#oilandgas

I hear from others in the office that some big announcement is coming in July. Maybe related to Cold Lake?

BP is reorganizing @ C-level and is announcing a mega structural shake-up. New CEO announced a shift to Upstream/Downstream operating models replacing the current P&O/G&LCE/C&P structure...The prior CEO was sacked for lying to the board, had benefits clawed back, sued, then saw the lawsuit go quiet while he landed a plum director role at a Middle East-backed equity firm that promptly signed a BP JV... Wow...

By the looks of the Midland office, the mothership is going to be shutting it down soon. No one‘s ever there they’ve closed the whole floor and the other ones are maybe 50% full. It’s only a matter of time before they start leasing out one of the towers. If I were one of the employees there, I would start looking at other competitors that value people close to the wellhead.

ConocoPhillips had extensive and profitable operations in Venezuela. With the country’s expressed interest that oil operators return will ConocoPhillips return and use its technical acumen with horizontal wells and frac technology to deliver exceptional results in Venezuela?

It’s now evident that the XOM’s Permian factory has reached an inflection point and starting to experience technical and operational challenges. Please share your experiences and potential outcomes.

Will XOM make another purchase? Who and when? Certainly missed the last opportunity and now candidate companies are overvalued by +66%.

How long will XOM maintain a +22 rig line? It’s cheaper to buy production then it is to develop your own acreage.

Did you all see that new podcast? Mike is sitting on a truck tailgate at a trailer park sipping an ice cold Busch talking about trucks and oil. He's really trying to get the MAGA people on board!

If you think XOM is messed up…it’s actually a fine running Swiss watch. Enjoy what a near peer is going through…Any time you hear energy transition and BP beyond petroleum…think XOM not perfect but way better than others

Congrats on the Exxon farmin. Offsets APC Guyana acreage that has been in force majeure for years . Also remember it had a high gas risk associated with it.

Eventually top tier locations will be reduced and reserve replacement will become a priority. Probability that Oxy merges with another company in the next 2 years

What company or market will CVX buy into next?
CVX oil finders particularly ex Hess G&G are not developing attractive runways and the companies doing a great job of decommissioning and divesting assets.

I see we just farmed out 10% of our Trinidad block to Oxy. I have wondered for a long time what the point of this and OBO is. I understand the idea of risk sharing but how are we supposed to have better returns than our competitors when so many of the projects we do are with them? Wouldn’t it be better for us to do 100% out own projects?

It’s that time again when we forecast and alter the future…
Will Shell acquire or consolidate with bp? Is Shell waiting for the Deepwater Horizon payments to become manageable?

It’s clear that Macondo level magic is rearing its head in 2026 the FAFO year…
Questimate First Oil Date and Peak Production…
The future get cultivated today…

Why did bp increase headcount 18% last year with ongoing strategic layoffs?
Has AI permitted bp to be leaner and meaner? And simpler?
Is bp’s AI a thing? Has bp’s super computer actually resolved making operations safer and more productive?
Are the 15,000 new employees hired last 20 months based in India? Are we removing one western employee and hiring 3 Sub Continent employees ?

Has Al increased the probability for layoffs at Oxy?

5/14/2026 12:00:00 PM

Deal includes Chevron assets in Vietnam, Australia, Philippines, Malaysia
Deal expected to close in 2027

Chevron divests Asian refining assets to streamline operations

Eneos aims to boost overseas sales share to over 50% by 2030, CEO says
Eneos Holdings said it will buy U.S. major Chevron's 50% stake in Singapore Refining Company and other assets in Southeast Asia and Australia for nearly $2.2 billion, in its first refining foray outside of Japan.

The deal, which includes Chevron's assets in Vietnam, Australia, Philippines and Malaysia, is expected to close in 2027, Eneos said. Chevron has been looking to divest refining and storage assets in Asia to streamline operations and reduce costs.

"This investment represents a significant step in strengthening the business platform that connects Japan with Southeast Asia and Oceania," said Eneos Holdings CEO Tomohide Miyata.

Eneos operates nine refining complexes in Japan including a joint venture with PetroChina.

Chevron divestment. SRC operates a 290,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Singapore and the other half of the company is held by PetroChina 0857.HK through its subsidiary Singapore Petroleum Co.

"The agreement reflects Chevron's disciplined approach to managing its international portfolio," said Andy Walz, president of Chevron's downstream, midstream and chemicals.

