By Lincoln Brown – Jul 01, 2016, 3:18 PM CDT

For the second time this year, Chevron has stopped production at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas operation in Australia. The plant had to be evacuated after a gas leak was detected.

Chevron will make the necessary repairs to the plant before restarting production next week. The plant is a joint venture with ExxonMobil, Shell, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and Chubu Electric Power. The terminal, which is also owned in part by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, will still load cargo during the interim. read more

By Erwin Seba: Friday, 1 July 2016

HOUSTON, July 1 (Reuters) – Motiva Enterprises’ Convent, Louisiana refinery has shelved plans for a gasoline unit overhaul in October despite a six-to-nine-month delay in a planned revamp of the refinery, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans on Friday.

Earlier this year, Motiva began planning the October overhaul of the 92,000 barrel per day (bpd) fluidic catalytic cracking unit at the 235,000 bpd Convent refinery.

Instead, the FCCU will remain in operation until at least June 2017 when it will be permanently closed, said the two sources who were not authorized to speak to the media about the matter. read more

By A. Gary Shilling:JUNE 28, 2016 12:00 PM EDT

Back in February 2015, the price of West Texas Intermediate stood at about $52 per barrel, half of its 2014 peak. I argued then that a renewed decline was coming that could drive it below $20, a scenario regarded by oil bulls as unthinkable. But prices did fall further, dropping all the way to a low of $26 in February. Since then, crude rallied to spend several weeks flirting with $50 per barrel, a level not seen since last year. But it won’t last; I’m sticking to my call for prices to decline anew to $10 to $20 per barrel. read more

Gary Shilling for Bloomberg View suggested oil could drop to $10.

By Ed Crooks: Friday, July 1, 2016

Oil was one of the markets where the initial shock of the UK’s Brexit vote quickly faded. Brent crude was about $51 per barrel as the voters went to the polls last week, and today was trading at about $49.50. 

The 34 per cent rise in oil so far in 2016 has been its best start to a year since 2009, and helped commodities outperform other asset classes over the past six months.

The rise in prices has brightened the mood in Texas, according to a new survey carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. It looks like being a good data source to watch in future. read more

Emily Gosden, energy editor: 30 JUNE 2016 • 7:02PM

Royal Dutch Shell has urged the UK to retain free trade and free movement of people with the EU in the wake of Brexit.

Ben van Beurden, the oil giant’s chief executive, said it was not yet clear how Shell would be affected by Britain leaving the EU and he was concerned by the prospect of a period of change and uncertainty. 

“It’s crucial that European governments will keep now a steady hand on the tiller of the economy in what will be probably unprecedented, unpredictable circumstances for some time to come,” he said. read more

by Tsveta Zikolova: Friday, 01 Jul 2016, 07:58 BST

Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) has urged the UK to retain free trade and free movement of people with the European Union in the wake of Brexit, The Telegraph has reported, quoting the Anglo-Dutch group’s chief executive. Ben van Beurden, who backed the Remain camp, further noted that it was not yet clear how the oil major would be affected by the outcome of last week’s vote.

Shell’s share price rallied in yesterday’s session, adding 2.38 percent to end the day at 2,047.5p. The advance was largely in line with gains in the broader London market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index surging 2.27 percent to close at 6,504.33 points following dovish comments by Bank of England governor Mark Carney. The group’s shares have gained a little over 10 percent over the past year, and are more than 34 percent better off in the year-to-date. read more

Friday, 1 July 2016

Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive has told the BBC he is taking “a good look” at the company’s North Sea assets, in the light of weak oil prices.

Ben van Beurden said that some older fields might be sold and others decommissioned.

He also said the company’s dividend payout was “safe and secure”, despite tough conditions for oil companies.

With an annual payout of $15bn (£11bn), Shell is the biggest payer of dividends among UK companies. read more

MARK WILLIAMSON: 1 JULY 2016

ROYAL Dutch Shell has highlighted uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote but said it wants Scotland to remain part of the UK.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden made clear the oil and gas giant’s unease at the shock outcome of last Thursday’s vote, which he said had posed a risk to economies across Europe.

“The outcome of the EU referendum has created uncertainty. It’s crucial that the European governments keep a steady hand on the tiller of the economy in these unprecedented, unpredictable circumstances,” the Dutch executive told a conference in London. read more

By Tsuyoshi Inajima,  Emi Urabe and Shigeru Sato: Updated on July 1, 2016 

• Idemitsu founding family says shouldn’t hold stake in rival

• Co. agreed to buy share of Japanese refiner Showa Shell

The conflict between Middle East oil suppliers Iran and Saudi Arabia is playing out between the founding family of one of Japan’s largest refiners and its board.

Idemitsu Kosan Co. agreed last July to buy a stake with 33.3 percent voting rights in Showa Shell Sekiyu KK from Royal Dutch Shell Plc for 169 billion yen ($1.64 billion). Idemitsu has close ties with Iran and shouldn’t be associated with Showa Shell, in which state-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co. owns a stake, said a lawyer for Idemitsu’s founding family, which “wants the company to let go of the stake.” read more

Jun. 30, 2016 4:35 PM ET

Summary

• Royal Dutch Shell witnessed weakness in the downstream segment last quarter due to lower refining margins, but this is about to change going forward.
• There has been a rapid recovery in the refining marker margins, which has increased from around $9 a barrel to almost $17 a barrel within a short time.
• Shell’s downstream performance will improve as refining margins in the second quarter averaged higher than the first quarter, with more upside expected going forward.
• Driven by higher gasoline consumption and increasing utilization rates, refining margins will increase in the long run and act as a tailwind for Shell.
• Shell’s structural improvements in the downstream, such as refinery integration in Louisiana, will allow it to lower costs and tap the end-market demand in a better manner.

In a recent article on Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), I had focused on how an improvement in the upstream business will bring about a recovery in the company’s overall financial performance. The upstream business was under a lot of pressure in the first quarter, and a rally in oil prices over the past few months will ease the pressure on the same as oil price realizations improve.

But, being an integrated oil and gas company, Shell’s performance will also be driven by its downstream segment, which was also under pressure last quarter as refining margins took a tumble. So, in this article, we will see how Shell’s downstream segment has done and how it might do going forward. read more

Standard & Poor’s cuts EU credit rating after British vote to leave

Phillip Inman Economics correspondent: Thursday 30 June 2016 19.34 BST

The European Union has suffered a downgrade of its long-term credit rating following the UK’s Brexit vote last week. In a move that will increase the borrowing costs for the 28-member bloc, the credit ratings agency S&P said the EU should see its status as a safe haven for investors reduced to AA from AA+.

Earlier this week S&P became the last of the three major ratings agencies to strip the UK of its last AAA rating… read more