Libya's National Oil Corporation has ambitious plans to restore output to pre-2011 levels after years of violence and disruption, officials said.

Oil output is now less than a quarter of the 1.6 million barrels per day Libya pumped before Muammar Gaddafi fell in 2011, and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli hopes to ramp it up swiftly with the backing of a new unity government.

Full recovery could take years because of shutdowns by disgruntled workers, political rivalry and attacks by Islamic State militants.

Militants hit the al-Ghani, Mabrouk, and Dahra fields in the Sirte basin over a year ago, forcing the NOC to declare force-majeure on 11 fields, and there have been further attacks since then.

An NOC official in Tripoli told Reuters that at least 200,000 bpd of capacity had been damaged in attacks on oil fields in the western Sirte basin, Libya's most prolific.

It may take the NOC until late 2017 or 2018 to bring those fields back to full capacity, the official said, if it can afford the repairs.

The first phase of a three-stage recovery plan can be implemented within three months, a second NOC official in Tripoli said, allowing fields like El Sharara and Elephant, with a combined capacity of around 430,000 bpd, to come back on stream.

But other fields, including those that have been directly attacked and others that feed via pipeline to Libya's largest export terminals at Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, may take longer to bring back online, he added.

Phase two covers six to eight months down the line while the final phase covers fields that will take between eight months and several years to reopen.

Infrastructure damage at the ports could take years to repair and will delay the restart of the fields feeding to them. Another big factor is the cost of the repairs.

"All those plans depend on security. If proper and robust security at the oil facilities is not in place, then our plans will be in jeopardy," the second official said.

Earlier this year militants attacked Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, which can handle 600,000 bpd of crude exports. The two terminals had been closed since December 2014, after an attack on Es Sider.

The latest assault left just 12 out of 32 storage tanks at the terminals operational, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla told Reuters in February. It may take NOC "many years" to rebuild damaged "long lead items" at the ports, he added.

A U.N.-backed unity government's move to Tripoli last month raised hopes that Libya could restart idled fields and reopen export terminals, and the NOC in Tripoli says it could quickly double production to over 700,000 bpd, if political and security conditions stabilise.

The government is still struggling to gain clear support, especially in the east. A parallel NOC in the east exported a shipment of oil independently for the first time this week, further complicating the prospects for recovery.

"We are focused now on how to resume oil production. In some places, we'll just have to open the valves," Sanalla told Reuters last week. "But first of all, we need to have stability."

Industry sources do not expect production to increase beyond 600,000 bpd within the next few months.

"If the new unity government is successful in asserting some control, then output should recover, but only slowly and with setbacks," Energy Aspects analyst Richard Mallinson told the Reuters Global Oil Forum earlier this month.

SECURITY CHALLENGE

The NOC hopes the unity government can create a unified security force to protect oil infrastructure.

For now, security will depend on an array of armed factions including the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), a semi-official corps that has blockaded ports and whose attempt in 2014 to export crude independently was thwarted by U.S. special forces.

PFG leader Ibrahim Jathran says he supports the unity government and is ready to reopen the ports of Zueitina, Es Sider, and Ras Lanuf, and Sanalla has said the NOC would accept the PFG as part of a future, national security force.

But the blockade and the PFG's refusal to allow storage tanks to be emptied at threatened terminals have infuriated the NOC. Meanwhile a rival PFG faction, Battalion 152, has said it is loyal to eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, whose political allies have blocked the eastern parliament from approving the unity government.

The unity government said on Sunday it feared further attacks on coastal infrastructure and oil fields, and that it had received reports that these were threatened not only by Islamic State but also by Gaddafi loyalists and Sudanese rebels.

Financing could be a challenge in the short term as Libya has been hard hit by falling oil prices and has had to bear the double burden of a price crash and constrained output simultaneously.

Sanalla has estimated the cost of lost production at more than $68 billion for the past three years, and says Libya loses $30 million every day because of shutdowns. Security worries in some areas mean the NOC has yet to assess the full cost to repair damaged facilities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/libya-oil-production-idUSL5N17V4YB

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China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s biggest refiner, posted a threefold increase in profit as the drop in oil prices was outweighed by the benefit of improved refining margins.

Net income at the Beijing-based company known as Sinopec rose to 6.66 billion yuan ($1.03 billion), compared with 2.17 billion yuan a year ago, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday.

