The Oil Man: Oil price, Gulf Keystone, Nostra Terra, Repsol

WTI $46.64 -2c, Brent $49.15 -9c, Diff $2.51 -7c, NG $2.52 +2c

Another short blog today, very little news around but the 3Q's are just around the corner particularly for the US oilfield service companies which will give us very important pointers as to the industry's cost base.

The oil price arrested the fall but still ended up slightly weaker on the day ahead of the imminent Brent expiry. The market was short of news and the API inventory stats which came out late were not very helpful. A much bigger than forecast stock build of 9.4m barrels, expectations were 2.8m, but at Cushing the rise was only 1.4m barrels.

Gulf Keystone

Not sure whether the catch phrase should be that "every little helps"' but for GKP, today's news that they have received their October payment from the MNR is surely good news. Clearly, compared to the huge amount owed and indeed their own debt pile, $12m is but a drop in the ocean but if it keeps them afloat then the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel.

All the reports we are getting are showing excellent operational work on the ground and that Shaikan is performing very well, 50/- b/d on peak days might not have been expected not long ago. I expect Jón Ferrier to continue to do well and he is managing to spend a fair bit of time in Erbil as well as over here. Indeed I am led to believe that there will be more meeting with shareholders from institutional to the retail and even an interview on TipTV…For both GKP and Genel I detect that things are looking up and I am cautiously optimistic for both companies.

Nostra Terra

NTOG has completed its acquisition in Egypt with Independent Resources announced last week and it looks quite interesting albeit relatively modest. It ticks a few important boxes for the company such as giving cash flow, is non-dilutive thanks to the financing by the vendor and opens up a new area of interest for the company. I expect more in this part of the world now that the 'Greater Med' is officially an industry hot-spot.

Repsol

Repsol is the latest major to go down the route of slashing costs to be able to maintain the divi. With poor figures the company is upping its asset sales programme, cutting capex and eliminating costs in order to protect its shareholders interests, it says…

And finally…

Not much to report today, firstly the cricket and even that looks pretty boring, Pakistan scoring 523-8 over their two days and as I write England are 122-1 in reply. An unjustified amount of stick for Rashid on debut on a track that certainly in the first innings was hardly going to suit.

Muzza is playing big John Isner in the Shanghai Masters this morning, last I heard was that he has a break in the deciding set.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Malcolm is a Founding Partner of HydroCarbon Capital, which provides independent advisory services to the Oil and Gas sector. He is a Director of the Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC, a venture capital trust listed on the Premium segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange.