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The stock prices of U.S. oil exploration and production (E&P) companies relative to the broader U.S. equity market index have declined since the start of the year. Lower stock prices could make it more difficult for U.S. E&P companies to raise the capital needed for their investment programs. Despite the implication of lower market capitalization, through the second quarter of 2019, the profitability and cash flow generation for the 42 U.S. oil producers the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) regularly follows have increased since 2017, suggesting less reliance on capital markets to fund capital expenditure. EIA based this analysis primarily on the published financial reports of these 42 companies, so it is not necessarily representative of the sector as a whole because the analysis does not represent the financial situation of private companies that do not publish financial reports.
The combined cash from operations for these 42 companies totaled $19.2 billion in the second quarter of 2019, a year-over-year increase of $0.8 billion. In addition, these companies' combined capital expenditure totaled $18.5 billion, a year-over-year decline of $0.9 billion (Figure 1). Since the beginning of 2017, quarterly capital expenditures ranged between $16 billion and $21 billion. Growth in cash from operations has been larger than the growth in capital expenditures since mid-2017, and the two have been relatively consistent since mid-2018. This trend implies that the companies generally have been able to fund their capital expenditure programs increasingly through cash flow from operating activities and less from outside sources of capital, such as debt or equity. In fact, these companies have used more funds for financing activities such as reducing debt and repurchasing shares than they received from incurring debt and issuing shares since the second quarter of 2017.
The 42 companies' production and returns on equity have also increased since 2017. Production gains have come largely through productivity increases during this time, although some production growth is the result of companies that merged with or acquired assets from companies outside of this set of 42. By using longer laterals in horizontal drilling, as well as injecting more proppant per foot, U.S. E&P companies have increased average output per well. According to the 42 companies' income statements, however, upstream production costs did not increase at the same rate as total output growth through the second quarter of 2019, allowing the 42 companies to increase production and returns on equity while maintaining capital expenditures lower than $21 billion per quarter. The companies' combined return on equity and year-over-year production growth each reached 11% as of the second quarter of 2019 (Figure 2).
Despite the increase in returns, production, and cash flow from operations, the combined market capitalization for these 42 companies was $380 billion as of the end of the second quarter of 2019, a year-over-year decline of 28%. The stock prices for many of them continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019. The broader S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index, which represents stock prices for 63 U.S. oil companies, recently declined to low levels relative to the broader U.S. equity market. When compared with the Russell 3000 Index, a stock index that represents almost all publicly traded equities in the United States, the S&P Oil & Gas E&P Index declined throughout the second quarter of 2019 and reached the lowest level since late 2000 in August (Figure 3).
Market capitalization and stock prices often indicate investors' forward-looking expectations and sentiment. In this case, relatively low stock prices for U.S. E&P companies may reflect investor beliefs that E&P companies' future growth or profitability potential is low. Similarly, a declining ratio with the broader Russell 3000 Index implies investors expect other sectors of the U.S. economy have greater growth potential than the U.S. E&P sector. This expectation suggests that investors may have some concerns about whether the profitability and production growth seen in the financial statements as of the second quarter of 2019 will continue.
Low stock prices indicate expectations of lower profits and growth for U.S. E&P companies. More directly, some E&P companies would not be able to raise as much debt or equity financing with a low stock price than they otherwise would. At the same time, more companies have been able to increase cash from operations and fund investment through retained earnings, effectively reducing the need for outside sources of capital. The ability of these companies to maintain similar returns and production growth rates through cash from operations will continue to depend primarily on crude oil prices, trends in productivity per well, and oilfield services costs.
U.S. average regular gasoline and diesel prices increase
The U.S. average regular gasoline retail price rose 10 cents from the previous week to $2.65 per gallon on September 23, 19 cents lower than the same time last year and the largest single week increase in the U.S. average regular gasoline retail price since September 4, 2017. The Midwest price rose by 13 cents to $2.59 per gallon, the Gulf Coast price rose by 12 cents to $2.35 per gallon, the East Coast price rose nearly 9 cents to $2.54 per gallon, the West Coast price rose over 8 cents to $3.34 per gallon, and the Rocky Mountain price increased by more than 4 cents to $2.70 per gallon.
