The Oil Man: Gulf Keystone, Premier, Xcite Energy
1st July 2016 13:39
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WTI $48.33 -$1.55, Brent $49.68 -93c, Diff -$1.35 +62c, NG $2.92 +6c
One or two things contributed yesterday, as June OPEC production was reported by Reuters to have risen slightly and, against that, the concern continued about the prospects of a strike in Norway.
Nigeria provided two pieces of news: firstly that there had been a ceasefire between the government and the rebels and, secondly, that in a visit to Beijing the oil minister had signed off on deals with Chinese companies worth about $80 billion (£60.2 billion) for oil and gas infrastructure.
Having said all that, some technical factors also affected the market: Brent expired at the close, there was a typical end-of-quarter-and-half sell-down for window dressing and, of course, with Independence Day on Monday, it is a bank holiday to do lots of driving in….
EnQuest
I suppose that it will be quite fun at this morning, as everyone else in the sector is talking debt issues, while it has an oil discovery! A modest find at Eagle puts in about 6 million stock tank barrels in the Greater Kittiwake Area - which is better than the proverbial poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Sundry - the debt issue
In no particular order, the end of June has focused lenders' minds on who and how much they lend to.
is a mystery to me at the moment, which I am more than happy to admit; the deal is made out to be fantastic and I know that the boys over at Tosca Fund are shrewd cookies.
I have had more "incoming" on this company than almost any other lately, but I have been refused a meeting with the company until things are settled and so I can't add much. Suffice it to say that Tosca are bailing SLE out until the $200 million placing is sorted…
is also in talks with its lenders, which have led to the tests being waived and been extended by a new test as from 30 June to 31 July. The time will be used for any changes etc. to the debt package. In the meantime, the company has access to the undrawn revolver, should it be needed.
has another problem caused by its success in the Shaikan Field in Kurdistan: achieving production of 25 million barrels has triggered a payment of $10 million to the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Natural Resources.
With so much owed to them, you might have thought that this could just be knocked off the balance - but I understand that it's not as easy as that; never is, I suppose…
was also up in front of the bank manager yesterday and it too received six of the best. It got a three-month extension until September, but was told to cut some more costs.
Accordingly, three non-execs got the bullet and the COO suddenly becomes surplus to executive requirements; not so good for corporate governance but, hey, we're saving the company here, guys…
And, not on the debt front, I have noticed that and have made a stunning oil discovery offshore Guyana. Sources say that the find is between 800 million and 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
And finally…
England have another one-dayer tomorrow but the series and the overall series is now securely in the skyrocket.
I was watching a county T20 game last night which was held up by around half an hour due to excess sunlight; I have rarely seen such rubbish in my puff - don't they know that cricket is played in sunny countries where you put up with such inconveniences?
At Wimbledon yesterday, young Dan Evans had a great win and his reward is a match with Roger Federer, who specialises in seeing off young Brits après petit-déjeuner…
Tonight Wales take on Belgium in the Euros for a place in the semi-finals against Portugal; now that is very tempting, as Ronaldo's lot have got there without winning a single game in 90 minutes and relying on pens - so if Bale and co. can win tonight, a final appearance beckons…
This weekend is the Austrian Grand Prix, where Lewis needs to extract the digit and prove that his bad performances are not a machiavellian plot by Mercedes to help out young Rosberg before the toys come out of his pram…
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