Some of the world’s largest energy companies are saddled with their highest debt levels ever as they struggle with low crude prices, raising worries about their ability to pay dividends and find new barrels, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Exxon Mobil Corp. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC and Chevron Corp. hold a combined net debt of $184 billion—more than double their debt levels in 2014, when oil prices began a steep descent that eventually bottomed out at $27 a barrel earlier this year. Crude prices have rebounded since but still hover near $50 a barrel.
IRAN TELLS OPEC MEMBERS IT WILL ATTEND TALKS NEXT MONTH ON OIL OUTPUT
Iran circulated a letter to OPEC members, saying it would attend informal talks in Algeria late next month, according to an OPEC delegate who saw the one-sentence missive. Other delegates said they were told of Iran’s attendance by high-level OPEC officials.
SAUDI ARAMCO COULD REDUCE STAKE IN $5.5 BILLION INDONESIA REFINERY PROJECT
Citing the country’s energy minister, the report said Aramco had asked to cut its share of the project to upgrade a refinery in Cilacap in the province of Central Java to 30% from 45%.
CUSTOMERS PULL CONTRACTS FOR SPECTRA PIPELINE EFFORT AFTER MASS. RULING
A pipeline expansion that would bring more natural gas to New England faces a setback after losing its major customers in Massachusetts, following an unfavorable ruling by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, wrote Alison Sider in The Wall Street Journal.
Utilities National Grid PLC and Eversource Energy withdrew petitions they had filed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for 20-year agreements to take gas from the Algonquin Gas Transmission system. The pipeline system, owned by Spectra Energy Corp., is set to expand if the company can secure more customers.
MEXICO OIL REGULATORS APPROVE BIDDING PROCESS FOR 12 EXPLORATION BLOCKS
Oil prices were down Wednesday, with fears over a U.S. crude stock build wiping out gains made Tuesday on the back of a report that Iran could participate in a joint production freeze if one is agreed to by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The October contract for global crude benchmark Brent was down 1.6% at $49.16 a barrel while its U.S. counterpart West Texas Intermediate was down 1.9% at $47.20.
Prices had risen on Tuesday following a Wall Street Journal report that Iran had agreed to attend an OPEC meeting due to be held in Algeria in late September.
