May 2016

Malaysia's national oil company (NOC) Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) posted a profit after tax of $1.1 billion (MYR 4.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2016 (1Q 2016) that ended March 31, down 60 percent from $2.8 billion (MYR 11.4 billion) recorded in the same period last year, while revenue fell 26 percent to $12.1 billion (MYR 49.1 billion) from $16.3 billion (MYR 66.2 billion) in the corresponding period, financial results released Wednesday by the firm showed.

Chevron Corp on Tuesday said it will slash its budget by at least 17% for the next two years to save cash due to the low crude oil prices.

Shell, Eni, Total and Statoil have announced green energy investments with a combined value of around $2.5 billion in recent weeks in a bid to diversify away from their core oil and gas markets.

China is Russia’s biggest single trade partner, with its share rising to 12.8 percent from 12 percent in 2015. Even so, the overall turnover of goods fell by 26 percent last year to $68.1 billion. That means the countries are far off reaching their target of $100 billion in trade.

Socar President Rovnag Abdullaev disclosed last week that Azerbaijan was in the process of negotiating an agreement under which it would purchase 3-5bn m³/yr of gas from Gazprom.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is Russia’s business climate. While frequently fodder for criticism, there’s progress. Russia has surged by 61 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index since 2013 to 51st this year.

Стороны договорились о расширении сотрудничества в России, Вьетнаме и третьих странах в области разведки и добычи углеводородов (в том числе на шельфе), переработки, коммерции и логистики, а также обучения персонала. Соглашение предполагает изучение компаниями потенциальных вариантов совместных проектов и определение основных условий взаимодействия, а также создание рабочих групп по каждому из направлений сотрудничества.

Стороны намерены изучить дополнительные возможности для взаимовыгодного сотрудничества в сфере поиска, разведки и разработки месторождений углеводородов. В частности, рассматривается перспектива совместной деятельности в рамках новых проектов на лицензионных блоках шельфа СРВ и на территории третьих стран.

Цена на нефть в 2016 году будет находиться в диапазоне $45-55 за баррель, а к концу года может превысить этот порог.

Global oil demand growth for 1Q16 was revised upwards to 1.4 mb/d, led higher by strong gains in India, China and, more surprisingly, Russia. For the year as a whole, growth will be around 1.2 mb/d, with demand reaching 95.9 mb/d.