scholarly journals Financial Analysis of European Energy Companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios Dagoumas
Keyword(s):  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
European Energy Policy ◽  
Network Operations ◽  
Energy Companies

Energy union and climate stands as one of the priorities of the European commission, aiming at the provision of secure, environmentally friendly and affordable energy. European energy policy over the last two decades have reshaped energy markets challenging the profitability and viability of energy companies. The latter must prove flexible in their management, including diversification of their portfolio, proceeding on structural unbundling and extending their operations in new markets and regions. Scope of the paper is to assess the financial and liquidity performances of key European energy companies over the period 2008-2017. The focus of the analysis concerns liquidity, profitability, operational performance and capital structure. The analysis is carried out in key energy companies, selected to have an extended geographical representation. Results indicate that gas and oil companies have less risk compared to power companies, attributed mainly to debt exposure. The renewable sector, although underrepresented in the examined sample, implies potential for high profitability. The profitability of power companies is affected by the ownership of assets with low operating costs and by diversification of operations, including regulated network operations. Eastern European power companies are favored by the derogation of EU regulation, though provision of free emission allowances. 

Delivering fuel poverty objectives within the context of globalised energy markets

2017 ◽  
pp. 85-102
Author(s):  
Carolyn Snell
Keyword(s):  
Lower Energy ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Efficiency Measures ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Policy Direction ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Energy Companies

This chapter explores claims made by policy makers in the UK that, despite having no control over global energy markets, existing policy protects households vulnerable to fuel poverty through the regulation of commercial energy suppliers and specific policies that provide cash transfers and energy-efficiency measures. Keeping energy prices low is an essential part of the UK government's approach to fuel poverty alleviation, but this task is a complex one in which the steering capacity of the nation-state often seems weak and its capacity hollowed out. This is exacerbated by a neoliberal policy direction that funds environmental and social policy measures through charges on energy bills rather than through tax-funded programmes. The chapter then argues that existing policy has been somewhat contradictory in its view of the government's power to steer energy markets. While the Department for Energy and Climate Change suggested that the UK has no control over the global energy market, this does not match political rhetoric, which has emphasised the importance of increasing domestic energy security in order to spread risk and reduce dependence on politically unstable fossil fuel-producing states, and has also seen political pressure placed on the six main energy companies to lower energy charges to consumers.

PROSPECTIVITY: IS IT THE REAL CULPRIT FOR THE DECLINE IN ONSHORE EXPLORATION?

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
G.S. Foley
Keyword(s):  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Risk Capital ◽  
Rates Of Return ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Break Even Point ◽  
Exploration Well

In 1987 a total of 163 exploration wells were drilled in Australia's onshore basins. In 1993 the number was 47 and although the forecast for 1994 is slightly higher, activity levels over the next few years are expected to stay low. During the 1987—93 period over 60 per cent of all exploration wells were drilled in the Cooper/Eromanga and Bowen/Surat basins. Not a single exploration well was drilled in a number of basins during the period. There is a general perception amongst industry and investors that the majority of Australian's onshore basins are not prospective. A review of past exploration pro­grams in the frontier and emerging basins suggests that this perception is valid. As a result, the smaller companies, which are responsible for the majority of wells drilled in such basins, have found it diffi­cult to attract risk capital and, consequently, activ­ity levels have fallen to the current levels. Not withstanding the results of past exploration efforts, detailed financial analysis of the best oil plays in the Canning, Perth and Surat basins suggests that the potential returns from exploration and develop­ment activities are extremely attractive. Forecast internal rates of return exceed 50 per cent. Each play was subjected to sensitivity analysis to deter­mine the break-even point for exploration and de­velopment success rates, field sizes, well volumes, initial production rates, exploration and develop­ment capital costs, fixed and variable operating costs and corporate tax rates. The results suggest that the economics are considerably more robust than generally believed. The task confronting in­dustry is to convince the stock market that attrac­tive returns can be generated from at least three onshore basins so capital can be raised to exploit available opportunities.

