Low oil prices can be good for the drivers, but they are simply catastrophic for the oil companies and the markets. Many top oil firms have seen their earnings sharply reduced and their credit ratings cut. It is expected that prices will rise again, but not before late this year or 2017. The big question is whether the industry will be able to survive until then.
The abrupt fall in crude oil prices, considered a blessing not so long ago, is now seen as increasingly troubling. West Texas and Brent crude prices fell from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to just $30 last Friday, a 12-year low. Although the drop in crude waw initially welcomed, many fear that current low prices may bring with them more problems than solutions.
July 15, 2015 | UBS | Lifting sanctions would add more production to an already oversupplied market.
May 25, 2015 | BNP Paribas | Data highlights that there is more pain to come for Drillers for the foreseeable future…and the opportunity for further offshore deflation for E&Ps and Majors.
MADRID | April 27, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | At his own pace, without giving up to noisy external pressures, Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau established an executive management model with a clear separation between the chairman of the Board and the executive team –entrusted to a CEO with full authority. That had been a claim of significant shareholders of the Spanish oil firm and some investment funds, although for different reasons.
MADRID | By Ana Lopez Varela | Cutbacks and balance sheet losses at the British oil giant are indicative of a more widespread malaise afflicting the oil industry. While there has been a correction in profit forecasts, firms are likely to adjust their business model accordingly.