China announced in January that fuel prices wouldn’t be adjusted when oil falls below $40 a barrel in an attempt to support the domestic energy industry and curb pollution. The policy boosted domestic refining margins during the first quarter to $16 a barrel, a 45 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to researcher ICIS China. The country’s product exports slipped in the first two months as it became more profitable to sell fuels at home.

“Sinopec benefited a lot in the first quarter from very low crude prices and the fuel price floor set by the government,” Li Li, an analyst with ICIS China, said by phone from Guangzhou. “The company will probably be unable to enjoy such good refining margins in the second quarter with higher crude cost.”

Sales dropped 13 percent to 413.8 billion yuan in the period, while oil and gas output fell 2.7 percent to 114.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. Total refining output fell 2.4 to 57.2 million tons. Operating profit from refining swung to a 13.4 billion yuan gain from a loss the year earlier.

Sinopec last year outperformed its state-owned rivals PetroChina Co. and Cnooc Ltd. as profit from oil refining helped offset the impact from oil’s plunge.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/sinopec-profit-rises-threefold-as-refining-outweighs-oil-plunge

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PetroChina Co Ltd, the country's largest oil and gas producer, on Thursday reported its first ever quarterly loss as oil prices touched near 13-year lows, and forecast continued volatility in the market.

Faced with the worst downturn in the oil sector in at least three decades, state-run PetroChina posted a net loss in the first three months of 13.79 billion yuan ($2.13 billion), compared with a profit of 6.15 billion yuan a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2016, the average realized price for crude oil of the group was $27.27 per barrel, of which the domestic realized price was $26.55 per barrel, representing a drop of 44.2 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The company expects that for the rest of the year the supply and demand fundamentals will remain loose. "International oil prices will widely fluctuate at a low level," the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

A prolonged fall in oil prices has weighed on the industry, with U.S. giant Exxon Mobil this week losing its top credit rating from Standard & Poor's for the first time in almost 70 years and British oil company BP reporting an 80 percent drop in first-quarter profits.

PetroChina expects total crude output this year of 924.7 million barrels.

Last month, PetroChina reported a net profit of 35.52 billion yuan for 2015, down 70 percent from the previous year, and said it would trim capital expenditure by 5 percent to 192 billion yuan this year ($30 billion).

http://www.reuters.com/article/petrochina-results-idUSL3N17V1OI

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China's net LPG imports in March more than doubled from a year ago to hit a record high, as low prices ignited buying interest from import terminals and propane dehydrogenation plants.

Traders expect LPG imports to remain high in April, but purchases could slow in the following months due to higher inventories.

Net LPG imports in March surged 119% year on year to around 1.5 million mt, the highest on record, Platts calculations using data released Friday by the General Administration of Customs showed. The March volume was up 57% month on month, which was also the highest month-on-month increase in the past eight months.

Traders attributed the rush for March imports to higher profit margins at both LPG import terminals and PDH plants.

"Lower LPG prices in the international market have encouraged both import terminals and PDH plants to buy more last month [for March and April delivery]," a trader in eastern China said.

The pre-tax import cost of LPG averaged $351/mt in March, down 9% from $387/mt in February and 35% lower from $543/mt a year ago, according to Platts calculations. This equates to around Yuan 2,609/mt ($400.64/mt), after adding customs duty and value added tax.

"We increased our LPG imports in the past two months as we saw good trading margins and we were bullish about the LPG price in the future," a trader with Oriental Energy said.

As China's largest LPG importer in 2015, Oriental Energy in eastern China runs three major import terminals and a PDH plant capable of consuming around 720,000 mt/year of propane.

The company imported a total of 335,700 mt LPG in March, up 169% from 124,800 mt in the previous month, according to a report from Beijing-based energy information provider JYD Commodities Hub.

In addition, Wanhua Chemical Group, formerly Yantai Wanhua Chemical, which runs a PDH plant capable of consuming around 900,000 mt/year of propane and 600,000 mt/year of butane, also boosted its LPG imports to 133,059 mt in March, compared with no imports in February, the customs data showed. It is based in eastern China's Shandong province.