The SRC stake sale is the second major refinery deal in the Asian oil hub after Shell sold its Bukom refining and petrochemical complex in 2024. Chevron previously sold its Hong Kong retail stations to Thai refiner Bangchak Corp. Corp for $270 million.

The latest sale includes Chevron's Penjuru terminal and lubricants facility in Singapore, which has a storage capacity of around 400,000 cubic meters, roughly equivalent to 2.5 million barrels of oil.

Taking over a fuel terminal in one of the world's largest oil storage and blending hubs will expand Eneos' trading capabilities, especially in refined fuel, analysts said.

"It will be an important strategic move for Eneos to grow downstream given its domestic market in Japan is saturated and expected to decline," said Sushant Gupta, Wood Mackenzie's Asia Pacific refining and oils research director, a reference to Japan's long-term decline in demand owing to a shrinking population.

"It is not just the refinery but things that come along will be the deal sweetener."

Morgan Stanley was appointed by Chevron to handle the sale of the refinery stake and other assets in Asia.

Eneos eyes more overseas M&A deals. Eneos is looking to widen its overseas operations via the purchases from Chevron, while looking at other buys.

"With regard to our overseas operations, which currently account for just under 20% of sales, we intend to use this M&A as a catalyst to significantly expand this share - including through future growth in our trading business - with the aim of raising it to more than 50% by fiscal 2030," said Eneos' Miyata.

He said he did not believe the latest acquisition of assets from Chevron alone would be sufficient to achieve that goal.

"We aim to reach the target through future overseas M&As, and we are already taking steps in that direction," he added.

https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2026/05/eneos-to-buy-chevrons-singapore-refinery-stake-asian-assets-for-22-billion/

BP is weighed down by North Sea UK assets. The hostile regulatory and taxation framework prevents meaningful investment and assets are entering a phase of operation that is not in BP’s wheelhouse. Meg will realize just like she did at Woodside that when assets reach a particular inflection point divestment even at a perceived loss creates a positive outcome for the company.

What assets need to be offloaded first? For transparency have BP UK sanctioned suspect projects with the intention of maintaining leverage and employment at the consequence of capital destruction?

Now that Pioneer employees have received the last of their retention bonus money the resignations are rolling in.

With a heart full of appreciation, l want to say a BIG THANK YOU to our amazing CEO, Vicki Hollub. Thank you for all you did for Oxy’s employees. Thank you for more than doubling Oxy’s production and for your wisdom and foresight in lowering Oxy’s risk in the Middle East and increasing U.S. domestic production. You’ve reshaped Oxy to be a premier oil and gas company. You’ve taken the lead where others are afraid to step into. You are the first woman to Lead a major oil and gas company in the U.S and you didw a terrific job. You’ve also stabilized Oxy (no massive layoffs) which has allowed talents to focus more on their jobs rather than worrying each time the price of oil goes down. Words cannot express how much you did for Oxy as a whole. I wish you long life and the best in your retirement.

This is random but a good read for new folks, not the best forum for this post but since we do not have an alternative one here it goes, hope it helps someone. Folks that have been around the block a while should skip this thread:
https://www.construction-physics.com/p/how-an-oil-refinery-works

An Analyst asked on the Earnings call if Meg thought there was a scenario where this discovery wouldn't proceed to development. He started his question by saying how big AF described it to be.

She did not answer the Analyst's question about whether there's a way it doesn't get developed.

CO2 is clearly a know issue with these fields. To not answer and dodge the question by sayijg a great team is working the project sounds like reason to run.

Should we be worried we've dug ourselves into a hole we can't get out of with this biggest discovery in 25 years?

Just wondering when will Apache shutdown their North Sea assets and what is the projected cost to decommission? Will they pull a Field Wood style bankruptcy to offload the North Sea assets back to BP?

Anyone know if the fire at Shell Norco is going to affect our bonus?

All signs point to good results tomorrow with help from the blockade in the Straight of Hormuz. I’m sure we will say it is proof our strategy reset is working, and that we still have to make more “difficult” changes. Then cue layoffs announced around Q2 results. What does everyone else think?

Inside ExxonMobil, job security varies a lot by function. The pattern isn’t about “good vs. bad jobs”—it’s about how directly a role ties to revenue and how easy it is to cut or outsource.

