Energy

BP Withdrawing Some Staff From Libya

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:08 GMT

LONDON -- Oil company BP says it is temporarily withdrawing some nonessential and non-Libyan staff from its office in Libya's capital following similar action by Britain's Foreign Office.

David Nicholas, a BP spokesman, said the move is "a precautionary measure" on advice from the Foreign Office. He wouldn't say how many staff will be affected but stressed that the Tripoli office remains open.

The U.K. Foreign Office said Friday it was temporarily withdrawing some staff from its embassy in Tripoli in light of recent political unrest. ...

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Chesapeake Energy Director Resigns

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sat, 04 May 2013 13:18 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Friday that Thomas L. Ryan has been chosen to join the company's board of directors, taking the seat of Louis A. Simpson, who has resigned.

Ryan is president and chief executive of Service Corp. International , which operates a network of funeral homes and cemeteries.

Ryan will stand for election at the company's annual meeting of shareholders on June 14. He has already been appointed to the board's audit committee, replacing R. Brad Martin, who is becoming chair of the nominating, corporate governance and social responsibility committee. ...

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Energy Transfer Gains on ETP Holdco Deal

twocents@thestreet.com (The Deal) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:01 GMT

HOUSTON (The Deal) -- To simplify a structure that has confounded investors, Dallas oil and gas transportation, processing and storage provider Energy Transfer Partners LP said Thursday, March 21, it would buy the 60% stake in ETP Holdco Corp. it doesn't own from affiliate Energy Transfer Equity LP for $3.75 billion in cash and units.

Shares of Energy Transfer were rising 2% to $49.49 mid-day on Thursday.

The transaction includes $2.35 billion of newly issued ETP units and $1.4 billion in cash. ETE, which owns all of ETP's incentive distribution rights, agreed to forego IDR payments on the newly issued ETP units for the first eight quarters beginning with the quarter in which the closing of the transaction occurs. For eight quarters after that, ETE will collect only half of the IDR payments. The partnerships expect to complete the deal in the second quarter. ...

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Oil Stuck Under $96

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:33 GMT

By Pablo Gorondi

The price of oil hovered below $96 a barrel Monday, weighed by data released late last week, which showed that U.S. industrial production weakened and Europe remained mired in recession.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for March delivery was down 17 cents to $95.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.45 on Friday....

Transocean Stock Jumps After Admitting Criminal Charges in Gulf Oil Spill

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:53 GMT

Updated to include analyst comments from Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Rig maker Transocean has plead guilty to a misdemeanor criminal violation of the Clean Water Act and will pay $1.4 billion in fines to settle criminal and civil claims with the U.S. Department of Justice related to a 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which was the worst manmade environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Transocean's fine follows BP's $4.5 billion settlement with U.S. regulators, which also led to guilty pleas on 11 felony counts and manslaughter charges for two of the British oil giant's employees. ...

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Seeming Down and Out, Coal Has a Rich Future

twocents@thestreet.com (Roger Nusbaum) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:19 GMT

NEW YORK TheStreet -- Coal companies were one of the worst-performing industries in 2012. This can be tied to decreasing demand for coal in the U.S. thanks to cheaper and increasingly abundant natural gas. While domestic coal demand was down in 2012 and not likely to rebound in 2013, the coal story looks much different in other countries.

China has become the largest importer of coal with fellow emerging-market country Indonesia recently becoming the second-largest importer. While estimates for future, foreign demand vary widely, the International Energy Agency is calling for coal to "come close to surpassing oil" for the world's largest energy source by 2017.

These sorts of predictions are often subject to revisions and updates but it is clear that even if demand continues to decline in the U.S. there are many emerging markets where it will increase. ...

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Drilling for Energy Stocks to Buy

twocents@thestreet.com (Richard Suttmeier) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:12 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Nymex crude oil peaked at $100.42 per barrel on Sept. 14, which was the day after the FOMC announced QE3. Oil subsequently declined 15.9% to $84.05, into Nov. 7. On Dec. 12, the FOMC announced QE4. Since then, oil has moved sideways to up.

Analysis of Nymex Crude Oil ($87.72): On Dec. 14, I wrote FOMC QE4 Foolishness Pushes Stocks to Cliff Edge. In this post I projected that crude oil had upside potential to its 200-day simple moving average at $92.62. A daily close above the 50-day SMA at $87.63 would enhance this upside potential. A close this week above the five-week modified moving average at $87.79 shifts the weekly chart profile to positive. The chart support is the 200-week SMA at $84.27.