The U.S. average diesel fuel price rose more than 9 cents to $3.08 per gallon on September 23, 19 cents lower than a year ago and the largest single week increase in the U.S. average diesel fuel price since September 4, 2017. The Midwest price rose by 11 cents to $2.99 per gallon, the Gulf Coast price rose by nearly 10 cents to $2.86 per gallon, the East Coast price rose by nearly 9 cents to $3.08 per gallon, and the West Coast and Rocky Mountain prices each rose by nearly 8 cents to $3.65 per gallon and $3.03 per gallon, respectively.
Propane/propylene inventories decline
U.S. propane/propylene stocks decreased by 1.0 million barrels last week to 99.7 million barrels as of September 20, 2019, 13.1 million barrels (15.2%) higher than the five-year (2014-18) average inventory levels for this same time of year. East Coast and Midwest inventories decreased by 1.2 million barrels and 0.9 million barrels, respectively. Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast inventories increased by 0.9 million barrels and 0.1 million barrels, respectively. Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 4.3% of total propane/propylene inventories.
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It was just over five years ago that ExxonMobil discovered first oil in Guyana, transforming the sleepy South American country into the world’s upstream hotspot in just half a decade. The strike rate there has been amazing – 18 discoveries out of 20 well campaigns, and more seem to coming as new discovery efforts get underway. This made Guyana the envy of its neighbours. And why not? The Guyanese economy is projected to grow at 86% y-o-y in 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, as first commercial oil from the Liza field hit the market.
Just over the Guyana border, Suriname, a former Dutch colony had all the more reason to be envious. Unlike Guyana, Suriname has an established upstream industry. Managed by the state oil firm Staastsolie, the volumes are paltry: the onshore Calcutta and Tamabredjo field collectively produce at a current rate of 17,000 b/d. Guyana’s Liza field alone is 15 times larger than Suriname’s total crude output. But the Guyanese miracle always did herald some hope that some of that golden dust could blow Suriname’s way, not least because the giant offshore discoveries in the Staebroek block were just across the maritime border.
In January 2020, this bet proved right. US independent Apache announced it had made a ‘significant oil discovery’ at the Maka-Central 1 well, the first suggestion that the Cretaceous oil formation in Guyana extended southeast to Suriname. Two more discoveries were announced by Apache in quick succession, Sapakara West and, just this week, Kwaskwasi. All three are located in the 1.4 million acre offshore Block 58, which was originally held entirely by Apache before French supermajor Total bought into a 50% stake just before the Maka Central discovery was announced. Three discoveries in six month is quite a payoff, especially with the Kwaskwasi-1 well delivering the highest net pay and confirming a ‘world-class hydrocarbon resource’. More importantly, initial findings suggest that Kwaskwasi holds oil with API gravities in the 34-43 degree range, the sort of light oil that is perfect for petrochemicals and higher-grade fuels.
With Total scheduled to take over operatorship of the block after a fourth drilling campaign, the partners are eager to extend their streak. The Sam Croft drillship is scheduled to head to Keskesi, the fourth scheduled prospect in Block 58, after operations at Kwaskwasi-1 have concluded, and an additional exploration campaign is already in the plans for 2021.
Total and Apache aren’t the only ones playing in Surinamese waters, though they are the first to hit the payday. Most of the country’s offshore blocks have been apportioned, snapped up by ExxonMobil, Kosmos, Petronas, Tullow and Equinor, and all are hoping to be the next to announce a find. ExxonMobil, with Equinor and Hess Energy, have a good position in Block 59, just next to the Caieteur block in Guyana, while Kosmos is hunting in Block 42, right next to the Canje block in Guyana. However, it is Malaysia’s Petronas that is the next likely candidate. Present in Suriname since 2016, when it drilled the exploratory Roselle-1 well in Block 52, Petronas also has interests in Block 48 and Block 53, and recently completed a farm-out sale with ExxonMobil for 50% of Block 52. Its drilling campaign for the Sloanea-1 well is scheduled to begin in Q4 2020, and will be keenly watched by all in Suriname.
