Daily Digest: April 9th, 2020
Saudi Fund Snaps up $1bn in Shares in European Majors: Press
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken stakes worth $1bn in four European majors, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources.
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The Big Picture:
- Shares in the four European firms have fallen steeply over the past month, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis' impact on fuel demand and Saudi Arabia and other Opec members cutting prices and increasing production in order to seize market share.
Oil Price up as Opec Talks Continue
The benchmark Dated Brent crude contract, for prompt delivery, was up 3.7% at time of press [16.30 GMT April 9] at $34.06/barrel, amid growing confidence that the world's biggest producers will be able to strike a deal on output cuts. The US counterpart, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was up 3.8% to $26.04 /b.
The Big Picture:
- According to Norwegian consultancy Rystad, the more widely quoted agreement for a 10mn b/d cut might be enough for most producers to survive through the second quarter of 2020 and avoid what it called the 'storage wall' – when production exceeds storage as well as consumption capacity.
Kogas Asks Suppliers to Defer LNG Shipments: Press
South Korean Kogas has asked LNG suppliers to defer shipments owing to coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, Bloomberg reported.
The Big Picture:
Cnooc to Launch 10 Upstream Projects in 2020
Chinese state-run Cnooc expects to bring 10 new oil and gas projects on stream this year, it said in its 2019 annual report published on April 8.
The Big Picture:
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Cnooc’s net profit for 2019 stood at yuan 61.05bn ($8.6bn), an increase of 15.9% yr/yr, it said last month.
Poland Sells First Lithuanian LNG to Trucks
Within a week of the start of its capacity contract, Polish state oil and gas company PGNiG has sold the first two LNG cargoes from the small-scale reloading station in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, it said April 8. It said the sales showed that the LNG markets in Lithuania and the other Baltic countries have considerable potential.
The Big Picture:
- Klaipedos Nafta operates a floating LNG regasification and storage unit in the port, a few kilometres away. The contract between the two companies came into force on April 1 and has a five-year duration.