Here’s how it typically breaks down:

Roles that tend to be more stable
1) Core operations (production & refining)
Field operators (oil & gas production)
Refinery technicians
Maintenance crews for critical infrastructure

Why they’re safer:
These roles keep oil and gas flowing—the company literally can’t operate without them. Even during downturns, ExxonMobil usually trims elsewhere first.

2) High-value technical specialists
Petroleum engineers
Reservoir engineers
Geoscientists (especially in active drilling regions)
Certain chemical engineers tied to refining

Why:
They directly impact how much oil/gas is found and produced → tied to revenue.

The more your work affects output or efficiency, the safer you generally are.

3) Project-critical roles during growth phases
Engineers and managers on major projects (e.g., offshore developments, LNG, carbon capture)

Why:
If Exxon has already committed billions to a project, they don’t stop midway unless conditions are extreme.

4) New strategic areas (selectively stable)
Carbon capture
Hydrogen
Lower-emissions technologies

Why:
These are long-term investments, though still smaller and not immune to cuts.

Roles with moderate risk
5) IT and data roles (mixed stability)
Data engineers, cybersecurity → more stable
General IT support → more vulnerable

Why:
Some are mission-critical; others can be outsourced or consolidated.

6) Mid-level management
Supervisors, team leads

Why:
They’re needed, but during restructuring Exxon often “flattens” layers of management.

Roles that are most at risk during layoffs
7) Corporate / back-office functions
HR
Finance (non-core roles)
Legal support
Communications / PR

Why:
These don’t directly generate revenue and are easier to cut or centralize.

8) Administrative and support roles
Admin assistants
Internal support staff

Why:
Often reduced through automation or outsourcing.

9) Early-career / less specialized roles
Entry-level positions without niche expertise

Why:
They’re easier to replace or eliminate compared to highly specialized staff.

10) Roles tied to declining or non-core assets
Staff in fields or refineries being sold or shut down

Why:
When Exxon exits a region or asset, those jobs often disappear or transfer.

One important nuance

Even “safe” roles aren’t immune.

Example:

During the COVID downturn, even engineers at ExxonMobil were laid off.
But cuts were still heavier in corporate and support functions.

Simple rule of thumb

Ask yourself:

“If this role disappeared tomorrow, would production or revenue drop immediately?”

Yes → safer
No → higher risk

https://chatgpt.com/

what’s maryann talkin bout?? we’re making massive profits off of the war, i’d assume the company would be flush with cash. any layoffs or reorgs coming?

If you’re in the Permian as I am, don’t think it’s over. They’re setting up for the future, it won’t include us.

What should i expect with 10 yrs of experience. Joining from another major. Worth the risk? Whst is the future of reservoir eng here. Honest guidance only please

Story by Sheila Dang

HOUSTON, April 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil signaled on Wednesday that first quarter earnings could decline from the previous quarter, with an expected multi-billion dollar hit related to financial hedging outweighing higher oil and gas prices triggered by the Iran war.

The top U.S. oil producer also said it will see higher profitability in later quarters when derivative contracts are settled with physical shipments.

In a regulatory filing, Exxon said earnings in the upstream business could have a lift of about $1.4 billion compared to the fourth quarter, driven by higher oil prices, which skyrocketed as much as 65% following the start of the war on February 28.

Downstream earnings, however, could be negatively impacted by around $5.3 billion due to the so-called timing effects connected to derivative contracts and cargoes that were not delivered due to the war.

"This is clearly a messy release with a number of Exxon-specific factors related to current events in the Middle East impacting earnings," Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said in a research note.

The earnings snapshot points to first quarter earnings of about $5 billion or $1.20 per share, Borkhataria estimated.

Adjusted earnings in the fourth quarter were $7.3 billion or $1.71 per share.

EARNINGS MISMATCH WILL 'UNWIND OVER TIME'

The "unusually large, negative timing impact" is temporary and results from accounting rules for the trading program, Neil Hansen, Exxon's chief financial officer, said in a statement.

Like other oil firms, Exxon hedges the sale of crude, natural gas and refined products using financial derivatives in order to mitigate the risk of price changes during the time it takes to ship cargoes to customers, which could take weeks between the United States and Asia.

The value of the physical shipment is not reflected in earnings until the transaction is complete, the company said in the filing.

"These impacts will unwind over time and result in net-positive profit once the underlying transactions are complete. These are sound trades and the profitability that will result from them will be material," Hansen said.

The company said it will record an impairment of between $600 million and $800 million because supply disruptions prevented the physical shipment of cargoes associated with some hedges.

