects the tough times a more than 50 percent drop in crude prices over the last year has wrought on oil companies.

Charges it took "reflect the sharp decline in the oil and gas futures price curves, as well as projects that management determined it would cease to pursue," Occidental said in a statement.

On an adjusted basis, Occidental was able to beat expectations as it lifted output from a year earlier and slashed costs to offset tumbling prices.

Houston-based Occidental slashed its capital budget by $300 million in the quarter, and Chief Executive Steve Chazen said the company has "made a strategic decision to exit" the Bakken, which had drained resources away from Occidental's core Texan shale fields.

Reuters reported this month that Occidental had sold its North Dakota assets to private equity fund Lime Rock Resources. It was the most significant pullback by a big company from the Bakken fields of North Dakota since the downturn started.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 3 cents per share.

By that measure, analysts expected a loss of a penny per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Average daily production rose 16 percent to 689,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) from the year-ago quarter, even as the average price Occidental received for its oil fell 49 percent to $47.78 per barrel. It had started up its Al Hosn oil field in the United Arab Emirates, which produced 50,000 barrels a day in the third quarter, and its oil output in West Texas surged 72 percent to 74,000 barrels a day.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/occidental-results-idUSL3N12S4C620151028

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                                     Last Week   Week Before   Year Before

Domestic Production...... 9,112             9,096             8,970



http://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/overview.pdf

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U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged over 15.6 million barrels per day during the week ending October 23, 2015, 271,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 87.6% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 4.9 million barrels per day.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged over 7.0 million barrels per day last week, down by 439,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the last four weeks, crude oil imports averaged over 7.2 million barrels per day, 3.8% below the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 722,000 barrels per day. Distillate fuel imports averaged 108,000 barrels per day last week.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 3.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 480.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.1 million barrels last week, but are above the upper limit of the average range. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories decreased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 3.0 million barrels last week but are in the middle of the average range for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories remain unchanged last week and are well above the upper limit of the average range. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 3.7 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged over 19.5 million barrels per day, up by 1.0% from the same period last year. Over the last four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged over 9.1 million barrels per day, up by 3.4% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged about 4.0 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up by 10.0% from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied is up 1.9% compared to the same four-week period last year.

Cushing saw a draw of 785k barrels (the largest in 4 weeks)

http://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/wpsrsummary.pdf

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Sleeping giant oilfields that were once thought mature and largely tapped out are getting a second lease on life with the latest in revolutionary enhanced oil technology: the futuristic-sounding Plasma Pulse Technology—a potentially billion-dollar business hitting the markets hard and backed by major investments.

Major strategic investors have been playing the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) market for some time, but a recent $15-million investment specifically in Propell Technologies Group, Inc. (OTCQB:PROP)’s Plasma Pulse Technology (PPT) gives us a glimpse of where this revolutionary tech is going.

The past few years have demonstrated that EOR is the savior of the North American oil boom, and the only thing that makes sense for producers who understand that operators have to be able to withstand price volatility.

Plasma Pulse Technology uses a series of impulse waves to reopen permeability for up to one year per treatment. Data from an average of 27 oil wells showed a 295% increase in initial production after a single PPT treatment, while an average from 36 injector wells showed a 545% increase of the amount of fluid after a single plasma treatment.

In an Oklahoma oil field, the application of PPT led to an amazing 1040% increase in daily well production—and that is just one of many successful plasma pulse case studies.

In addition to making wells more profitable, PPT enables the re-opening of wells without requiring water, without polluting chemicals, and without causing earthquakes. The technology doesn’t open rock like fracking; rather, it comes in afterwards and cleans up well bores to clear the pathway for oil to flow faster and more efficiently to the surface.

We’re looking at the immediate returns for this commercially proven method of getting more oil out of the ground, with the potential to double a well’s output by using PPT. This is exactly what investors today want to see from an operator, particularly in an atmosphere of depressed oil prices.

