Oil & Gas Industry Fuels California’s Economy

Posted on by September 2, 2015

A report released by the Western States Petroleum Association details the substantial wspa_reportcontribution the petroleum industry makes to California’s state and local economies, accounting for nearly 456,000 jobs, hundreds of billions in revenues, and more than 9% of the state’s gross domestic product.

Those figures form the core of a new 76-page report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC.) The analysis, drawn from public data on employment, taxes and business activity, show the industry is a major economic engine for the state.

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Chevron Reports Quarterly Profits of $571 Million

Posted on by August 5, 2015

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) reported earnings of $571 million, or 30 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2015 on revenues of $37 billion. This compares with earnings of $5.7 billion, or $2.98 per share on revenues of $56 billion in the same quarter of 2014.

“Second quarter financial results were weak, reflecting a crude price decline of nearly 50% from a year ago, said John Watson, Chairman and CEO of the San Ramon-based company. “Our upstream businesses were particularly hard hit, as lower prices reduced revenues and triggered impairments and other charges. Downstream operations continued to deliver strong financial performance, reflecting both high reliability and improved margins.”

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Chevron Declares Quarterly Dividend

Posted on by July 29, 2015

The board of directors of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) declared a quarterly dividend of chevron_logo$1.07 per share, payable September 10, 2015, to holders of the San Ramon-based company’s common stock as of August 19, 2015.

In May Chevron reported earnings for the first quarter of 2015 of $2.6 billion, or $1.37 per share, on revenues of $32 billion. This compares with earnings for the same quarter a year earlier of $4.5 billion, or $2.36 per share, on revenues of $51 billion.

Overview of Mexico Energy Reform

Posted on by July 16, 2015
Latino_Journal

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After excluding foreign companies for 75 years, Mexico began implementing sweeping reforms in  2013-2014 to open its energy industry and “kick-start its production of oil and gas by attracting significant outside investment.”

Attorneys Dennis R. Luna, Editor-in-Chief of the California Oil & Gas Report, and Olman Valverde, both of the Los Angeles law firm Luna & Glushon, explain the sweeping reforms implemented by Mexico in an article in the current issue of “Latino Journal.”

The article reviews the public-private partnerships that will have a major role in exploration, extraction and production, as well as refining, natural gas processing, distribution and other functions in oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbon products.

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Mexico Holds Historic Auction of Oil Rights

Posted on by July 15, 2015

Mexico held its first auction in 77 years in which foreign companies could bid on drilling rights, but oil_platformmost of the major oil companies chose to stay on the sidelines.

A consortium including Sierra Oil & Gas, a Mexican company, Houston-based Talos Energy LLC and Britain’s Premier Oil placed the winning bids on two of the 14 blocks put up for auction in the first of five phases of Round One of the auction.

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Kern County Proposes Changes to Oil and Gas Ordinances

Posted on by July 15, 2015

Kern County has released a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that would change the county’s oil and gas ordinances to allow quicker review of CEQA challenges, streamline DOGGR reviews of drilling activity, and fund regional projects to improve local air quality.

Blair Knox of the California Independent Petroleum Association, noted that Kern County operates as a by-right county for oil and gas operations, one of only four California jurisdictions that do so.

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