Enwell Energy PLC, the AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration and production group, saw its shares drop on Friday after being dealt another adverse ruling in Ukrainian legal proceedings in respect of its Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi (SC) exploration licence.
The licence is held by LLC Arkona Gas-Energy, which was acquired by Enwell in March 2020.
Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and Oort Energy have formed a partnership to collaborate on green hydrogen pilot projects in Morocco.
Utilising a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser system patented by Oort and that splits water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, the partnership will run initial proof of concept projects to assess the viability of industrial-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia.
German gas importer Uniper said Russia’s suspension of gas supplies has left “massive scars” in its results as it reported a net loss of €40bn for the first nine months of the year, one of the largest losses in corporate history.
Soon-to-be-nationalised Uniper is one of the biggest corporate casualties of the war in Ukraine, with its shares losing 93% of their value since the start of the year.
The government is planning to extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies for another five years in a move which could net the Treasury nearly £40bn.
A report in The Times suggested that British prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt want to maximise revenues from the windfall tax, by increasing the rate from 25% to 30% and extending it until 2028, adding the scheme will be expanded to cover electricity generators.
Harbour Energy PLC (LSE:HBR) has urged the British government to consider carefully the potential consequences of raising or extending the ‘windfall tax’ on oil and gas companies, or risk pushing away investments in the domestic industry.
The company, the UK’s largest independent producer, today said it expects the UK Energy Profits Levy (the ‘windfall’ tax) will amount to US$400mln of its overall US$900mln tax bill for 2022.
Longboat Energy PLC (AIM:LBE) investors were not wowed with the results of testing at the Oswig condensate discovery in the Norwegian North Sea, as the firm's share slumped by more than 25% in Thursday’s early deals.
Testing of Oswig proved the ability to flow from poor quality reservoir, with rates measuring around 650 barrels oil equivalent (boe) per day after a ‘mini frac’, the company said.
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC (AIM:EOG) told investors it has received approval from the Irish authorities to extend the first phase exploration period for the FEL 4/19 licence, which hosts the Inishkea gas targets.
The company said the extension gives time for further technical studies and allows it more time to secure a partner to advance the development of the licence.
Genel Energy PLC (LSE:GENL, OTC:GEGYY) said it expects its cash holdings to top US$500mln by the end of 2022 after a combination of another strong production quarter and high crude prices.
In a trading and operations update, Paul Weir, Genel's chief executive, said: “I am pleased that we remain on track to generate around US$250mln of free cash flow this year. We are focused on putting this cash to work to purchase new assets, grow the business, and increase shareholder returns."
BP PLC (LSE:BP.) should be able to catch up and bring its share buyback above US$3bn in the fourth quarter, according to analysts at Jefferies, though they still prefer Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL).
The prediction comes after Tuesday’s ‘bumper’ third-quarter results - and in the wake of BP’s investment in renewable natural gas company Archae - which revealed over US$8bn of profits but saw buy-backs confined to a lower than expected US$2.5bn.
i3 Energy PLC (AIM:I3E, TSX:ITE, OTC:ITEEF) has issued a third-quarter update confirming record production and the company said it now expects to report some US$172mln of full-year net operating profit.
The company's production, which comes from its non-operated well portfolio in Canada, hit 23,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the month of October as additional wells came online and the company said the rate is forecast to reach 24,000 boepd by year-end. For the quarter, the production rate averaged 20,571 boepd, it confirmed.
Hurricane Energy PLC (LSE:HUR) has confirmed the North Sea producer is up for sale in the wake of an unsolicited offer to buy the company.
An indicative offer pitched at 7.7p per share has been received by the company albeit management stated that they will not recommend the offer to shareholders.
Zephyr Energy PLC (AIM:ZPHR, OTCQB:ZPHRF) told investors that its application for a permit to drill has been approved by the US Bureau of Land Management, meaning it can spud the State 36-2 LNW-CC well on its project in the Paradox Basin in Utah, USA.
At the same time, approval has been received for the State 36-3 LN-C9 exploration well, the AIM-listed company added, where the permit allows it to target the shallower C9 reservoir, which is planned to be drilled from the same well pad.
Kinetiko Energy Ltd (ASX:KKO) has closed the books on a gas and coal bed methane drilling campaign at core hole 271-23C in energy-hungry South Africa.
The energy stock hit significant gassy zones and up to 247 metres worth of gas-bearing geological sequences during the drill campaign, which intersected the hole’s targeted carbonaceous geology.
FTSE 100 companies are on course to post a new record for share buy-backs following today’s announcement by oil giant, BP PLC (LSE:BP.), beating the previous high in 2018, according to AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
He calculated buy-backs are set to total a whopping £55.5bn in 2022 above 2018’s previous peak of £34.4bn.
BP PLC's (LSE:BP.) third-quarter results got the thumbs up from analysts at UBS, after the oil giant reported net income of $8.2bn, 33% above the market consensus of $6.1bn and ahead of the bank’s own forecast of $5.8bn.
EBIT of $13.8bn was 30% above consensus of $10.6bn primarily driven by gas trading while the tax charge at 36.8% was in line with consensus 37.0%, the UBS analysts noted.
Saudi Arabian state oil producer Saudi Aramco reported a 39% leap in third quarter net income comfortably beating expectations, boosted by higher prices and robust demand.
Net income rose to $42.4bn for the three months to 30 September 2022, up from $30.4bn a year earlier, and above the median forecast of $41.7bn.
