By Paul Sankey
Published on May 29, 2024 at 7:55 AM
First thought is not only Devon, as always the bridesmaid, but ever the bridesmaid to ConocoPhillips, who trumped them for Shell’s Permian asset package (~$9bn) and now announces the takeover of Marathon Oil. Devon was seen as in pole position to take over MRO; these are multi-basin deals and the best first for MRO were COP or Devon. Second thought, good news to get a decent premium back in oil deals. “It shows a decent …
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By Paul Sankey
Published on April 20, 2024 at 10:16 AM
A major client liked the chart we published last week, highlighting that Schlumberger has a pattern of under-performing quarterly earnings reports. Quod Errat Demonstrandum, as SLB under-performed on its results yesterday, despite a headline beat. All you can analyse is the margins, and guidance outlook change. They came in neutral to mildly negative on a stock that is relatively expensive. SLB was down -2.14% in a tape which saw the mighty energy sector XLE power …
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By Paul Sankey
Published on February 29, 2024 at 9:03 AM
Market backdrop: our argument that low US refining utilisation this month (Feb 2024) would tend to pressure crude prices, tighten product inventories, and raise product prices, is not working at all, leading us to demand concerns. Refiners have been weak accordingly, even if background GDP data and better than expected China numbers suggest a good year for refiners. It’s not all bad news: crude oil prices are acting well. Generally with seasonality, tough January weather …
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