As China's biggest PDH plant, the company has a FOB contract with Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Company Limited, or Tasweeq, this year, but the term volume is unknown. Wanhua also has a CFR term contract with Turkish trader Bayegan for a 44,000-mt evenly split cargo per month or bi-monthly from Ruwais in the UAE, since last year, sources said.

"We mainly bought the LPG cargoes from the spot market last month as spot LPG prices were attractive," a source with Wanhua said, adding that the plant is running at around 70%-80% of capacity.

Chinese PDH plants' processing margin was estimated to be above Yuan 1,000/mt last month, and it remains healthy this month, according to market sources.

"But with the rebound in LPG prices and the restart of some PDH plants, the margin could be narrowed next month," a source in eastern China said.

PDH plant operators have been enjoying strong margins for propylene, their key output, which has prompted them to process more propane.

According to Platts calculations, the premium of CFR China propylene prices to the breakeven cost of converting propane into propylene has risen steadily so far this year, to average $107.45/mt in March, from an average of $11.04/mt in January.

Over January-March, net LPG imports were also up 72% year on year to 3.25 million mt, according to Platts calculations.

The UAE remained the top supplier in March at 688,001 mt, up 86% month on month and 64% higher year on year.

The US was the second-largest supplier in both March and in Q1, with 361,954 mt and 998,779 mt respectively. LPG imports from the US in March were only up 2% month on month, but jumped 101% year on year, Platts calculations showed.

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/oil/singapore/analysis-chinas-net-lpg-imports-hit-record-high-26430302

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Eni SpA posted a first-quarter loss that was worse than analysts’ estimates amid a collapse in crude prices.

The Italian oil company’s adjusted net loss was 479 million euros ($546 million), compared with a profit of 454 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had expected a 12.3 million-euro loss, according to the median of nine estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Production growth fell short of expectations and Eni’s net cash from operating activities fell 56 percent to 1.3 billion euros.

“Our biggest concern as ever is the cash flow,” which was “very weak,” Exane BNP Paribas said in a note on Friday.

The plunge in crude prices since the middle of 2014 has weighed on oil company profits, forcing them to cut capital spending, slash dividends and postpone or cancel expensive exploration projects. Eni’s results contrast with the better-than-forecast profit reported this week by BP Plc, Statoil ASA and Total SA.

Eni shares fell 1.1 percent to 14.24 euros as of 9:17 a.m. in Milan trading, paring this year’s gain to 3.1 percent. That compares with the 8.5 percent advance in the 20-member Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index.

Exiting Businesses

Eni was in the process of exiting two major lines of business in the first quarter -- chemicals and engineering and construction -- meaning the units’ performance was not reflected in adjusted net income from continuing operations, the company said. On a standalone basis -- reinstating gains and losses from transactions with these divisions -- Eni reported an adjusted net loss of 77 million euros, compared with a profit of 701 million euros a year earlier.

“The fundamentals of the oil market remain weak,” Eni said in a statement. “Management is planning to increase efforts to optimize capex and reduce operating costs by exploiting the deflationary pressure induced by the fall in crude oil prices.”

Eni’s oil and gas production rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier to the equivalent of 1.75 million barrels of oil a day, compared with an average forecast of 1.78 million barrels a day by five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The start of output in fields in countries including Norway contributed to the gain. Eni reiterated that it would cut investment this year by 20 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-29/eni-posts-larger-than-expected-quarterly-loss-on-oil-price-slump

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ConocoPhillips, the largest U.S. independent oil company, posted a first-quarter loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, and cut its spending budget for the second time this year as the slump in crude prices sapped profitability.

The company cut its 2016 capital expenditure forecast to $5.7 billion from $6.4 billion, driven by reduced deepwater exploration activity. It had cut its capital budget forecast in February.

Crude prices continued to fall in the quarter, eating into the income of E&P companies. Oil prices touched a low of $27.10 per barrel, before recovering to close at $39.60 at end of March.

ConocoPhillips, which cut its quarterly dividend by 25 percent in February to save cash, reduced its first-quarter operating costs by 21 percent to $1.69 billion.

Production fell to 1,578 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) from 1,610 mboe/d.

First-quarter net loss was $1.5 billion, or $1.18 per share, compared with a profit of $272 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, the company's loss was 95 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimates of a loss of $1.05.

