Credit: Shutterstock photoWednesday, April 11, 2018
Sector Commentary
Energy stocks are set to take a pause from yesterday's sharp ascent, with broader market futures lower by nearly 1% and weighing on all equities. Oil prices, however, continue to gain steam, as Brent crude oil reached its highest level since 2014. Sector news flow remained light outside of a handful of analyst recommendation changes.
Oil prices hit their highest level in more than three years on Wednesday after President Donald Trump threatened to fire missiles at Syria in response to a suspected chemical attack last week. Brent crude jumped to a high of nearly $72 a barrel, its strongest since early December 2014, after Trump's comments.
Natural gas was lower by 2 cents, recently trading at $2.64 or two-week lows, on forecasts for less cold weather over the next two weeks and record high production.
U.S. INTEGRATEDS
Reuters - ExxonMobil expects to restart production from its Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas project at the start of May after it was shut following an earthquake in February.
INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATEDS
Deutsche Bank upgraded Eni to 'Buy' from 'Hold'.
Press Release - Statoil and Total have completed their acquisition of Cobalt International Energy's 60% operated interest in the North Platte discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico for an aggregate purchase price of USD 339 million. The partners had jointly presented the winning bid for the asset in a bankruptcy auction of some of Cobalt's assets that was held on 6 March 2018.
Reuters - Total restarted the small crude distillation unit and attached vacuum distillation unit overnight at its 225,500 barrel per day Port Arthur, Texas, refinery.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Total to 'Hold' from 'Buy'.
Reuters - Total said it had bought several assets in the Gulf of Mexico for around $300 million, as part of the Cobalt International Energy company's bankruptcy auction sale.
U.S. E&PS
(Late Tuesday) Press Release - Diamondback Energy announced that production for the first quarter of 2018 was 102.6 Mboe/d, an increase of over 10% from Q4 2017 average daily production of 92.9 Mboe/d.
Piper Jaffray upgraded WPX Energy to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral'.
CANADIAN E&PS
Press Release - Canacol Energy is pleased to provide the results of the Chirimia 1 appraisal well located on its 100% operated VIM 5 block in the Lower Magdalena Valley Basin of Colombia, as well as a general drilling and facilities update.
OIL SERVICES
(Late Tuesday) Press Release - Mitcham Industries reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $8.0 million, or $(0.66) per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to a net loss of $10.0 million, or $(0.83) per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. The fourth quarter results included approximately $3.5 million of pre-tax charges, or $0.29 per share, related to impairment of goodwill, a provision for doubtful accounts, inventory adjustments and other restructuring costs. Excluding the impact of these charges, the Company reported a net loss of approximately $4.5 million, or $(0.37) per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.
DRILLERS
Wells Fargo Securities upgraded Helmerich and Payne to 'Market Perform' from 'Underperform'.
REFINERS
(Late Tuesday) Reuters - PBF Energy restored the 24,000-barrel-per-day alkylation unit to normal production at its 190,000-bpd Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery after restarting from a six-week overhaul.
MLPS & PIPELINES
Press Release - Enterprise Products Partners announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared an increase in the quarterly cash distribution paid to limited partners with respect to the first quarter of 2018 to $0.4275 per common unit, or $1.71 per unit on an annualized basis.
Mizuho Securities upgraded Noble Midstream Partners to 'Buy' from 'Neutral'.
(Late Tuesday) Press Release - TransCanada announced its Sundre Crossover Project has been placed into service in central Alberta, increasing the company's capacity to transport natural gas on TransCanada's NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. System to downstream pipelines and key markets in the Pacific Northwest and California.
MARKET COMMENTARY
U.S. stock futures fell as fears of increased geopolitical tensions over Syria weighed on investors' sentiments. European shares were down, although strong results from Tesco and gains in telecoms stocks helped limit losses, while Japan's Nikkei ended lower. The dollar slipped against a basket of major currencies, ahead of the key U.S. inflation data, pushing up gold prices .
Nasdaq Advisory Services Energy Team is part of Nasdaq's Advisory Services -- the most experienced team in the industry. The team delivers unmatched shareholder analysis, a comprehensive view of trading and investor activity, and insights into how best to manage investor relations outreach efforts. For questions, please contact Tamar Essner . This communication and the content found by following any link herein are being provided to you by Corporate Solutions, a business of Nasdaq, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, "Nasdaq"), for informational purposes only. Nasdaq makes no representation or warranty with respect to this communication or such content and expressly disclaims any implied warranty under law. Sources include Reuters, TR IBES, WSJ, The Financial Times and proprietary Nasdaq research.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
