Import and Export UK trade Deficit Narrows as Oil Fall

The deficit - the difference between the amount imported and exported - was £3.2bn in November, down from £3.5bn from October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

 

The ONS put the narrowing deficit down to a £0.5bn fall in imports of oil during the month, to £2.2bn.

The three-month figures also showed a narrowing in the trade deficit.

The deficit for the three months to November was £7.7bn, down £1.0bn from the previous quarter.

"Overall, a shocking October result means that, despite the improvement in November, net trade will probably subtract from GDP growth in Q4 again, although by less than in Q3," said Scott Bowman, UK economist at Capital Economics.

"That said, the recent fallback in the oil price should help to improve the trade balance, all else equal, given that the UK is a net importer of oil."

Drag on growth

Oil Pay: Sasol decision on earnings for executives draws criticism

THE decision by Sasol’s remuneration committee to change the key performance indicators (KPIs) for executives to reduce the weighting of company earnings, in a year when Sasol’s earnings were hit by a slump in oil prices, came under fire at the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday.

 

In the year to June, the influence of company earnings in determining executives’ short-term incentives was reduced to 35% from 55% last year. Sasol’s headline earnings a share fell 17% in this period compared with last year.

According to the annual report, the net base salary earned by CE David Constable — who, as an expatriate, is paid in dollars — rose 4% to $935,618 this year from $899,633 last year, while his net short-term incentives fell 40% to $1.03m from $1.7m.

Palm oil Business Collapsing

Palm oil sellers at the Koforidua Central Market have expressed concern about the threat to their business after the announcement made by the Food And Drugs Authority recently for Ghanaians to suspend their consumption of palm oil due to contamination.

 

According to the market women, their daily sales had dwindled drastically, saying business was not moving and customers were not patronizing their product.

Conoil may drop profit for the second year

conoil

Conoil has not maintained a stable record earnings growth in the past five years and a sustaining drop in profit looks likely for the oil marketing company this year. The company closed last year with the lowest sales revenue figure in four years and profit fell to less than one-third of the preceding year’s figure. This year, sales revenue is headed for another sharp drop based on the second quarter performance and profit could drop for the second year as well.

Russia Oil Producer is ready to meet OPEC, non-OPEC for consultations

Russia, the world’s top oil producer, is ready to meet with OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to discuss the situation on the global oil markets if such a meeting was called, its energy minister said on Saturday.
A separate meeting between Russian and Saudi officials was being planned for the end of October, to discuss energy issues and some other projects, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.

 
On Friday, Novak’s colleague, Russian First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Texler, had said he was not aware of such meetings and that Russia would stick to its plans not to cooperate with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Russia refused to cooperate with OPEC last November in a move to defend its market share. Lack of storage and harsh weather conditions also limit Moscow’s ability to cut its exports, officials say.

Forte Oil Dual Purpose in sale of DPK

Forte Oil has further reaffirmed its commitment to best service delivery by being in the forefront of the new Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) pump price of N50 per litre across its retail outlets.

With this, Forte Oil has taken the bold step by making kerosene readily available at the official rate, which is geared to impact positively on the lives of the citizenry, as the average user now have the opportunity to buy directly from dispensing pumps at all Forte Oil retail outlets nationwide.

We urgent Intervention to meet 20% Target- Manufacturers

Nigerian manufacturers say an urgent intervention from the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is key, if the country is to raise the non-oil sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to 20 percent.

 

The non-oil sector’s GDP contribution must hit 20 percent if it is to create sufficient jobs for about 24 percent of the country’s 174 million population, diversify the economy and help shore up the foreign reserves, experts say.

Nigerian Economic situation gets Messier as Crude Oil Prices decline further

The Nigeria’s financial situation may get messier if the prediction of the International Energy Agency (IEA) comes to pass.

According to the agency, oil prices may fall further this year because the world remains “massively oversupplied,” before markets tighten in 2016.

Nigeria economy is experiencing some difficulties because of the decline in the price of crude oil. The country depends on oil as it major source of foreign exchange earnings. It current daily production averaged 1.8 million barrel per day as against projected 2.3 million barrels per day in the 2015 budget of the government.

Crude oil theft coupled with constant pipeline vandalism by militants in the Niger Delta have combined to castrate the crude oil production growth in the country.

Shell Arctic Oil Drilling to Commence Within Weeks

Oil and gas giant Shell is expected to begin drilling for oil in the Arctic within the next two weeks.

