The Oil Man: Oil price, Hunting, Faroe

WTI $46.14 -45c, Brent $48.79 -77c, Diff $2.65 -32c, NG $2.26 -7c

A very short blog today, markets are quiet and I have a number of company meetings including a CEO interview with Mitch Flegg of Circle Oil on TipTV.

The oil market was subdued yesterday and drifted lower after the news we talked about filtered through to the market place. The increase in Russian production and indifferent economic data from China was all that was needed for the market to stand back and the buyers withdrew.

Hunting

A trading update from Hunting this morning in which the company unsurprisingly say markets remained "subdued" as most clients are canceling or deferring capex. Profits at the moment are around 85% light of last year and guidance is for a 90% drop for the full year. However, in line with the US service companies Hunting reports that they continue to generate free cash flow and that their margins are "protected". Some capex such as Singapore has been deferred into 2016/17 and they have extended their revolver on similar terms for another five years. I am seeing the company next week and will report back in more detail then.

Faroe

An update and well report from Faroe, as I am also seeing them shortly I will report facts here and catch up after seeing the company. Well result first, the Blink exploration well is dry, ending a poor year from the company with the drill bit, so far for next year I only see three wells in the calendar. As for the operational side it is better, guidance is raised to 9,500-10,500 and with capex falling along with costs the management are running a tight ship, as I said, more later.

And finally…

New Villa manager Remi Garde was watching his team at Spurs last night and they went down 3-1 after another poor performance.

Tonight in the Champions league CSKA visit the Theatre of Dreams and the Noisy Neighbours go to Sevilla. Yesterday the 'Special One' (not the chosen one as I reported yesterday) got another fine and a ban from Stoke City on Saturday, oh well, its not all bad then….

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.