Total revenue and other income fell 37 percent to $5.02 billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-conocophillips-results-idUSKCN0XP1JY

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Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest natural gas producer, said full-year profit jumped almost five-fold, signaling the possibility of a higher dividend payout just as the Russian government needs more funds to plug its budget gap.

Net income rose to 787 billion rubles ($12.2 billion) in 2015 from 159 billion rubles a year earlier, the state-controlled company said Thursday in a statement. That was more than an average estimate of 758 billion rubles by 10 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Gazprom’s 2014 profit was hurt by foreign currency losses after exceeding 1 trillion rubles in the previous three years.

The Russian government last week issued an order that state companies must pay out at least half their income under Russian or international accounting standards, whichever produces the higher figure. The move stoked appetite for the gas producer’s shares, which is trading at its highest level in more than a year in Moscow.

“Gazprom dividends is the main intrigue now,” said Elchin Mammadov, a London-based analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Still, there’s no clarity how much the payments may increase.”

Gazprom’s management had recommended to increase the dividend payment by 2.8 percent to 7.4 rubles per share, or 175 billion rubles in total, before the state order was published. That would equal 50 percent of the company’s profit under Russian accounting standards after adjustments.

The Moscow-based producer, which meets about 30 percent of Europe’s gas demand, will probably pay less than expected given falling export earnings after the plunge in oil meant a lower price for gas, according to eight of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The average forecast is 30 to 35 percent of the international profit.

Gazprom’s domestic rival, state-run Rosneft OJSC, plans to pay out 35 percent of its profit after its board approved the recommendation on Friday, a decision seen as a compromise by analysts including Raiffeisen Bank and Aton LLC. The Economy Ministry sought half the profit, while the Energy Ministry demanded to keep 25 percent, citing risks to the company’s investment plans and production, Interfax reported last week.

Sergei Kupriyanov, a Gazprom spokesman in Moscow, declined to comment on the dividend outlook before executives hold a regular call with investors and analysts later on Thursday. Gazprom’s board typically discusses a payout recommendation in the second half of May before the annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for June 30.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/gazprom-2015-profit-jumps-as-kremlin-demands-higher-dividend

Origin Energy Ltd on Friday more than doubled its outlook for earnings from liquefied natural gas this year, saying the first unit at its Australia Pacific LNG plant was producing at above its rated capacity of 4.5 million tonnes a year.

APLNG, operated by ConocoPhillips, shipped 11 cargoes in the March quarter, mostly going to China's Sinopec, and is set to start exporting from its second production unit between July and December, Origin said.

The extra volume adds to an already oversupplied global LNG market, with spot prices in Asia LNG-AS down 36 percent so far this year.

"Given the strong operational performance of Train 1 since shipment of the first LNG cargo on Jan. 9, Origin expects to recognise Train 1 revenue from March 1 2016," it said in its quarterly report.

It now expects underlying LNG earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year to June 2016 of between A$100 million and A$150 million, well above an earlier forecast between A$30 million and A$80 million.

Origin reported a 45-percent rise in March quarter revenue to A$316.4 million ($241.8 million) from a year earlier on the back of first sales from the APLNG project.

Production rose 65 percent to 60.9 petajoules.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox?compose=154608a5dab97a3b

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world’s third-largest shipbuilder, said an order to build three floating liquefied natural gas production facilities was canceled after the energy development project was scrapped amid a plunge in oil prices.

The contract, valued at 5.27 trillion won ($4.6 billion), from Royal Dutch Shell Plc was voided because of the current difficult market conditions, the Sungnam, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing Thursday. The shipbuilder won the deal in June on the condition that the project will start only after the client is ready to proceed.

Oil prices that have more than halved in the last two years have forced energy companies and rig owners to cancel offshore projects and delay deliveries. As a result, shipyards in Asia such as Samsung Heavy and Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine Ltd. reported losses or smaller profits last year.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. scrapped plans in March to develop the Browse LNG project in Australia with partners, including Shell and BP Plc, saying it won’t go ahead with the floating LNG development after completing detailed engineering and design work. The Browse partners will prepare a new plan and budget for developing the gas resources, it said.

Samsung Heavy is currently building two other floating LNG facilities for Shell and Petroliam Nasional Bhd. of Malaysia. The first project is expected to complete work at the shipyard in the second half of this year, the company said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/samsung-heavy-loses-4-6-billion-royal-dutch-shell-order-on-oil

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Oil equipment maker Weir Group reported a 47 percent fall in first-quarter oil and gas orders on Thursday and estimated some 70 percent of North America's fracking fleet is currently idle as low crude prices slow investment in the sector.