Fundamentally, ValuEngine shows the oils-energy sector 5.2% undervalued, with the oil & gas exploration & production industry 10.0% undervalued; the oil & gas field services industry 2.0% undervalued; oil & gas international integrated industry 10.5% undervalued; the oil & gas drilling industry 3.6% undervalued; the oil & gas machinery & equipment industry 5.1% overvalued; and the oil refining and marketing industry 7.2% overvalued....

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'Mad Money' Lightning Round: Get Out of Arch Coal, Buy EMC

twocents@thestreet.com (Margo Beller) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:00 GMT

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's what Jim Cramer had to say about some of the stocks callers offered up during the "Mad Money Lightning Round" on CNBC last night: EMC : This is one of the largest positions of my charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS. It has been a winner so buy, buy, buy." MFA Mortgage : "I'm getting nervous about mortgages. Be careful here." Microsoft : "This does not yield enough to intrigue me. It's in no-man's land and I don't like being in no-man's land." Arch Coal : "I'm an incredible bear on this stock. Get out of Arch Coal." Bank of America : This is not my favorite bank" despite the stock being inexpensive "but it will do well if we go over the fiscal cliff." To read a full recap of "Mad Money" on CNBC, click here.

To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. ...

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Freeport's Energy Deal: the Real Reason Behind It

twocents@thestreet.com (Jeff Nielson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:05 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- There were a number of points to examine regarding Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's $9 billion purchase of two energy companies. Sadly, it doesn't appear that the Corporate Media has latched on to any of them.

One report characterized the deal as:

... a bold bid to diversify into the U.S. energy sector as copper's prospects wane. ...

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TheStreet Ratings Top 10 Rating Changes

twocents@thestreet.com (Kevin Baker) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:02 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet Ratings) -- Every trading day TheStreet Ratings' stock model reviews the investment ratings on around 4,600 U.S. traded stocks for potential upgrades or downgrades based on the latest available financial results and trading activity.

TheStreet Ratings released rating changes on 50 U.S. common stocks for week ending December 7, 2012. 20 stocks were upgraded and 30 stocks were downgraded by our stock model.

Rating Change #10 ...

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TheStreet Ratings Top 10 Rating Changes

twocents@thestreet.com (Kevin Baker) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:15 GMT

TheStreet Ratings released rating changes on 88 U.S. common stocks for week ending November 16, 2012. 26 stocks were upgraded and 62 stocks were downgraded by our stock model.

Rating Change #10 ...

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Silver's Smoking Guns, Part 1: Mining Paradox

twocents@thestreet.com (Jeff Nielson) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:56 GMT

NEW YORK (Bullion Bulls Canada) -- When a reader and fellow silver-mining investor recently expressed his frustrations on our forum regarding absurd valuations, I decided it was once again time to try to shed some light (and sanity?) on the subject.

When I began investing in these silver miners many years ago, one of the first anomalies to which I was introduced was that the vast majority of silver produced in the world (more than 75% at that time) was produced as a "byproduct" of other mining. While I immediately recognized that this was an extremely important factoid, at that time I lacked the level of understanding necessary to glean its true significance.

Since that time, the ramifications of these incredible parameters in silver mining are now apparent to me. Sadly, however, this important analytical point does not seem to be as apparent to others. While I've covered this subject matter once already in a prior commentary, the lack of general awareness in this area clearly merits repetition of this analysis. ...

BP Gets Biggest Criminal Fine After Biggest U.S. Oil Spill

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:52 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- BP will pay the U.S. government $4.5 billion over a span of years to settle criminal claims against the British oil giant resulting from its April 2010 Macondo well oil spill, called the largest manmade environmental disaster in U.S. history.

In addition to what amounts to the largest-ever criminal settlement with federal authorities, BP said it will plead guilty to 11 felony counts and two of its employees will face criminal manslaughter charges for their role in the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"All of us at BP deeply regret the tragic loss of life caused by the Deepwater Horizon accident as well as the impact of the spill on the Gulf coast region," Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, said in a statement. " We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today's resolution with the U.S. government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions," he added. ...

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BP Near Settlement on Gulf Disaster: Hot Trends

twocents@thestreet.com (Brittany Umar) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:28 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include BP after the British oil company said it is getting closer to reaching a settlement with the U.S. over the Gulf of Mexico well explosion two years ago.

