Petróleo

Os primeiros efeitos da forte queda recente no preço do petróleo já estão sendo sentidos no setor corporativo. Como podemos ver no artigo do WSJ de hoje (reproduzido abaixo), empresas do setor já trabalham para conservar seus balanços, cortando investimentos e reduzindo dividendos. Vale lembrar que o mercado de crédito corporativo já apresentou piora considerável nos últimos meses, em grande parte puxado pelas expectativas mais negativas do setor de energia. O Fed ainda vê a queda no preço do petróleo como positiva, já que  efeito "renda" para a população é maior do que a queda de investimentos no setor, que constitui parcela pequena da economia. Obviamente, uma queda adicional e acentuada de preço, certamente poderá trazer impactos negativos e contágio para outros mercados, com a Rússia ainda se mostrando o "ponto fraco" desta equação, e um forte candidato a canal condutor de contágio aos demais ativos de risco. Em suma, novas rodadas de queda no preço do petróleo devem ser acompanhadas atentamente, pois podem trazer efeitos negativos para os mercados financeiros globais.

Linn, Breitburn Slash Dividends, Capital Spending Plans

Energy Partnerships Act to Conserve Cash in Wake of Plunging Oil Prices

Linn Energy LLC and Breitburn Energy Partners LP  , the two largest U.S. energy producers by revenue operating as partnerships, slashed shareholder payouts and capital spending in moves that could pressure rivals to take similar steps.

Houston-based Linn’s aggressive maneuvers to shore up its balance sheet Friday marked the first time it has cut its payout since going public in 2006. Breitburn followed suit with a 50% cut. It temporarily suspended its payout in 2009. By curtailing cash payments to shareholders, the drillers can raise money more cheaply and could have an advantage in making acquisitions, said industry executives.

Linn is the largest energy producer set up to pay available cash to shareholders and avoid corporate taxes. On a day that crude oil prices sunk to $52.69 a barrel, the lowest level in more than five years, investors sent Linn’s stock up 12%. Breitburn shares rose 9% and rival partnership Vanguard Natural Resources LLC , which didn’t announce cuts, gained 11.6%.

Linn cut its dividend-like payment to $1.25 a share for 2015, down from $2.90 a share last year, to weather oil prices it expects to hover around $60 a barrel. The company also said it would spend $730 million to drill new wells this year, down 53% from last year.

The cuts quelled uncertainty about how Linn could keep up its payouts, which some analysts said weren’t sustainable without piling on more debt. Its shares fell 69% in the last six months of 2014. Lower payouts will save the company about $550 million this year based on shares outstanding as of Sept. 30.

But the shareholder payouts have become harder to sustain as crude prices recently plunged 50% from their summer peak and natural-gas prices sunk to their lowest levels in two years. Linn, Breitburn and Vanguard have been hit harder than traditional energy companies as investors anticipated cuts to the payouts that made their shares attractive.Linn has led energy producers set up to pay available cash to their shareholders, commonly structured as master limited partnerships. It posted about $2.8 billion in revenue through the first nine months of 2014.

Even before oil prices fell, Linn early last year drew on its credit line to pay shareholders.

While the market reaction won’t influence Vanguard’s decision whether to cut its payouts, Mr. Robert said it is reassuring. “Should that ultimately be the prudent thing for us to do, at least you sleep a little better at night,” he said.“They’re doing something drastic now in order to fight another day,” Richard Robert, Vanguard’s finance chief said of Linn, calling the move “prudent.”

Linn also disclosed a deal with GSO Capital Partners LP, the credit arm of Blackstone Group LP, which will provide up to $500 million for drilling in exchange for an 85% stake in the profits. After GSO makes a 15% return on the wells, its interest will decline to 5% and Linn will reap 95% of profits.

Linn touted the deal as an inexpensive way of adding new oil and gas production, and said it was looking for another such deal to help pay for acquisitions.

Energy-producing partnerships favor buying known oil fields over the riskier business of prospecting for new ones. By hedging oil and gas output, they can mitigate price swings and make steady payouts to investors. Linn projects its hedges will cover about 70% of this year’s oil production.

—Alison Sider contributed to this article.

Write to Daniel Gilbert at daniel.gilbert@wsj.com