Forms of time in Alaska natural gas development

Polar Record ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Mason
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Problem Of Time ◽  
Natural Gas Development ◽  
Commercial Enterprise ◽  
Technical Risks ◽  
Energy Companies ◽  
Energy Transportation

ABSTRACTEnergy companies and builders of energy transportation infrastructure find it difficult to evaluate Arctic natural gas development. Their business critical decisions require the assessment of not just technical risks but intangible issues regarding the future and past interactions of an energy system. These concerns call attention to the problem of time. In this article, I examine three types of time from which efforts to commercialise Alaska natural gas are drawn into the temporality of global energy markets: (1) volatility time, in which price spikes determine outcome; (2) government time, in which law and regulation assist in commercial enterprise, and; (3) entrepreneurial time, in which individuals of industry take initiative. These types of expectation in Alaska natural gas development correspond consequently to three methods for fixing time and space. In short, they are three development time-spaces or chronotopes. By offering these forms of time, taking place between 2000–2005, this article draws attention to concrete visualisations of constructing a pipeline to deliver natural gas from Alaska to continental United States. I argue that these efforts represent precise and well-marked steps and reflect a specific course of development, passing from self-confident ignorance, to self-reflective consultation and finally to genuine understanding.

scholarly journals Energy Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Herranz-Surrallés
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Policy Domain ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
European Energy Policy ◽  
The Eu

Energy policy has been considered as a “special case of Europeanization,” due to its tardy and patchy development as a domain of EU activity as well as its important but highly contested external dimension. Divergent energy pathways across Member States and the sensitivity of this policy domain have militated against a unified European Energy Policy. And yet, since the mid-2000s cooperation in this policy area has picked up speed, leading to the adoption of the Energy Union, presented by the European Commission as the most ambitious energy initiative since the European Coal and Steel Community. This dynamism has attracted growing scholarly attention, seeking to determine whether, why and how European Energy Policy has consolidated against all odds during a particularly critical moment for European integration. The underlying question that emerges in this context is whether the Energy Union represents a step forward towards a more homogenous and joined-up energy policy or, rather a strategy to manage heterogeneity through greater flexibility and differentiated integration. Given the multilevel and multisectoral characteristics of energy policy, answering these questions requires a three-fold analysis of (1) the degree of centralization of European Energy Policy (vertical integration), (2) the coherence between energy sub-sectors (cross-sectoral integration), and (3) the territorial extension of the energy acquis beyond the EU Member States (horizontal integration). Taken together, the Energy Union has catalyzed integration on the three dimensions. First, EU institutions are formally involved in almost every aspect of energy policy, including sensitive areas such as ensuring energy supplies. Second, the Energy Union, with its new governance regulation, brings under one policy framework energy sub-sectors that had developed in silos. And finally, energy policy is the only sector that has generated a multilateral process dedicated to the integration of non-members into the EU energy market. However, this integrationist dynamic has also been accompanied by an increase in internal and external differentiation. Although structural forms of differentiation based on sectoral opt-outs and enhanced cooperation have been averted, European Energy Policy is an example of so-called “micro-differentiation,” characterized by flexible implementation, soft governance and tailor-made exemptions and derogations.

scholarly journals A waste of energy? A critical assessment of the investigation of the UK energy market by the Competition and Markets Authority

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysovalantis Amountzias ◽  
Hulya Dagdeviren ◽  
Tassos Patokos
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Large Energy ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Competitive Strength ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Energy Companies

In this paper, we assess the findings of the UK energy market investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, conducted during June 2014–June 2016. We argue that the results of the investigation have been advantageous for the large energy companies and they risk failing to bring any significant and positive change to the energy industry. We highlight three major aspects of the Competition and Markets Authority's assessment. First, the panel examined retail and wholesale segments of the energy industry in isolation, which can be misleading in the assessment of vertical integration. It also considered new entries to the sector as a sign of competitive strength when many were due to favourable government policies in the form of exemptions from various obligations. Second, its conclusion that a position of unilateral market power by the large energy companies arises from weak customer engagement (i.e. low switching rates) shifts the focus and responsibility for the problems of the energy markets away from the conduct of the companies onto customers. Finally, the investigation placed an overemphasis on competition without due reference to its consequences for consumers’ welfare.

scholarly journals Virginia's Woody Biomass Market: Opportunities and Implications

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Conrad ◽  
M. Chad Bolding
Keyword(s):  
Forest Products ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Forest Products Industry ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Energy Companies ◽  
Conversion Technologies

Abstract Recent interest in producing energy from woody biomass has raised questions about the coexistence of wood-to-energy markets and the traditional forest products industry in Virginia. This study examined recent trends in the forest products industry and the wood-to-energy market, as well as the potential for competition between the two industries. Results indicate that the forest products industry has struggled recently, whereas wood-to-energy markets have expanded. Current opinion varies as to whether or not the wood-to-energy market will negatively affect the forest products industry. At present, 75% of Virginia's pulpmills are located within 50 miles of a wood-to-energy facility, and all pulpmills are within 75 miles. Recent trends in pulpwood prices, fuel chip prices, and Virginia law indicate that competition for raw material is unlikely in the short term. However, this research indicates that in the longer term, depending on government policies and technological progress in conversion technologies, competition between forest industry and wood-to-energy companies is possible.