Unlike Guyana that had no state oil company, Suriname has existing national oil infrastructure. Staatsolie currently controls onshore and shallow water areas in the country. However, all wells drill in offshore Block A, B, C and D have turned out dry so far. That leaves Staatsolie in a situation: its own areas are not prolific as discoveries by Total, Apache, Petronas et al. For now, Staatsolie is looking to gain rights to 10-20% of any oil discovery within Suriname, but the framework for this is weak and it must navigate carefully to not antagonise the oil majors that are powering the discoveries in its waters. It will do well to avoid the confrontational attitude that is jeopardising LNG development in Papua New Guinea with ExxonMobil and Total, but Staatsolie does have a claim to Suriname’s oil riches for itself.
For now, it is exhilarating to observe the progress in this previously quiet corner of South America. It is the closest thing to frontier oil exploration in the 21st century, with each new discovery generating more and more excitement. Who would have thought there was so much oil left undiscovered? Guyana has shot into the spotlight, Suriname is starting its own ascent and… who knows… could French Guiana be next?
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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Coal Report
In 2019, U.S. coal production totaled 706 million short tons (MMst), a 7% decrease from the 756 MMst mined in 2018. Last year’s production was the lowest amount of coal produced in the United States since 1978, when a coal miners’ strike halted most of the country’s coal production from December 1977 to March 1978. Weekly coal production estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show the United States is on pace for an even larger decline in 2020, falling to production levels comparable with those in the 1960s.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Coal Report
Wyoming produces more coal than any other state, representing 39% of U.S. coal production in 2019, at 277 MMst, which is 9% lower than its coal production in 2018. Coal production in West Virginia, the state with the second-highest coal output, fell by a relatively smaller 2% in 2019. West Virginia is a primary producer of metallurgical coal, which saw sustained demand for exports in 2019. Coal production recently stopped in two states, Kansas in 2017 and Arkansas in 2018. Arizona stopped producing coal in the fall of 2019 when the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station and adjacent Kayenta coal mine that supplied it both closed.
EIA estimates weekly coal production using coal railcar loadings. In 2020, weekly coal railcar loadings have been trending much lower than 2019 levels, and most recent year-to-date coal railcar loadings were down 27% compared with 2019.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Coal Production
The decline of U.S. coal production so far in 2020 reflects less demand for coal internationally and less generation from U.S. coal-fired power plants. U.S. coal exports through May 2020 are 29% lower than during the first five months of 2019. U.S. coal-fired generation fell to a 42-year low in 2019, decreasing nearly 16% from the previous year, and has fallen another 34% through May 2020.
Estimated U.S. coal production through mid-July 2020 is 27% lower than the average annual 2019 output, and EIA expects these reductions in production to persist during the remainder of the year. In the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts a 29% decline in U.S. coal production in 2020.
EIA forecasts that U.S. coal production will increase by 7% in 2021, when rising natural gas prices may cause some coal-fired electric power plants to become more economical to dispatch. Much of EIA’s projected recovery in coal production is in the western United States.
Principal contributor: Rosalyn Berry
Amid the unprecedented upheaval that has taken its toll on the world and, in particular the energy industry in the first half of this year, life goes on. Despite shut-ins, weak prices, huge impairments, gloomy forecasts and business challenges, life still goes on. Rigs are still running, exploration is still being conducted and projects are still being approved. The oil and gas world has weathered a huge storm, but that has not stopped it from focusing on necessary work that is vital for the future of the industry itself and the global economy. We have summarised a list of key upstream announcements and developments since April.
One of the major headlines that came out over the past three months was news that Total’s giant LNG in Mozambique has secured as much as US$16 billion in funds from various financial institutions. This is the single largest foreign direct investment project in Africa ever, matching the total current GDP of Mozambique. The speed at which Total completed financing for the US$23 billion project (which taps in the gigantic Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields) is quite remarkable, when the ExxonMobil-led Rovuma LNG next door is facing delays. In fact, the funding raised US$600 million than expected, representing the faith that the 13.1 million ton per annum project, potentially expandable to 43 mtpa, will pay off in the long run. For Total, this will be a hedge, given that its LNG efforts in Papua New Guinea are currently still stymied by a showdown against the country’s new government.
