The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Exxon

  • BP, Exxon, Total, 13 others bid for Ghana’s oil fields

    Sixteen companies, including five majors, have submitted 60 applications for the five acreages on offer in Ghana’s first licencing round.

    According to Africa Oil+Gas Report, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) described the companies as “high calibre companies with proven track records,” and sees their interest as “a vote of confidence in the Ghanaian economy.”

    The applications opened publicly on December 21, are for prequalification for Expression of Interest (Eol) for competitive bidding for three Blocks (GH_WB_02, GH_WB_03 and GH_WB_04) in the Western Basin and direct negotiations in respect of two blocks (GH_WB_05 and GH_WB_06), all offshore in the Republic of Ghana.

    Two of the applications were invalidated as they were for Block GH_WB_01 which has been reserved for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

    “In line with this, 58 valid applications will be considered for the next stage of the process”, the Ministry said.

    The applicants include ENI, Cairn, Harmony Oil and Gas Corporation, ExxonMobil, CNOOC, Qatar Petroleum, BP, Vitol, Global Petroleum Group, Aker Energy, First E&P, Kosmos, Sasol and Equinor.

    “Government is determined to use a transparent process as specified by law to shortlist companies that have the capacity and will qualify based on prescribed criteria” said Mohammed Amin Adam, the country’s Deputy Minister of Energy.

    “We will collaborate and partner with them to explore and exploit the resource for our mutual benefit and most importantly the benefit of the Ghanaian people” said Lawrence Apaalse, Chairman of the Licensing Round Committee.

     

  • Exxon offers first Qua Iboe crude cargo since force majeure

    ExxonMobil is offering an October-loading cargo of Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude oil, the first offer since the company declared force majeure on the grade in July, sources said on Tuesday.

    Exxon declared force majeure on the grade, Nigeria’s largest export stream, after a leak on the pipeline that feeds the oil to the export terminal.

    It was not immediately clear if the pipeline was already repaired, or if the company simply expected it to be back online in time to load the oil in October.

    The cargo is offered for Oct. 8-16 loading at a premium of $1.80 per barrel to dated Brent, sources said.

    A spokesman for Exxon said the force majeure remained in effect but did not give a timeframe on the resumption of regular oil flows

  • Court remands Exxon Mobil engineer for alleged rape

    Court remands Exxon Mobil engineer for alleged rape

    An Igbosere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos yesterday ordered an engineer with Exxon Mobil, James Ikenna Onuoha, 42, who allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl to be remanded in Kirikiri prison.

    Chief Magistrate O. A. Ogunbowale said Onuoha would remain in custody until he perfects his bail conditions.

    The court granted him N2 million bail, with two sureties in the like sum.

    Onuoha was yesterday arraigned for allegedly defiling the girl.

    He was arraigned on a four-count charge of wilful indecent act, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful and indecent deals and having sexual intercourse with an underage girl.

    According to police prosecuting Inspector Stephen Agbonedeso, the defendant committed the offence on Samuel Amoore Street at Idowu Estate in Oke Ira Nla, Ajah, Lagos on January 4.

    Onuoha pleaded not guilty.

    The matter was adjourned till February 23.

  • Exxon fourth-quarter profit tops estimate

    Exxon Mobil Corp said its quarterly profit fell 21 per cent as weak oil prices took a toll, but results topped Wall Street expectations due to a tax adjustment and higher earnings from its chemicals business.

    Shares of Exxon rose 1.2 per cent to $88.46 in mid-day New York Stock Exchange trading.

    Global oil markets are oversupplied at a time when demand is waning, sending crude prices tumbling by more than half since June. Investors are closely watching oil companies’ responses to the collapse, which has included job cuts and reduced capital expenditure budgets.

    Mindful of lower oil prices, Exxon said it will slash its share buyback program in the first quarter by more than half to $1 billion. In the fourth quarter, Exxon spent $3 billion on share repurchases. Rival Chevron Corp said on Friday it suspended its share buyback program for the year.

    Exxon, which plans to release its 2015 capital expenditure plan on March 4, spent $38.5 billion in 2014, down $4 billion from 2013. Spending for the oil major peaked at $42.5 billion in 2013, and the company has said it expects yearly budgets below $37 billion over the next several years.

    The company’s investment plan will change, but not very much because Exxon bases its strategy on long-term planning, Jeff Woodbury, Exxon’s vice president of investor relations, said on a conference call.

    “We’ll keep a close eye on our cash flow, maintain our investment discipline and of course our commitment to the growing dividend,” said Woodbury. Last week, Exxon declared a quarterly dividend of 69 per share, up nearly 10 percent from the year-ago quarter.

    In stark contrast to other companies drilling in North American shale deposits, Exxon said it increased the number of rigs drilling in its oil basins that includes the Bakken and Permian to 44 in the fourth quarter from 39 in the third period.

    Profit in the fourth quarter fell to $6.57 billion, or $1.56 per share, from $8.35 billion, or $1.91 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

    Earnings were helped by about $1 billion in items that included deferrals on income tax and a favorable arbitration ruling for expropriated assets in Venezuela, Exxon said.

    “I think the quality of the earnings beat is questionable,” said Brian Youngberg, an oil analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis. “Some net tax effects and Venezuela really drove the beat. They remain growth challenged.”

    Oil and natural gas production fell 3.8 percent, according to Irving, Texas-based Exxon.

    Profit in the company’s chemicals unit rose 74 per cent to $1.23 billion, while profit in its exploration and production business fell by $1.3 billion to $5.5 billion.