While BP said in a statement that no final agreement has been reached, the company said it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling claims from the disaster. According to BP, a settlement would not include civil claims under the Clean Water Act and other legislation.

In March, BP said it reached a separate settlement with more than 100,000 individuals and businesses affected by the explosion totaling an estimated $7.8 billion. ...

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Politics Is Overrated

twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 01:00 GMT

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...

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: China's Importance

twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:01 GMT

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- China is more important than we are, according to Jim Cramer. He told "Mad Money" viewers Thursday that positive news out of China was all it took to lift our slumping markets. ...

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Coal, Natural Gas and the Extremes

twocents@thestreet.com (Michael Gayed) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- On a weekly basis I usually put out a piece here on TheStreet.com called the "Extreme Movers Message" where I highlight those areas of the investable landscape exhibiting significant moves up and down relative to their respective moving averages.

My ability to screen for those areas this week is limited due to Hurricane Sandy, so I thought it might be worthwhile further exploring the conclusion I came to in last week's writing relating to coal and natural gas.

Coal has had a hard time performing well since the start of 2011, particularly as utility companies began switching to natural gas as those prices plummeted on a supply surge. As this has taken place, natural gas prices rallied on increased demand as an input to electricity production. ...

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Pause to Reflect

twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:01 GMT

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With the markets taking a rare pause thanks to Hurricane Sandy, Jim Cramer told his "Mad Money" TV show viewers Tuesday that he's had a chance to catch his breath in the middle of a busy earnings season to make some observations. ...

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TheStreet Ratings Top 10 Rating Changes

twocents@thestreet.com (Kevin Baker) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:18 GMT

TheStreet Ratings released rating changes on 88 U.S. common stocks for week ending October 26, 2012. 38 stocks were upgraded and 50 stocks were downgraded by our stock model.

Rating Change #10 ...

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Energy Stocks Face Their Own Fiscal Cliff

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:04 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- While the battle between Democrats and Republicans for the White House and Congress is very much up in the air, investors in the energy sector should prepare to fall off a fiscal cliff, regardless of how the vote unfolds in November.

Energy investors should prepare for integrated oil and gas giants -- and independent drillers -- to be constrained by high debts and spending levels, that may force CEO's to rein in exploration budgets sharply in 2013, impacting earnings across the sector.

Notably, as drillers try to extract what's been deemed a hundred year shale oil and gas resource, Chesapeake Energy has spent much of 2012 selling assets to meet a $14 billion cash crunch, in last-ditch financial moves that may speak to wider industry pressures as firms try to balance drilling budgets with earnings and debt levels. ...

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BP's $24B Sale Doesn't Mean a Russian Retreat

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:09 GMT

Updated to reflect Morgan Stanley, UBS analyst estimates.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Although BP is selling its stake in Russia's TNK-BP, in a deal that amounts to the British oil giant's largest ever asset sale, the company looks to be doubling down on its investment in Russia's oil and gas resources where political squabbles have hindered previous efforts.

On Monday, BP said it will sell its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft for $17.1 billion in cash and a share stake in the Russian driller worth $7.13 billion, as of Oct. 18. BP will then use $4.8 billion of the cash to build its stake in Rosneft to 19.75%. ...

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BP Backs Deal to Swap TNK-BP for Rosneft Stake

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 17:08 GMT

By Raphael Satter

LONDON -- The board of U.K. energy company BP PLC has struck a deal to swap its profitable but troublesome Russian oil venture TNK-BP for a big stake in Rosneft, the Kremlin-controlled energy company, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday.

The person said that the sale of BP's half of TNK-BP was expected to net the company between $10 to $15 billion in cash as well as a 15% to 20% stake in Rosneft, Russia's largest producer of oil. ...

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Don't Count Out Manufacturing

twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:04 GMT

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- In a special show taped on location at a Timken Steel factory in Canton, Ohio, Jim Cramer reminded his "Mad Money" viewers that American manufacturing is alive and well and should be a part of every investor's portfolio. ...

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ICE Beating CME as Energy Swaps Hub: Analyst

twocents@thestreet.com (Dan Freed) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:06 GMT

Updated to include comment from CME Group spokesman.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- IntercontinentalExchange shares received an upgrade to "Buy" Monday from BGB Securities analyst Faye Elliott, who argues the exchange's speed in adapting to new regulations and energy price volatility will lead to more trading and increased profits for the energy derivatives exchange.

