Schlumberger Beats Estimates -- October 16, 2015, Part IV

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In addition, there will be some Scandinavian humor that may offend some Norwegians. I try not to make fun of the Swedes. After all, it is often Swedish meatballs that "rescue" a Norwegian lutefisk dinner. 

Minnesotans should be particularly circumspect when accessing this site. The site takes the Bakken very seriously; everything else, not so much. This is not an investment site. It's also not a healthcare site even though there is quite a bit written about that trainwreck.

Reuters/Rigzone is reporting that Schlumberger beat estimates due to cost cutting.

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, reported a marginally better-than-expected quarterly profit, as deep cost cuts and efficiency improvements helped cushion the impact of weak North American drilling activity. 

With crude prices remaining under pressure, analysts and industry experts expect any pickup in U.S. drilling activity to be delayed until next year, with pricing recovery taking even longer. 

Schlumberger, which is less exposed to North America than rivals Baker Hughes Inc and Halliburton Co, said revenue from the region fell nearly 47 percent in the third quarter.
Revenue from outside North America, which accounted for nearly three quarters of the total revenue, fell about 27 percent. Schlumberger has cut 20,000 jobs this year and scaled back spending in response to weak crude prices. 

Still net income attributable to the company nearly halved to $989 million, or 78 cents per share. Total revenue fell 33 percent to $8.47 billion. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 77 cents per share on revenue of $8.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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Saudi Vs Russia: Europe

Fighting Words

Reuters/Rigzone is reporting:

From global majors such as Shell and Total to more modest Polish energy firms, oil refiners in Europe are cutting their longstanding use of Russian crude in favour of Saudi grades as the world's top exporters fight for market share.

Russia has for years been muscling in on Asian markets where Saudi Arabia was once the unchallenged dominant supplier.

But now Riyadh is retaliating in Moscow's backyard of Europe with aggressive price discounting.

This has nothing to do with Western sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, which apply to energy industry equipment but not to oil or gas itself.

Instead it is a commercial battle for customers as both exporters ramp up their output despite weak world oil prices.

This is likely to complicate further a dialogue between Moscow and the OPEC exporters' group on tackling the global oil glut, with joint production cuts already looking elusive.

Trading sources told Reuters that majors such as Exxon, Shell, Total and Eni have been all buying more Saudi oil for their refineries in Western Europe and the Mediterranean in the past few months at the expense of Russian oil.

"I'm buying less and less Russian crude for my refineries in Europe simply because Saudi barrels are looking more attractive.

It is a no brainer for me as Saudi crude is just cheaper," said a trading source with one major, who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media. 

Dumping prices.

Something tells me Russia's involvement in Syria is less about "loving" Assad than taking the fight to Saudi Arabia. Putin knows with Obama in office for another full year, Russia has carte blanche in the Mideast. 

More from the linked article:

Riyadh traditionally focused on the U.S. and Asian markets, leaving Moscow as a major supplier to Europe, especially the eastern countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc.

But Russia's most powerful oil executive, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin, said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had started supplying ex-communist Poland at "dumping" prices. 

Then on Wednesday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the Saudi entry into eastern European markets was the "toughest competition".

For both Saudi Arabia and Russia, oil is an existential issue.

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Norwegian Production

EIA's "energy cookie":

Norwegian petroleum and other liquids production, which had been declining since 2001, increased in 2014 and will likely continue increasing in 2015. The production growth in 2014 was mainly the result of new fields coming online, but also included a small increase in output from existing fields. Production has continued to grow in the first half of 2015 and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next few years as growth from new fields balances declines from older fields. --- EIA