My Argument, Part XXX
CHICAGO (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. is trading in long-term projects that pump oil over decades for U.S. shale drilling that can be switched on or off as crude prices change.
To augment this new focus Exxon went out and purchased a shale producer that provides them with greater shale exposure. It has been described as the following.
When the transaction closes, Exxon’s Permian asset base will hold the equivalent of 6 Bbbl of crude, an asset that’s worth $324 billion at current oil prices. Wells drilled in the acquired area will generate “attractive returns” even if crude drops back down to $40/bbl, Exxon said when the deal was announced on Jan. 17.
Here we have evidence of the fact that producers hold out the ridiculous value proposition of determining barrels of reserves times the current price. Some might suggest that this is no different than People, Ideas & Objects publication of its value proposition of $25.7 to $45.7 trillion. I would assert that our value proposition is incremental value and is realized on top of the current cost structure of the industry. The statement of $324 billion assumes no costs and therefore is a distortion of the facts. A distortion due to the fact that the producer is unable to produce any oil and gas profitably at this time. Therefore this $324 billion will simply slip through Exxon’s fingers with no value being realized by the shareholders, etc. Note however, the bureaucrats will be fine.
It is the last part of the first Exxon quotation in this blog post that I also want to address. Their comment that “shale drilling that can be switched on or off as crude prices change.” Is there a belief in the marketplace that the producers will move to drill dynamically based on the prices realized? This has been the business model that has been in place for decades. It is a blunt and ineffective instrument. Scaling up capital expenditures in the good times, and scaling them down in troubled times. The difficulty with the current business model is that we only ever seem to be in difficult times. And that in no way is good enough.
Last week we saw the producers participate in the annual CERA conference. In contrast to last years mood producers were boasting their recovery and asserting that the Saudi’s and OPEC were in retreat from the shale producers. Based on the fourth quarter reports I certainly don’t see any recovery in the producers, the oil price might be marginally higher but still unable to cover the costs of production. And no one anywhere is profitable. Shale’s dynamics are pushing U.S. deliverability over 9 million barrels with the inevitable flood of oil on the horizon. North American producers believe they can compete with Saudi costs that include the societal costs of the Kingdom. I see that as an unfair comparison. Saudi production costs are negligible in comparison to shale. If the producers want to assert the costs of the Kingdom then they should adopt the cost of the U.S. debt and deficit as part of their cost structure to make it directly comparable.
I see a lot of deception in the marketplace. Producers are convincing themselves that they can compete and that they are financially capable. Neither are the case. Overproduction is increasing at a time when inventories are at record volumes. Positions in the futures market for further increases in the price of oil are also at records. These are all pointing to another steep decline in the price of oil as a result of the North American shale producers overproduction. This is not a tragic event, the bureaucrats will continue to get paid and that’s all that really matters. I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been through this cycle but it does seem to have a good rhythm.
Producers should be careful not to fall into the trap that has been laid for them by the Saudi’s. If they are seen as destroying the oil market in just a few months after a production sharing agreement is implemented. People won’t have difficulty in seeing who’s truly responsible for the poor oil and gas prices.
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