Elliott raised her price to earnings multiple "to reflect lower exposure to regulatory risk as well as support for shares accorded by company initiatives and supply constraint concerns," according to her note. She also raised her price target to $150 from $145, compared to Friday's closing price of $129.74. ICE shares were down 0.59% to $128.98 roughly two hours after Monday's open. ...

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TheStreet Ratings Top 10 Rating Changes

twocents@thestreet.com (Kevin Baker) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:41 GMT

TheStreet Ratings released rating changes on 43 U.S. common stocks for week ending October 12, 2012. 27 stocks were upgraded and 16 stocks were downgraded by our stock model.

Rating Change #10 ...

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Citigroup Finds a Hitch in the Shale Trade

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Few expected that a shale drilling boom could push natural gas prices to near decade lows at $2 per million BTU's. But even fewer anticipated its quick 50%-plus rise from 2012 lows and investors now need to prepare for an impact on industrials and agricultural stocks, according to a Monday note from Citigroup.

Rising natural gas prices above $3.25 on the heels of a near 20% jump in the commodity's prices in September may provide a dent to the fourth quarter earnings of agricultural and industrials giants like CF Industries , Eastman Chemical , Dow Chemicals , LyondellBasell and Agrium , according to Citigroup.

The sudden surge in commodity prices may signal and end to decade low natural gas prices hit in early 2012 on a glut of supply from the explosion of shale drilling -- cutting at the margins of producers who use gas as a key input - and denting fourth quarter earnings by between roughly 5% and 10%, Citigroup calculates. ...

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Energy Basics Trump Obama/Romney Trade: Q&A WIth Blackstone's David Foley

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:12 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Meaningful discussion on energy policy during the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney took a back seat to a seemingly endless schooling on taxes, the national debt and the budget deficit.

For energy investors who are looking to invest billions in the sector in coming years, that may be the point.

In late September, TheStreet spoke to David Foley, the head of private equity giant Blackstone's energy unit - called Blackstone Energy Partners - about how he's looking to invest in the sector given what appears to a big divide between Democrats and Republicans on key issues like regulation, subsidies and how to develop oil, gas and renewable energy resources over the long-term. ...

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5 Energy Questions for President Obama

twocents@thestreet.com (Eric Rosenbaum) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:28 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With a focus on jobs and the economy, Americans may see energy as being subservient to these larger aims. Even President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who meet in their first debate tonight, often couch their discussion of energy in terms of job creation and economic strength.

Yes, oil and gas creates jobs and spurs the economy, and the shale boom can help America reach the ever-elusive goal of energy independence. Beyond the usual rhetoric, though, there is the nuance and detail that politicians just loathe to get in to when the timer is running and America is watching. Energy is a complicated business, and sound bites help no one when it comes to energy policy.

With that in mind, here are five questions about energy policy for Obama to answer. ...

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5 Energy Questions for Mitt Romney

twocents@thestreet.com (Eric Rosenbaum) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:26 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The U.S. is set to become the Middle East of the 21st century, proclaimed a Citigroup report earlier this year. And that's, more or less, Mitt Romney's platform when it comes to energy.

The shale boom and the revolution in drilling technology mean that if there there's a will -- and a hands-off federal government, as far as the Republican Party has it -- there's a way in making America energy independent. In fact, Romney says we can accomplish the task in eight years. He's not the first American politician to set the ambitious goal of energy independence, though all who have come before him have failed. Yet, thanks to the shale boom, the goal is ever more in reach, or at least, within reason. It also leads to some important energy policy questions that haven't received enough focus amid the sound bites over creating jobs through oil and gas and getting away from "our addiction to Middle East oil."

With that in mind, here are five questions for Mitt Romney to answer about the implications of trying to make America energy independent in eight years. ...

Jana Partners: Agrium Breakup Is Shale Boom Bet

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:30 GMT

(Agrium, Jana Partners story, updated with Agrium comment)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Jana Partners, a hedge fund with an activist investing bent, is adding to its bet on a shale drilling boom and its case for a breakup of fertilizer giant Agrium in the same breath.

Jana disclosed a $500 million-plus investment in Agrium in mid-August and said in a letter to the Calgary-based company's board that it should consider splitting its retail business from a much larger wholesale business, unlocking hidden value in the conglomerate. ...

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