The development of private pensions in Serbia: caught between a generic blueprint and an unconducive local environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola Altiparmakov ◽  
Gordana Matković
Keyword(s):  
Local Environment ◽  
Private Pension ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Burden Sharing ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Private Pensions ◽  
Regional Trends ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Market Coverage

Serbia is one of the rare eastern European countries that decisively dismissed the controversial pension privatisation agenda whereby mandatory private pension funds would be introduced to (partially) replace existing public pay-as-you-go (PAYG) benefits. Instead, Serbia opted for a more traditional western European approach, combining PAYG cost-containment parametric reforms with the introduction of tax-preferred supplementary private pensions. We explain that the desire for equitable intergenerational burden-sharing was one of the key factors behind the decision-making process that made Serbia diverge from regional trends and World Bank orthodoxy. Nonetheless, problems that have plagued mandatory private funds in neighbouring countries, such as excessive operating costs and undiversified portfolios, have also been prevalent in the Serbian voluntary private pension fund industry, which failed to achieve tangible labour market coverage and whose survival has been due mostly to exclusive tax privileges.

Determinants of Value Creation in Oil and Gas Firms: A Firm-Specific Comparative Study Using Panel Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-69
Author(s):  
B. Rajesh Kumar ◽  
K. S. Sujit
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Market Valuation ◽  
Share Price ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Oil And Gas Firms ◽  
Energy Companies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study examines the role of firm-level financial and operational characteristics in explaining the market valuation of oil and gas-based energy companies. Using panel data based on 82 major oil companies, the study explores the value drivers involved in value creation of integrated and independent oil companies. In other words, the study explores the impact of investment, financing, and dividend decisions on value creation in energy firms. The results suggest that stock market is skeptical about the risky capital expenditures undertaken by oil and gas firms. The study finds some evidence for signaling theory of debt financing, which suggests that the use of higher debt by energy companies is viewed positively by markets. Higher dividend payment is viewed negatively by markets. The enterprise value variable EVEBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) is positively related to share price with statistical significance. Higher profitability of oil firms leads to greater value creation for oil and gas-based firms. The higher the liquidity position, the greater the value enhancement of oil and gas firms would be. The study finds some evidence for the positive association of operating characteristics with market valuation of oil-based energy firms. Higher reserve replacement leads to higher valuation and is viewed positively by market analysts. This study aims to provide new insights into how financial and operational information relates to the market valuation of both independent and integrated oil companies. The identification of factors for value creation in stock market is critical for the design of effective policies for wealth creation. JEL classifications: G30, G31 Keywords: Market Valuation, Profitability, Reserve Replacement, Integrated Oil Companies

China-Iran energy focus may diminish as sanctions end

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Oil Refining ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
One Belt One Road ◽  
Oil Exports ◽  
Coastal Province ◽  
Grid Construction ◽  
Energy Companies

Subject China-Iran relations. Significance The first direct freight train travelled from China to Iran last month, making the 9,500-kilometre trip from China's coastal province of Zhejiang (near Shanghai) via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in 14 days -- 30 days shorter than the trip from Shanghai to southern Iran by sea. Iran is part of China's 'One Belt, One Road' trans-Eurasian infrastructure initiative, which featured among 17 agreements signed when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tehran in January to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, the first Chinese presidential visit in 14 years. Impacts Oil exports from Iran to China will rise and those from Saudi Arabia decline, unless Riyadh responds with better terms. Chinese NOCs with oilfields in Iran will raise production levels, assisting the growth of exports. Tehran may allow China's NOCs to return to suspended projects, but not to the exclusion of international oil companies. Chinese involvement will grow in oil refining, pipeline and power grid construction, and nuclear power. Iran's pursuit of cutting-edge technology will disadvantage Chinese energy companies vis-a-vis European competitors.

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