The Oil Man: Oil price, Kosmos Energy, Ophir Energy, Andes Energia
2nd October 2015 12:46
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WTI $44.74 -35c, Brent $47.69 -68c, Diff $2.95 -33c, NG $2.43 -9c
The oil price had a topsy-turvy day yesterday, partly caused by Hurricane Joaquin which first looked to be headed towards the Gulf of Mexico before heading offshore and up towards the East Coast, no doubt we will see it in a few days. On the geopolitical front, bombing of Syria by Russia looks to be added to by Iranian troops on the ground, so quite a support operation for Assad who is now the "least worst alternative".
Manufacturing numbers in the US were disappointing apparently, an ISM of 50.2 was down from the August figure of 51. Its Non-Farm-Payroll today and with the eloquent Marcus Ashworth suggesting that 200/- might be lowish and with a distinct possibility of a revision of the August number a rate rise might well be on the way.
Kosmos Energy
The price has been particularly weak lately even for an E&P company and so yesterday's announcements would have been of a modestly helpful nature. They said that their RBL was unchanged following their half yearly lenders re-determination process which has calmed nerves, as I have mentioned before there will be a number of difficult meetings with lenders going on at the moment.
They also announced that the Attwood Achiever Drillship contract has been amended so that day rates are reduced but the contract is extended by one year which given their busy African drilling programme and the heinous nature of the contract also makes sense.
Sundry
The FT reported today that rose sharply yesterday as Perenco signed a deal with the Cameroon state oil company to fund construction of a small FLNG rather like Ophir's one in Equatorial Guinea which I hope is going to plan, seeing Ophir soon.
has announced that it has terminated its JV in Brazil, as per its previous comment it was not an area of key focus and they are clearly concentrating on Argentina. Worth checking out the article on Argentina in today's FT…
And the launch event was well attended yesterday and as ever CEO James Parsons and Italian MD Leonardo Spicci gave good presentations of the Greater Mediterranean gas play with detail on upcoming high profile wells at Tendrara and Badile as well as important revenue generating coming soon at Nervesa.
And finally…
It is quite some weekend of sport coming up across a number of continents.
In the RWC tomorrow is most certainly crunch day. England play Australia at Twickenham and after the debacle of last week now need a win against the Wallabies to stay in the tournament. Also tomorrow is Samoa v Japan and then South Africa v Scotland… Sunday sees Ireland play Italy which should cement Irish participation in the next round.
The Premier League has one more game before the dreaded international break and the key fixtures are the Merseyside derby where the HubCap Stealers go across the park to the Toffees and of course the Red Devils go to the Gooners. Elsewhere the Noisy Neighbours entertain the Magpies who did quite well last week, the Maccams host the happy Hammers, Chelski host the Saints and the Eagles have the Baggies at fortress Selhurst Park. The Swans host Spurs, the Canaries have the Foxes to Carrow Road, the Hornets go to the Cherries and Villa are off to the Potteries. Last night in the Boropa Cup all three British sides ended up drawing…
For those of you who want to get up early tomorrow it's the Aussie Rules final in Melbourne where the West Coast Eagles take on the Hawthorn Hawks, my spy in the camp tells me that the latter should win easily enough.
And the Aussies are clearly worried about their vulnerable test team as they call off a tour to Bangladesh…
And of course who could forget that it is Arc weekend in Paris? The big race itself looks like a fantastic challenge and my racing man says that Treve will be hard to beat but it is even money. New Bay and Golden Horn have good claims and Found e/w at 14's looks interesting…
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.