Chevron also had some major news to publish. After failing to acquire Anadarko in 2019 in a dramatic storyline against Occidental Petroleum, the US supermajor has swooped in to acquire US independent Noble Energy for some US$5 billion. The acquisition neatly replaces what the original Anadarko purchase was supposed to achieve – expand Chevron’s presence in the prolific US onshore shale basins, with Noble’s 92,000 acres in the Permian noted as being ‘largely contiguous and adjacent’ to Chevron’s current assets. Noble will also bring with it established positions in the Eagle Ford basin, significant US midstream assets and upstream assets in Israel and Equatorial Guinea, swelling Chevron’s proven oil and gas reserves by 18%. For that amount of potential, the price is a steal. With smaller shale players under pressure, expect more acquisitions of this sort to be announced by deep-pocketed bargain hunters.
Chevron wasn’t the only one to make acquisitions. ConocoPhillips splashed out US$375 million to take up land in Western Canada’s liquids-rich Montney formation, taking the Inga-Fireweed asset from Kelt Exploration. Trident Energy completed its purchase of 10 concessions in the offshore Pampo and Enchova clusters in Brazil from Petrobras. And trader Vitol announced a rara avis, a new US upstream venture called Vencer Energy, focusing on acquiring and operating mature assets in the US Lower 48 region from its base in Houston.
New discoveries have also been coming at a regular speed. Despite divesting assets, Petrobras announced two new discoveries in the offshore Buzios and Albacora pre-salt fields, with reserves of ‘excellent quality’. Eni continues its winning run in Egypt with the new Bashrush natural gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea, while MOL made its lucky 13th discovery in Pakistan with the Mamikhel South-1 well (the tenth in the TAL Block alone) that revealed ‘significant gas and condensate reserves’. ExxonMobil has restarted two of its four drillships in Guyana and Petronas has handed out contracts in Suriname, so more discoveries are due from that part of the Caribbean. Neptune Energy hit oil at the Dugong well in the Norwegian North Sea, and China’s CNOOC announced a ‘significant discovery’ at the Huizhou 26-6 well in the Pearl River Mouth Basin – the first mid-to-large sized oil and gas field in the area.
CNOOC will be hoping the Huizhou discovery will continue its streak of recent discoveries, boosting domestic Chinese upstream output. Its Luda 21-2/16-3 asset, in the Bohai Sea’s Liaodong Bay, has just started up production, reaching a peak of 25,600 b/d in 2022. Sinopec is also marshalling resources, announcing a US$770 million plan to develop the Dingbei gas prospect in Ningxia and its 230 bcm of natural gas.
Medco reported first gas from the Meliwis field off East Java in Indonesia from an unmanned platform, while the National Iranian Oil Co shrugged off a domestic economic crisis to partner with Persia Oil and Gas Industry Development Co for US$463 million to re-develop the Yaran field in the Khuzestan Province, raising output by 40 million barrels over 10 years. And then in frozen Siberia, where Novatek is speeding ahead with LNG, Gazprom Neft and Shell have agreed to collaborate on developing the Leskinsky and Pukhutsyayakhshy blocks in the Gydan Peninsula: an unusual display of cooperation between a Russian state firm and a Western supermajor.
This is not an exhaustive list of recent developments in the upstream oil and gas corner of the universe. They are the most notable, but there are other signs that the thaw is coming and the industry can recover and begin to grow again. Covid-19 may be something that we must all learn to live with going forward, but life will always go on, and this too shall pass.
Market Outlook:
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In this time of COVID-19, we have had to relook at the way we approach workplace learning. We understand that businesses can’t afford to push the pause button on capability building, as employee safety comes in first and mistakes can be very costly. That’s why we have put together a series of Virtual Instructor Led Training or VILT to ensure that there is no disruption to your workplace learning and progression.
Find courses available for Virtual Instructor Led Training through latest video conferencing technology.