Arrow Exploration Corp (TSX-V:AXL, AIM:AXL, OTC:CSTPF) has told shareholders in an operations update that following successful testing of the East Pepper well in Canada in September, the tie-in has now been completed, and production began on October 25.
In the statement, Marshall Abbott, CEO of Arrow Exploration, commented: "Arrow is extremely pleased with the results of the tie-in of the Alberta East Pepper Montney well. The East Pepper well results show the potential for the large, 100% owned, 23,000-acre Pepper land block.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LSE:COPL, CSE:XOP) said well recompletion opportunities on the Cole Creek assets in Wyoming might have been underestimated when they were acquired.
Information about Cole Creek's Frontier 1 assets was in hard files in storage when acquired and was not reviewed, it said.
After BP PLC (LSE:BP.) reported bumper profits of US$8.15bn in its third-quarter figures, up from US$3.3bn last year, environmental groups have called for a “bigger, bolder windfall tax” on oil and gas companies.
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner, Sana Yusuf, said: “The case for a bigger, bolder windfall tax is now over-whelming. This must address the ridiculous loophole that undermines the levy by enabling companies to pay the bare minimum if they invest in more planet-warming gas and oil projects.”
Challenger Energy Group PLC (AIM:CEG, OTC:BSHPF) has said it was able to maintain third-quarter sales at a ‘comparatively constant level’ despite a worse-than-expected weather impact during the rainy season in Trinidad.
Production amounted to 32,370 barrels the oil firm, said in a statement, marking a 5% decline versus the preceding three-month period.
Diversified Energy Company PLC (LSE:DEC, OTCQX:DECPF) (DEC) told investors it has been recognised with the ‘gold standard' award under the United Nation’s Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) under the ‘Ambitious Methane Reduction Plan’.
OGMP 2.0 is a voluntary and multi-stakeholder initiative co-sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the company noted in a statement.
Cloudbreak Discovery PLC (LSE:CDL) has released details of a restructuring plan designed to refocus the business on energy royalty acquisitions in the United States and acquisitions of minority interests in international energy projects.
The mineral exploration segment of the business will be transferred to, developed and operated through, a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of Cloudbreak, to be named Cloudbreak Exploration Inc.
BP PLC (LSE:BP.) became the latest oil and gas giant to report bumper results with third-quarter underlying replacement cost profits hitting US$8.15bn, down from the record US$8.45bn in quarter two, but way above last year’s US$3.3bn.
A further US$2.5bn share buy-back was announced after BP said it had generated surplus cash flow of US$3.5bn in the quarter, taking buy-backs for the year to US$8.5bn.
Analysts at Peel Hunt have repeated an 'Add' rating on Capricorn Energy PLC (LSE:CNE, OTC:CRNZF) following recent news it has reached agreement with NewMed Energy - previously Delek Drilling - to create a new UK-listed E&P company of scale, focused predominantly on gas development and production in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
The analysts noted that Capricorn's previous all-share merger transaction with Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) now falls away and, subject to shareholder approval and receipt of various consents, the combination with NewMed will complete in 1Q23.
Analysts at Barclays have reinstated their 'Overweight' rating and 67p price target for Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) following news on October 28, 2022, of the termination of its proposed all-share merger with Capricorn Energy PLC (LSE:CNE, OTC:CRNZF).
In its statement last Friday, Tullow noted that on September 29, the board of Capricorn announced that it had withdrawn its intention to recommend the merger, and the board of Tullow subsequently announced that it had no intention to increase the value of its offer for Capricorn or to elect to implement the combination by way of a contractual offer.
Enwell Energy PLC shares rose as it announced the successful completion of a well in Ukraine.
The SC-4 well was spudded in August 2021 and hit oil in three intervals. Now, production testing has shown that the primary target zone has demonstrated strong productivity and stabilised flows, the company said in a statement.
Rockhopper Exploration PLC (AIM:RKH) shares slumped more than 20% in early deals Monday morning as the company's dispute with the Italian authorities deepened.
The company, in a statement, told investors that the Italian government had applied to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) seeking to annul a prior award by the ICSID in Rockhopper’s favour, worth €190mln plus interest.
Shares in Barryroe Offshore Energy PLC (AIM:BEY) and Lansdowne Oil & Gas (AIM:LOGP) were down in Monday’s early deals as they updated investors following correspondence with the Irish authorities.
Barryroe Offshore, in a statement, told investors that Ireland’s Department of the Environment Climate and Communications (DECC) has informed the partners in the Barryroe oil field project that it requires further financial information in connection with their application to progress the potential field development, off the Cork coast.
Reabold Resources PLC (AIM:RBD) has offered shareholders a special payout from the proceeds of this summer’s asset sale, as it continues its defence against what management is calling “an opportunistic attempt to seize control of the company”.
The management of Reabold, in a statement, said it intends to distribute £4mln from the Victory field sale to shareholders after the next tranche of funds from Shell.
Cloudbreak Discovery PLC (LSE:CDL), a leading natural resources project generator with a particular focus on commodities key to the energy transition, has announced final results for its "active" first financial year as a listed company on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
In the results statement, Kyler Hardy, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer commented: "In what has been a challenging year for many companies, we have seen continuing shareholder support by way of a successful fundraise of £1.5 million. This will help to progress our portfolio of projects and execute on royalty acquisitions, providing near-term cashflow."