The Scottish company, which specializes in pumps and valves used in drilling rigs, said a 20 percent reduction in U.S. land rig count in the past two months had lowered demand for its products.

"The U.S. rig count decline over the course of Q1 was over and beyond everyone's expectations," Chief Executive Keith Cochrane told analysts.

His comments echoed ones from U.S. oilfield services firm Baker Hughes on Wednesday about a slowdown in U.S. drilling activity that hit its first-quarter revenue.

Cochraine said, however, that cost savings had bolstered first-quarter profits, without giving financial details.

"As a result, we expect first half profits to be slightly ahead of market expectations," Cochrane said.

The fall in drilling activity and recent uptick in oil prices will encourage customers to place new orders, Cochrane added.

"If they want to keep producing they need to start spending money again," he said.

Jon Stanton, Weir's chief financial officer, said this meant the company expected its oil and gas division to return to profit in the second half of the year from a "moderately loss-making" position currently.

http://www.reuters.com/article/weir-group-outlook-idUSL5N17V324

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Refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) barely eked out a profit in the first quarter, hurt by weak crack spreads – the difference between the prices of crude oil and refined products.

Net income attributable to the company slumped to $1 million, or less than 1 cent per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $891 million, or $1.62 per share, a year earlier.

The drastic decline in profit was also a result of higher turnaround activity, or scheduled events where an entire unit is taken offstream for an extended period for a revamp or renewal.

Marathon also took an impairment charge of $129 million in the latest quarter.

Refiners have seen their margins shrink due to the narrowing price difference between U.S. Crude CLc1 and globally traded Brent futures LCOc1, to which the price of refined products are tied.

"Despite weakness in refining margins in the first two months of the year, we saw crack spreads strengthen late in the quarter as gasoline inventories declined and refiners responded to market conditions," Chief Executive Gary Heminger said in a statement on Thursday.

Marathon's revenue and other income fell 25.6 percent to $12.75 billion.

As part of its turnaround work, Marathon commissioned a light crude upgrade project at its Robinson, Illinois refinery to increase its overall processing capacity by 20,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd)

The upgrade is also to boost by 30,000 (bpsd) its light crude capacity, the quantity of oil product produced by a single refining unit during continuous operation for 24 hours.

Up to Wednesday's close of $41.37, the company's shares have slumped more than 19 percent in the last 12 months.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marathon-pete-results-idUSL3N17V4E4

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Suncor Energy Inc. is doubling down on a bet that the oil sands will be a competitive source of crude as it increases its ownership of the Syncrude Canada mine and presses ahead with its Fort Hills bitumen project.

The company’s production will grow 40 percent from 2015 levels to more than 800,000 barrels a day by 2019, President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams said during a conference call Thursday with analysts to discuss first-quarter results.

“That’s a growth trajectory that very few companies of our scale can hope to equal,” Williams said. “More importantly, it’s growth that gives us even more leverage to rising oil prices.”

The company paid C$937 million ($747 million) for Murphy Oil Corp.’s 5-percent of Syncrude, boosting its ownership to 53.74 percent, it said Wednesday.

Suncor, Canada’s largest oil company by market value, is also pressing ahead with its C$15.1 billion Fort Hills project, with plans to spend C$4.5 billion with its partners this year to begin production at the end of 2017.

Cost Competitive

Suncor aims to make bitumen extraction an important -- and cost competitive -- source of crude for global markets. The company reduced cash operating costs at the oil sands division in the first quarter by 15 percent to C$24.25 a barrel, and Williams said the company can sustain a dividend and free cash flow at crude prices of $40 a barrel.

Williams said he expects a period of oil prices being “lower for longer.” The price of West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, has gained 25 percent this year and traded Thursday above $46 a barrel, a five-month high. Prices averaged $33.63 during the first quarter.

“Oil sands operating costs not surprisingly continue to trend lower across all segments due to a combination of higher volumes, cost savings and lower natural gas prices,” said Menno Hulshof, an analyst at TD Securities, in a note. “In fact, we would have to go all the way back to 2007 to see costs this low.”