Thirty ships left Dutch Harbor in Alaska on Thursday for the Arctic to support two initial exploratory wells.

 

The company has already committed about $7bn (£4.5bn) to the controversial project, and is confident it will find huge quantities of oil in the region.

Accra Circle Goil station now Tourist Attraction

The Goil filling station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, where scores of people perished due to the explosion on June 3, has become a tourist attraction.
Since the incident occurred, many people from far and near, have been trooping to the disaster area which has been cordoned off, to see the damage caused.
The place has been designated a ‘disaster zone’ and people are compelled to view the station from a distance.
When the Times visited the area yesterday, many people had gathered under the flyover being constructed at the place, watching in amazement.
A few who spoke to the paper said they had not lost a relative, but were moved by the magnitude of lives lost to sympathise with the victims and relatives.

Conoil plays big in Nigeria’s N250bn Lubricant Market

One of the country’s major oil marketers, Conoil plc, has reeled out plans to play big in the nation’s lubricant market, which is projected to hit the N250 billion mark by the end of 2015.

 

The projected all-time high revenue from lubricant business is predicated on the expected upsurge in the demand for lubricants by the automobile and industrial sub-sectors of the economy.

Higher borrowing cost crimps Forte Oil’s profit

Forte Oil plc, a company that operates in the downstream oil and gas sector, took a hit at the bottomline as increased borrowing cost continues to hurt profits, analysis of its financial statement shows.

For the first three months through March 2015, the company’s net income fell by 28.93 percent to N783.14 million from N1.10 billion the same period of the corresponding year of (Q1) 2014.

Oil projects above $17 per barrel not sustainable, says NNPC

New and existing oil projects that exceed $17 per barrel are not sustainable at the current average crude oil price of about $50 per barrel, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

 

Speaking at the 2015 Oloibiri lecture series and energy forum (OLEF), Timothy Okon, group coordinator, corporate planning & strategy, NNPC, said that beyond 33 percent cost-price ratio, the industry will suffer, adding that low cost-price ratio must be adhered to so that operators can make profit and pay government entitlements and taxes.

Oil marketers warn Okonjo-Iweala of fuel scarcity

Major oil marketers have warned that fuel scarcity may linger for a while as the federal government has not paid what it owes marketers who imported fuel into the country. 

PSC contract deadlock stalls gas supply to power plants

The nation’s dream of achieving uninterrupted power supply may not materialise, following the alleged dispute between the Federal Government (FG) and international oil companies (IOCs), over the ownership of gas in the deep offshore fields being operated under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC), BusinessDay findings have shown.

A clause which is said to have vested exclusive ownership of the gas on the Federal Government, has prevented the international oil companies (IOCs) from developing the gas fields that would have been used to boost the supply of electricity.

A source close to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the nation’s regulatory agency for the oil and gas industry, who pleaded anonymity said, “some of the IOCs may have decided not to show interest in the development of the deep offshore gas, because of the clause in the PSC which governs the operations of deepwater operations, and which vested the ownership of the gas in the fields in the hands of government, while the oil is the commercial product on which economies should be based.”

Global Crude Palm Oil Price decline crimps Okomu’s growth

The declining price of crude palm oil has held back the growth potentials of Okomu Oil Nigeria plc, as it ended 2014 with a one-two punch in sales and profits, analysis of the company’s financial statement shows.

For the year ended December 2014, Okomu’s net income fell by 25.83 percent to N1.55 billion from N2.09 billion the same period of the corresponding year (FY) 2013. Sales reduced by 2.37 percent to N8.67 billion.

We agreed to buy BG Group in £47bn deal- Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell says it has agreed to buy oil and gas exploration firm BG Group in a deal that values the business at £47bn.

The two firms say they have reached agreement on a cash and shares offer which gives investors a 50% premium on BG Group's share price on 7 April.

 

The deal could be one of the biggest of 2015 and could produce a company with a value of more than £200bn ($296bn). 

Oil leaps 5% on tempered Iran view, slowing US inventory rise

Oil prices jumped as much as 5 percent on Monday as traders reassessed how quickly Iran could increase exports after a preliminary nuclear deal and anticipated that a months-long rise in U.S. inventories may be slowing.

Brent crude tumbled nearly 4 percent on Thursday after Iran and six world powers announced a framework agreement on the OPEC member’s nuclear program. But initial expectations of a quick recovery in oil exports were tempered by views that it could take up to a year to roll back sanctions.