Eversendai attempts breakthrough in O&G with liftboat venture

From The Star: Business
5th July 2014

THE oil and gas (O&G) industry may be in vogue for investors, but Eversendai Corp Bhd’s foray into the sector has not really piqued investor interest. In May, Eversendai announced it had bagged contracts for the construction of two liftboats valued at RM580mil.

Liftboats are generally self-propelled working barges that are used in a wide array of offshore jobs.

Eversendai group executive chairman Tan Sri A.K. Nathan describes the venture of building liftboats as a “breakthrough” on the premise that his is the first Malaysian company to do so.

Building and owning liftboats is a niche business in this part of the region. The only other company in this business is Singapore-listed Ezion Holdings Ltd, which is the largest liftboat owner in the world. Almost all major liftboat players are from the United States except for Gulf Marine Services, which has a base in the Middle East.

Boom time seen for oil and gas

By Star Online: Business
13 October 2012

WITH more oil finds and disruptive technologies coming onstream, the level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the oil and gas sector is set to increase.

It’s going to be a boon for oil and gas service providers as the abundance of opportunities propel these companies to expand into new regions and grow bigger through acquisitions, say oil and gas experts from Ernst & Young.

Some key game changers include shale oil potentially becoming very big in China and technology making it progressively easier to get more certainty in striking oil. Renewables will likely not pose a huge threat to conventional hydrocarbons, at least for the next few decades.

“It used to be a 1-in-8 chance of striking oil. Now with technology, it has become 1 in 2, and 1 in 3 chance,” says Ernst & Young LLP Partner, Global Oil & Gas, Transaction Advisory Services Andy Brogan.

Difficult oil or new efficient energy pursuit poser

By Star Online: Business
10 September 2012

PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas), which recorded a weaker financial performance in its second quarter for the financial year 2012, is aiming to substantially beef up its capital expenditure (capex) moving forward.

Its CEO Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas and executive vice-president of finance Datuk George Ratilal had repeatedly highlighted in Friday's press conference that this will be the immediate focus for Petronas at least in the coming five years.

Oil supply surge could risk price collapse: Harvard analysis

By Star Online: Business
27 June 2012

WASHINGTON: Global oil supplies are growing so fast that they could outstrip demand and lead to a collapse in world prices, a former energy executive who is now a Harvard research fellow said on Tuesday.

"Most analyses today are still marked by this obsession with oil running out," Leonardo Maugeri, formerly a senior manager at Italy-based oil and gas giant Eni SpA , said at a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

In analyzing capacity at more than 1,000 oil fields around the world, he found that depletion of oil supplies was occurring "much more slowly and gently than expected."

He estimated that world oil production capacity could go up by 17.6 million barrels per day between now and 2020.

"Contrary to what most people believe, oil supply capacity is growing worldwide at such an unprecedented level that it might outpace consumption," he wrote in his analysis, published as a policy brief by Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. "This could lead to a glut of overproduction and a steep dip in prices."

Production capacity is expected to grow the most in Iraq, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Venezuela, while it could decline in Norway, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Iran, his analysis found.

Much of the surge in U.S. capacity is due to the boom in shale oil.

Unless oil demand grows at a sustained yearly rate of 1.6 percent -- compared with a bit less than 1 percent now -- overproduction and price collapse are possible, Maugeri said.

Global oil output capacity is likely to grow from 93 million barrels per day currently to 110 million bpd by 2020. If oil prices stay above $70 a barrel, the increase in capacity can be sustained, according to the analysis.

"However, world demand is sluggish due to the lagging economy and focus on energy efficiency," Maugeri wrote. "If these trends continue, we could see a significant dip -- or even a temporary collapse -- of oil prices."

The boom in so-called unconventional oil, like that derived from hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas locked in underground shale formations, must trigger environmental action, he wrote.

"Without this balance between industry and environmental interests," the analysis said, "new oil production projects will be stymied or delayed." - Reuters

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