So at 3pm BST today, CUE management called a town hall with less than a half hour to go until the start. All of our assets - Alba, Captain, Alder, Erskine, Britannia, etc - are to be marketed and buyer(s) sought. 'Keep an eye on the SharePoint site that's coming out for the news' we got told. Our interest in Clair and our Rosebank project not included in the deal. Watch this space...
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I’m not familiar with any special terms & conditions for long term ETC UK personnel. I believe the standard severance package of 8 to 52 weeks base pay is all the extra anyone will be getting.
Given the payoff T & C’s of U.K. employees some long term ETC U.K. employees will become very happy ex ETC U.K. employees.
What will happen? Some ETC UK folks will become ETC Unemployed folks. That plain and simple.
What will happen to ETC UK folks?
A major usually brings credibility to a project. Something most (not all) third world national companies lack.
Venezuela thought they could produce oil without any support! They kicked out international oil companies and also pushed out most of their own petrotech experts. The results are a disaster no question, as now they have no income and need outside help just to buy a clue as to what to do. A lesson for other National oil companies? Yes not question. But their take home will vary. What does a major bring to a project: capital, technology, management consistency, full cycle planning... they need to decide what they lack and, like any business, the wrong answer to that question could lead to bankruptcy. A continuing problem with most national oil companies is those charged with answering these questions have a vested interest in being “in charge”, even when they are incompetent. A catch 22.
Venezuela thought they could grow themselves without outside help and we see how that worked out. The other third world countries will meet similar fates.
Chevron’s selling the North Sea, took a pass on everything in Australia outside the Carnarvon basin, the national oil companies of the third world cash cows (Nigeria, Angola, Indonesia, etc.) are starting to think they can grow themselves without the help of majors, Venezuela is in the toilet, we do not seem to be sniffing around Russia more than usual ... so what are we going to do with all the cash? What are we growing? Just stock buy backs?
I agree with you, 18uie. But the term ‘Nationalism’ with our present day political administration really means ‘America First’, not Everyone Else Last. Every country should always look after their own interests as a priority. The United States of America is no different and rightfully so.
The republicans have been beating the free trade drum for decades, and with good reason. When governments micromanage trade it leads to all sorts of corruption and distortion of efficiency in market forces. It is the path to central planning, and the Soviet style of communism. Great for the oligarchs (1%) but not great for us commoners. Nationalism also leads in bad directions. Funny thing, you can not be leader of the free world if no one is interested in following you.
No, it will end very well for us, 18sqv. The countries that renegotiate a fair trade deal with USA first will get the best deals on trade with us. As the last countries come to the table they won’t get the best treatment. Some run the risk of being freezed out of any trade deal. It simply doesn’t make sense to take on China alone, then go down the list of other countries with trade imbalances. The smart money is to take everyone on simultaneously and make deals individually as they come. First come, first [best] served. Evidently, you have a very traditional and narrow way of thinking. There’s no room for ‘old school’ here.
-18ezu: I assume you will pardon me if I decide not to take investment action on your HOT market analysis, since I think it is a load of bu11$hit. Liquidation of North Sea might be a good move, since we are not a huge player there relative to others, if there are better prospects elsewhere on the horizon. No smart money thinks the current tariff c-ap will last long, if for no other reason than it was so very badly played. It would have been one thing to try to isolate China as a bad player, but very dumb to try to disenfranchise the whole world at the same time. This will end badly for us.
The rumor has some strategical validity to it, @Voun. Chevron knows that US policy will will tilt even more toward US production and oil independence, especially with the almost certain prospect the President Trump will get a second term. With tough trade renegotiations, sanctions and tariff wars being pushed around the world, US oil companies with overseas reserves could become vulnerable to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a stable political world, it really doesn’t matter where you extract the oil, but in a nationalist political environment, it’s better to extract your oil closer to home.
There’s a wood Mackenzie report about Chevron looking at divesting their WOS assets
Strong rumour going around that CVX are looking at swapping the Rosebank Field with another Major who has a field in GOM that CVX are interested in? Anyone any thoughts or info on this? Maybe this is the master plan to pull out of the North Sea!
There’s a good chance of a buyer fairly quick, the assets make a profit so will be appealing to a small operator without all the big Corp overheads
CVX are looking at decommissioning costs....Sensible to get out of that while you drop all that on the buyer.
Hill of Rubislaw office is leased.
Will they sell the Hill of Coleslaw as well?
Is the UK GTC affected by this?
I recall in 1992 CPUK (as CUE was then called) selling the non-operated assets inherited from Gulf to fund the Alba development. Looks like something similar to fund Rosebank, Tyra and Greater Clair area.
Unfortunately a function of mature assets and roi elsewhere pushes things down the priority line. For a long time CUE provided cash to support investment elsewhere, but each business has a lifecycle.
However, the N Sea also has a notable number of new kids on the block who are buying. Whilst some of these may (and that is only a may...) not provide the employment benefits of CVX, they will provide employment and potentially be more agile in terms of decision making. The CUE assets are far from finished.
A change can be a very liberating and positive experience.
Also, marketing and selling are 2 completely different propositions - so this may run for some time - just keep banking the pension contributions and paychecks.
Uncertainty is one of the constants in N.Sea O&G currently - just ride with it.
RB - well how much longer can it roll on and how many more stops and re-starts?
There’s always dismay at job losses but that’s the nature of a free market economy. The confluence of several factors (if you don’t know what these are you don’t read much) suggests to whoever looks at the numbers that it’s time to sell up and move out. They may be wrong, they may be right, but someone has to make a decision based on some econometric model. For those who say it’s not fair or not right or this and that.....did you expect anything else in an industry that’s heading for a freefall.
What do you expect, it's Chevron. Look at those people down there working for us and giving their lives for years. zip down comes the amber shower......right on their heads.
I always despised that stupid ‘Human Energy’ tag line. It made me imagine one huge fart in the breeze.
I’m convinced any twat could be the CEO of an oil company in a downturn. Layoff and sell off until the books balance. I never thought I would witness Chevron treating their employees like it’s a run of the mill Service company, yet here we are. No more Human Energy.
Chevron Upstream Europe (CUE) should have handled this in The Chevron Way. Wwwwwait, they did. Never mind.
It’s absolutely understandable -1kfn. Shock, dismay and disappointment would be an expected reaction. I would not be surprised that CUE management were informed of this coming and secured their exit well ahead of the devastating news the employees received. Shame on Chevron. They handled this as subtle as a load of bricks crashing down on everyone.
The local press reported that CUE employees are "up in arms" but the large majority of people at the town hall were stunned into silence. Some to tears.
A good ole Fire Sale always attracts interested buyers in this climate. Here we go again getting Pennies on the Dollar.
Would there even be any interested buyers in this climate? Thoughts?
Reaction was @/:*#@;!$¥^
It was inevitable that this was going to happen. Just a lot sooner than everybody expected.
Holy cow. What was the reaction from the workforce?