One day in November: A Colombian visit to the UK

At the beginning of November, President Manuel Santos and his delegation from Colombia were in the UK on an official state visit. The Wednesday of that week was dedicated to showcasing Colombia’s oil & gas industry with senior members from the industry presenting in London. The next day, the delegation continued their tour in Aberdeen to build ties with the historic oil & gas city. OGInsights attended the event and had an opportunity...

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BP: Adapting to the times - Where were they then? (Part 1)

The OGInsights team recently met with the BP corporate strategy department to discuss how the strategic direction of the company has changed since the collapse in oil prices. In this two part entry, we look at where BP were a year ago and where they are now in terms of strategic thinking. Part 1: Where were they then? At the beginning of 2015, BP already began planning for a "lower for longer" scenario, however growth was still very much top of mind. Reserve replacement was a key challenge to the company's longer term existence and the USD2 billion...

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Downgrade coming at Taq Taq?

Genel released a disappointing production update this morning with Q3 2016 working interest production of 53.1mbopd. For the quarter, Taq Taq and Tawke gross production averaged 58.6mbopd and 109.2mbopd respectively. Taq Taq’s production compares with 130mbopd a year ago. A workover campaign on Taq Taq is ongoing with TT-27x and TT-07z completed in Q3 2016; a third side track, TT-16y, is currently underway. As a result of the recent performance, FY16 production is expected to be at the bottom end of the 53-60mbopd guidance range and revenue will...

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Kenya First Oil

On 9th October, a government spokesperson said that President Kenyatta had held meetings with the Lokichar Basin oil companies (Tullow, Africa Oil, Maersk) on the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (“EOPS”). The EOPS has already received FID and will produce 2,000bbl/d, starting in June 2017. The oil will be trucked from the Lokichar Basin to Mombasa. The EOPS will allow the partners to establish a production history, providing valuable dynamic reservoir...

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Support for the Danish DUC

On Wednesday 21st September Lars Christian Lilleholt, the Danish energy minister said that the government is determined to find an economically viable solution that will allow the Trya complex to continue production. This follows Maersk Oil’s announcement in April that it would cease production at the Tyra complex if no solution to extend its economic life during 2016. The Tyra complex is operated by Maersk Oil on behalf of the DUC, a partnership...

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Canacol doesn’t lose sleep over oil prices

Canacol is distinct from its Colombian E&P peers‎, being a gas-weighted producer with operations focussed in the Lower Magdalena Basin. Its gas operations and gas offtake contracts mean that the company has a much lower exposure to oil prices. In the company's recent investor update, it noted that it would generate EBITDA of USD107 million if the oil price was zero! Given this special situation within the Colombian and wider international...

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Shell Gulf of Mexico divestment

On 29th August, Shell announced that it had agreed to sell 100% of its interests in the Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon Blocks 114, 158, 202 and 248 (the Brutus/Glider assets), to EnVen Energy Corporation for USD425 million in cash. These assets do not appear to form part of Shell's core strategy in the region, with recent activity focusing on the Mars/Vito/Na Kika areas to the east. The Brutus/Glider assets include the Brutus Tension Leg Platform,...

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