IMPACTED PRODUCTION

Exxon said its first-quarter oil and gas production will be 6% lower due to the war compared with the fourth quarter, when it produced 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Assets in Qatar and the UAE accounted for 20% of Exxon's global oil production in 2025, the company said in the filing.

The war has caused a massive disruption of energy supplies as the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of global energy flows, has been effectively closed. Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged $78.38 per barrel during the first quarter, up 24% from the previous three months, according to LSEG data.

Exxon will report its full first-quarter results on May 1. Investors closely watch the company's earnings snapshot, which details the market factors that impacted earnings, for signals about how the broader oil sector will perform when results are released next month.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks, Will Dunham and Lincoln Feast)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/exxon-signals-lower-q1-profit-despite-higher-oil-gas-revenue-from-iran-war-price-spikes

Moving towards a sale!

European oil refining margins turn negative, bucking global trend
4/14/2026 12:00:00 PM

European refining margins turn negative despite record fuel prices, IEA and traders report
Asian refiners' competition for crude drives up costs, squeezing European margins
Simpler European refineries may cut runs if margin pressure persists, analysts and sources say
European oil refining margins have turned negative, lagging stronger margins in Asia and the U.S., as competition for crude from Asian buyers due to the Iran war drives up costs even as fuel prices hit record highs, according to IEA data and trade sources.

Northwest European light sweet hydroskimming margins dropped to an average of minus $6.45 a barrel in the week beginning April 6, the IEA said in its monthly report.

Margins for medium sour cracking were also in negative territory, the data showed. Light sweet cracking margins remain positive, though they have also weakened significantly.

The margin squeeze is a consequence of the surge in physical crude prices to record highs as the war in Iran disrupts Middle East flows.

The narrowing European margin effectively shows that these plants would be running at a loss, and is likely to prompt some to process less crude into fuels, analysts said.

Simpler European refineries, which lack upgrading units to extract more higher-value products such as jet fuel, could be forced to trim runs if margins remain under pressure, though there is no sign of widespread cuts yet, trading sources said.

"As things stand, Europe is going to cut utilization," Sparta Commodities analyst Neil Crosby said, adding that runs could fall by as much as 500,000 barrels per day.

Asian competition for crude drives up prices. By contrast, in the U.S. Gulf, heavy sour coking margins strengthened last week compared with the March average, IEA data showed. In Singapore, similarly, medium sour cracking margins were also stronger last week than their March averages.

The squeeze in Europe reflects rising crude costs as Asian refiners compete aggressively for cargoes, several trading sources said, as well as higher operating costs such as for electricity and natural gas.

"It's typical of these crises," said a trading source at a European refinery. "Fuel cracks rise first, but as crude and other costs adjust, margins get dented." He added that their margin dropped from about $30 a barrel in the first week of the conflict to just over $4 currently.

The squeeze comes after margins globally soared in March, with those in Europe reaching record highs.

In Singapore, the IEA said, margins in March were some 14-fold higher than February levels, while in northwest Europe light sweet hydroskimming margins in March were more than nine times higher than in February at $15.20 a barrel.

Some refiners even delayed planned shutdowns to take advantage of the higher fuel prices.

Italy's 300,000 barrel per day Sarroch refinery, for instance, pushed a maintenance shutdown from late March to mid-May, industry monitor IIR said. The refinery's operator, Vitol, declined to comment.

https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2026/04/european-oil-refining-margins-turn-negative-bucking-global-trend/

When does the Kearl sale occur? Or at least the sale of some of the interest

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/imperial-oil-pipeline-spill-bitumen-emulsion-9.7165429

ExxonMobil Is Rewiring Its SAP Enterprise For The Energy Future

By Judith Magyar,Brand Contributor.
Nov 04, 2025, 07:59am EST

Harmonized data is becoming ExxonMobil’s new gold standard — the foundation for predictive analytics, AI, and faster decision-making.

“Digital transformation often gets mistaken for an IT upgrade,” said Kurt Aerts, business venture executive at ExxonMobil. He was speaking at the ASUG Best Practices event for Oil, Gas and Energy in Houston, Texas. “Our ongoing transformation is a powerful reminder that true change means transforming the business at scale. It’s not about implementing new systems — it’s about fundamentally changing how an enterprise operates and creates value.”