Expansion Plans

The 5 percent stake in Syncrude acquired from Murphy Oil will provide Suncor with an additional 17,500 barrels a day of production. The sale will allow Murphy Oil to focus on its drilling operations in North America, the U.S. producer said in a separate statement. The process of improving Syncrude’s operations will be a “multi-year” process and Suncor will continue to work with Syncrude’s operator Imperial Oil Ltd. to improve operations.

The company last year began its efforts to boost control over Syncrude, which produces light synthetic crude oil. It succeeded in winning over resistant Canadian Oil Sands management and shareholders after sweetening its offer earlier this year. Suncor made two offers before a hostile bid in October and finally secured Canadian Oil Sands management’s green light for the takeover in January.

Suncor has taken advantage of the oil industry downturn to expand through deals including the C$4.2 billion takeover of Canadian Oil Sands and the purchase of a bigger stake in a venture with France’s Total SA. The company will “take a breath” on large projects and focus on increasing efficiency and lowering costs, Williams said on the call.

Suncor has also targeted as much as C$1.5 billion in asset sales, Alister Cowan, Suncor Chief Financial Officer, said on the call. The company isn’t currently selling its chain of gas stations. It has already sold C$4.5 billion worth of assets since its merger with Petro-Canada in 2009.

At the same time, Suncor has cut spending by 10 percent this year after posting a surprise fourth-quarter loss. The 2016 spending reductions come after the company eliminated about 1,700 jobs and slashed its budget last year.

First-quarter net earnings were C$257 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with a loss of C$341 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the company said in a separate statement. The oil sands division lost C$524 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of C$146 million a year earlier, the company said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/suncor-prepares-for-production-boost-on-majority-syncrude-stake

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. today reported a first quarter 2016 net loss of $21 million, or $0.06 per share, excluding other items. Other items included $147 million in pre-tax charges primarily associated with severance and facility closure costs. GAAP net loss for the quarter was $119 million, or $0.32 per share.

“Oil prices and oilfield activity continued to plummet during the first quarter of 2016, causing our customers to cut spending to bare minimum levels”

Revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $2.19 billion, a decrease of 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015 and a decrease of 55 percent from the first quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) for the first quarter was $127 million, or 5.8 percent of sales. Decremental Adjusted EBITDA margin (the change in Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of the change in revenue) from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016 was 37 percent. Operating loss, excluding other items, was $48 million.

“Oil prices and oilfield activity continued to plummet during the first quarter of 2016, causing our customers to cut spending to bare minimum levels,” stated Clay C. Williams, Chairman, President and CEO of National Oilwell Varco. “The fifth quarter of this extraordinary downcycle saw our revenues decline sharply once again, leading us to intensify our cost reduction efforts. While this market has been very tough on our business, I am grateful for the leadership and perseverance demonstrated by National Oilwell Varco’s tremendous employees. Better days lie ahead. Our strong financial resources enable us to continue to invest in new technologies, products and acquisitions that better position us for the inevitable upturn.”

Lots more detail: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160428005619/en/National-Oilwell-Varco-Reports-Quarter-2016-Results

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MEG Energy Corp., which operates in Canada’s oil sands, reported a first-quarter profit, compared with a loss a year earlier, as it managed to keep production costs at record lows to help cushion the impact of a slump in oil prices.

MEG said cash flow used in operations, or negative cash flow, rose to $131-million from $30-million as realized bitumen prices more than halved.

The prolonged oil slump has forced oil producers, including MEG, to try and preserve cash and reduce debt by selling assets, laying off workers and cutting their dividend as well as capital spending.

MEG, whose key operations are in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta, said it was implementing a hedging program to increase the predictability of future cash flows.

The company said it continues to target average production of 80,000-83,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year.

Bitumen production fell about 7 per cent to 76,640 bpd in the quarter due to a turnaround a quarter ahead of schedule at MEG’s Christina Lake facilities in northern Alberta.

However, its net operating costs decreased 19 per cent to $8.53 per barrel, in line with the record-low cost in the previous quarter.

That helped the company reported a net profit of $131-million, or 58 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31. It had lost $508-million, or $2.27 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 37.9 per cent to $290-million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/meg-energy-posts-profit-as-production-costs-stay-at-record-low/article29781653/