And the savings go far beyond the well. With anti-fracking sentiments at an all-time high, and new stringent regulations popping up, PPT offers a cheap and easy alternative.

http://oilprice.com/Finance/investing-and-trading-reports/The-Next-Big-Thing-In-Enhanced-Oil-Recovery.html

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EdgeMarc Energy is a small driller headquartered in the Pittsburgh area, formed in 2012.

The company has leased 50,000 acres in the Marcellus and Utica Shales. On Monday EdgeMarc issued a press release to announce they’ve attracted a new investor–the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan–which has promised the company up to $300 million in cash in return for part ownership (called an “equity commitment”).

The announcement also says EdgeMarc currently drills and produces natural gas in Monroe and Washington counties in Ohio, and Butler County in Pennsylvania.

In checking the latest issue of our 2015 Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook series, Volume 2, we find that EM Energy (which we assume is EdgeMarc) received permits to drill or continue work on 11 different wells in Butler County from May through August 2015.

Including an existing equity commitment from Goldman Sachs, EdgeMarc, a private company, has now sold off $750 million worth of the company to outside investors…

http://marcellusdrilling.com/2015/10/marcellus-driller-edgemarc-gets-300m-from-ontario-teachers/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

National Oilwell Varco posted better than expected third quarter results, recording earnings of $155million, compared to $289million in the previous three-month period, whilst stating it expected to take advantage of investment opportunities in the continued downturn.

Revenues for the third quarter of 2015 were $3.31 billion, a decrease of 15% from the second quarter of 2015 and a decrease of 41% from the third quarter of 2014. Analysts had predicted lower revenue and earnings ahead of today’s results.

Chief executive Clay Williams, said: “The sharp decline in oil prices and activity since late last year has impacted each of our segments, and will drive activity lower in the fourth quarter.

We believe our strong financial resources will enable National Oilwell Varco to invest in the extraordinary opportunities that will arise from this downturn, and we expect to emerge with greater capability and efficiency.

“In the meantime, with limited visibility into the timing of a recovery, we remain focused on managing costs and improving performance, while continuing to develop technologies that help our customers to improve their returns in a lower commodity price world.”

https://www.energyvoice.com/marketinfo/91706/national-oilwell-varcos-third-quarter-results-reflect-downturn/

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Suncor Energy Inc. has posted a third-quarter net loss of $376 million, a sharp reversal from the $919-million profit from the same period a year earlier.

However, stripped of one-time items, Suncor eked out operating earnings of $410 million, down from $1.3 billion during the third quarter of 2014.

U.S. pipeline opponents celebrate downturn in Alberta oilsands
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In the release announcing Suncor's third-quarter results late Wednesday, CEO Steve Williams said that if Suncor were able to increase its stake in the Syncrude oilsands mine, operations at the sprawling development north of Fort McMurray, Alta., would run more smoothly.

"We believe that we can drive real improvements in Syncrude's performance with a larger ownership interest," Williams said.

Oil producers like Suncor have been squeezed by persistent weakness in crude prices, which have fallen to around $43 a barrel — down 60 per cent from the high point of last year.

During the third quarter, oilsands cash operating costs per barrel decreased to $27 — the lowest Suncor has seen since 2007 — from $31.10 a year earlier.

Overall production rose to 566,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 519,300.

"Our focus on operational discipline continues to pay off," said Williams.

"We're delivering on the reliability targets and cost reduction measures we established, leading to the lowest cash operating cost per barrel for oilsands operations in eight years — the results clearly demonstrate the impact this discipline has on Suncor's performance."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/suncor-q3-2015-loss-syncrude-oil-sands-1.3293512

Tesoro Corp. reported record profit Wednesday for third quarter, as earnings jumped 91 percent.

The San Antonio-based refiner’s earnings from continuing operations jumped to $759 million, or $6.13 a share, compared with earnings of $397 million, or $3.06 a share, for the same period a year ago.

Favorable margins and high utilization of its plants aided the results. Margins on Tesoro’s products rose to $15.57 a barrel compared with $11.82 for the third quarter of last year.

“We reported very strong results for the third quarter,” CEO Greg Goff said, attributing the results in part to “strong performance across all business segments.”

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/10/28/tesoros-profits-soar/