Oil companies pressing on with further cost cutting

Singapore

OIL companies may have claimed they have trimmed their per-barrel-costs to US$30s, but they are still going for deeper cuts despite signs of an oil price rebound of late.

This key takeaway from Offshore Technology Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur last week flies in the face of the recent exuberance in the offshore & marine equity market which was responding to improving oil prices.

Going by the mood at the industry event, no one is ready to pop the champagne as yet over any hopes of oil prices climbing further after hitting the US$40s.

The prolonged oil price rout since late 2014 has already forced cuts even at the national oil companies (NOCs), whi…