Stockwatch Energy today
Energy Summary for May 26, 2022
2022-05-26 20:13 ET - Market Summary
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery added $3.76 to $114.09 on the New York Merc, while Brent for July added $3.37 to $117.40 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $18.00 to WTI, unchanged. Natural gas for June lost 16 cents to $8.91. The TSX energy index added 1.09 points to close at 266.10.
The big news in energy circles came from across the ocean. The U.K. government has announced a 25-per-cent windfall tax on the profits of energy companies, bowing to political pressure to support Britons grappling with higher costs of living. "We will introduce a temporary and targeted energy profits levy," U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak told Parliament. The tax (which is in addition to the 40-per-cent headline tax rate already paid by the oil and gas sector) is expected to raise five billion pounds over the next year and help pay for a new package of benefits worth 15 billion pounds.
Mr. Sunak said the oil and gas sector is enjoying bumper profits not because of greater risk-taking or efficiency, but because of higher commodity prices." He is aiming to "tax [these] extraordinary profits fairly." The timeline for the ostensibly temporary tax is somewhat murky, with Mr. Sunak claiming that it will be "phased out when oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels." The legislation for the levy will also include a sunset clause in 2025, meaning it will expire in December of that year if not already revoked.
The announcement marked an about-face from Mr. Sunak's stance just a few months ago. In February, he told U.K. lawmakers that a windfall tax on energy profits would be "superficially appealing" but would ultimately deter investment. To try to head off such concerns today, Mr. Sunak said the levy legislation would include a new 80-per-cent investment allowance, ensuring that "the more the company invests, the less tax they will pay."
(In offering tax relief for investment, Mr. Sunak may be looking to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time the U.K. government held a tax raid on energy companies, in 2011. Then-chancellor George Osborne shocked the industry by hiking its supplementary tax rate (what it paid above and beyond the standard corporate tax) by 12 points to 32 per cent. The fallout was swift. In an article in 2015, The Economist found that production "plummeted from 2011 to 2013 ... exploration crawled to a halt ... [and] the once-mighty North Sea oil and gas sector [became] increasingly marginal to the overall British economy," contributing just 4.7 billion pounds in tax revenue in 2013/2014, down from 10.9 billion two years earlier. The article was written in 2015 because that was the year Mr. Osborne walked the tax back to 20 per cent, saying the industry needed to boost production.)
The industry's reactions to the news today ranged from outraged to simply resigned. Deirdre Michie, chief executive officer of the trade group Offshore Energies U.K., condemned the tax as a "disappointing and worrying development" that will cause "shockwaves ... for years to come." U.K. oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood said it will undermine investors' confidence in the entire country. Among oil majors, BP said it will now need to review its U.K. investments, while Shell (covering its bases) stressed the importance of stable tax regimes but also took note of the investment-based tax relief.
Some Canadian companies could see this windfall tax take a bite out of their profits, namely the companies with producing assets in the U.K. North Sea. These include Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ), up 77 cents to $84.07, and Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), up nine cents to $50.56. Investors seemed unfazed. Both companies are mainly active in the Alberta oil sands, with only a minimal presence in the North Sea. Canadian Natural's North Sea assets contributed barely 16,000 of the 1.28 million barrels a day it produced in the first quarter, while Suncor's North Sea production is about 22,000 barrels a day, out of total first quarter output of 766,000.
Separately, the above Suncor caught investors' attention today by filing not one but two prospectuses on SEDAR, qualifying the company to issue undetermined amounts of debt and/or equity over the next 25 months. One of the prospectuses specifically qualified medium-term notes. Suncor said it would disclose the amounts of any financings, and the uses for the proceeds, in the future prospectus supplements. The move looks to be simple housekeeping. Suncor previously filed prospectuses like these in May, 2020, so their 25-month eligibility period is now expiring.
Elsewhere in Alberta, the Gray brothers' Petrus Resources Ltd. (PRQ) added 25 cents to $2.71 on 729,400 shares, after finally getting itself a new chief financial officer and a new chief operating officer. It has appointed Matthew Wong as the former and Matt Skanderup as the latter. Mr. Wong will be Petrus's first CFO in more than a year, and Mr. Skanderup will be the first COO in about five years.
Both are internal promotions. Mr. Wong joined Petrus in 2017 and has served as vice-president of finance since April, 2021, which was when former CFO Chris Graham stepped down. Mr. Skanderup has been with Petrus since 2014 and previously worked for companies including the above Canadian Natural Resources and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG: $10.96). Prior to his appointment as COO, Petrus's last COO was Neil Korchinski, but as noted above, that was many years ago. In 2016, Mr. Korchinski won a promotion to president and CEO, and Petrus did not appoint a new COO. Then in April, 2021, Mr. Korchinski left the company, just like Mr. Graham.
The timing of the departures coincided with a tightening of control by the Gray family. Don Gray was already chairman and a major shareholder (he founded Petrus in 2011). In March, 2021, two of his brothers, Glen Gray and Stuart Gray, also bought in as major shareholders, while the fourth brother, Ken Gray, became a director. Then Ken Gray became president and CEO in April, 2021. They have since spent their time tidying up Petrus's balance sheet rather than making new hires. The cleanup has included everything from a $49-million shares-for-debt swap last year to a $20-million rights offering earlier this month.
Investors seemed pleased to see the Grays shift some of their attention over to management changes. They were also likely glad to see a separate operational update from Petrus in the Alberta Cardium. Production held steady at 7,400 barrels a day for the month of April, same as the average for the first quarter. Petrus added that "the team expects to kick off the 2022 drilling program in late June." Its aim is to get production all the way up to 9,000 barrels a day, or even 9,500 barrels a day, by the end of the year.
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