Not just another systems project
This philosophy underpins the company’s multi-year transformation that integrates people, processes, systems, and data across an organization with $350 billion in annual revenue, about 60,000 employees, and operations spanning upstream, chemicals, fuels, lubricants, and low-carbon solutions.

One of the key steps in ExxonMobil’s journey, which began in 2017, was to reframe the mindset. “We don’t want to optimize, we want to transform,” said Aerts.

Process transformation requires challenging deeply ingrained ways of working and prioritizing adoption of industry standards for each process area and service offering such as Record-to-Report, Source-to-Pay or Order-to-Cash, to drive globally consistent execution. This takes a governance model designed for clarity and speed of decision making — two prerequisites for meaningful transformation and to prevent the common trap of consensus-driven optimization.

Transforming the core
Aerts went on to describe ExxonMobil’s three core pillars of transformation:

Processes are now harmonized to industry standards enterprise-wide versus being executed differently by business or geography.

Systems are modernized from 12 heavily customized ERPs to a unified, cloud-based platform on SAP S/4HANA.

Data is being turned from fragmented, trapped information into harmonized consistently defined enterprise assets.

In the past, answering a simple question such as ‘how much do we sell to Walmart’ required hours of aggregating and reconciling across 12 ERPs. Real-time, enterprise-wide visibility will speed up the process considerably. “Harmonized data is becoming ExxonMobil’s new gold standard — the foundation for predictive analytics, AI, and faster decision-making,” Aerts explained.

Managing scale and risk
Large-scale transformation requires effective risk management. ExxonMobil’s approach balances value capture and risk mitigation.

Deployments are phased by the existing ERP ecosystem, not geography or function, to manage complexity and provide business continuity. A layered governance structure — from a sponsor committee of senior executives to operational design boards — supports accountability, transparency, and alignment at every level.

Aerts shared some lessons from the frontline, stressing the importance of foundational principles. When challenges arise, these principles help keep decisions aligned with strategic intent. Next, he reiterated that data matters most, because clean, consistent data is the real enabler of transformation. And finally, the team learned early on that an out-of-the-box approach really works. Industry-standard configurations deliver agility and prevent the drift toward customization that burdens future upgrades.

“We were able to achieve significant simplification,” he said. “For instance, we reduced about 1,400 company codes to under 1,000, and profit centers from more than 15,000 to fewer than 500. This has eliminated significant complexity while increasing transparency across financial reporting.”

ExxonMobil’s key metrics reflect the disciplined execution of the transformation, and is exceeding its targets on its two principal objectives:

80% target on Fit to Standard: a testament to the commitment to adopt industry standard processes.

90% target on Clean Core: enabling instant upgradeability and system resilience.

Ultimately, ExxonMobil’s enterprise transformation is about creating competitive advantage. By harmonizing data, simplifying systems, and standardizing processes across business lines and geographies, the company is positioning itself for faster innovation and improved experiences for employees, suppliers and customers.

Shaping the future
Transformation is also about visionary leadership in an industry that is adapting to societal needs on how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed. ExxonMobil has a long history of collaboration with SAP to address functionality gaps and ensure the solution is optimized for the oil and gas industry. In essence, ExxonMobil’s journey offers a blueprint for global organizations facing the same challenges, especially lack of agility caused by legacy systems, fragmented data, and decentralized processes.

Aerts concluded: “A successful transformation isn’t about replacing tools; it’s about redesigning processes, data and systems to deliver industry leading performance in efficiency, effectiveness and the experience of our employees and customers, while ensuring agility for adjustments required due to changes in the market.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2025/11/04/exxonmobil-is-rewiring-its-enterprise-for-the-energy-future/

I only see a few options.

1 - Keep under performing as a smaller, poorly managed Oil & Gas company?
2 - Buy something, incurring more debt?
3 - Sell all or part of Ovintiv now that Anadarko is closed and add in a heavy haricut to reduce headcount?

Good luck everyone.

Scott Sheffield of Pioneer wants to get a job as an ExxonMobil board member

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/17/2025-06562/petition-of-scott-sheffield-to-reopen-and-set-aside-order

can any of the people who are in a union at a refinery tell their union rep that Houston engineers want to unionize and have the union get something started ASAP!!!!

No surprise there. I've been trying to make a job switch for months. The job market right now is as bad as I've ever seen it. What does that tell you?

Someone said recently that anyone working Permian assets will have to move to Midland and all of the other Basins will be run out of OKC. Is this true?