BP (BP) (APC) (COP) (XOM) (RDS-A) (HAL) (CVX) (MRO) Jumped Monday

BP (NYSE:BP), Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Conoco (NYSE:COP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Shell (NYSE:RDS-A), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) all closed up Monday on news consumer spending was slightly up.

Crude for October delivery climbed $1.90 to $87.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Aug. 17. Prices have dropped 4.5 percent this year.

Brent oil for October settlement jumped 52 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $111.88 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark traded at a premium of $24.61 to U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures, compared with a record $26.21 on Aug. 19.

Marathon closed at $26.41, gaining $0.52. or 2.01 percent. Chevron closed at $98.74, jumping $1.89, or 1.95 percent. Halliburton ended the session at $42.81, climbing $1.35, or 3.26 percent. Royal Dutch Shell closed at $65.33, rising $1.11, or 1.73 percent. Exxon closed at $74.12, increasing $1.48, or 2.04 percent. Conoco closed the day at $67.78, up $2.27, or 3.47 percent. Anadarko closed at $71.75, gaining $2.48, or 3.58 percent. BP closed at $39.25, rising $1.06, or 2.78 percent.

Conoco (COP) (DVN) (RIG) (WCAA) (GIS) Have Ratings Reiterated

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Devon Energy Co. (NYSE: DVN), Transocean (NYSE: RIG), WCA Waste Corp. (NASDAQ: WCAA) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) have ratings reiterated by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) maintains their "Hold" rating on ConocoPhillips (COP), which announced they're going to split the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Devon Energy Co. (DVN).

Duncan Williams reiterated a "Buy" rating on Transocean (RIG). They have a price target of $101.25 on the company.

Wunderlich reiterated its "Hold" rating on WCA Waste Corp. (WCAA).

Citigroup reiterated its "Buy" rating on shares of General Mills (GIS).

ConocoPhillips closed Thursday at $75.61, gaining $1.21, or 1.63 percent. Devon Energy closed at $77.90, falling $0.40, or 0.51 percent. Transocean ended the day at $60.56, dropping $0.07, or 0.12 percent. WCA Waste Corp. closed at $5.67, down $0.12, or 2.07 percent. General Mills closed at $37.36, rising $0.48, or 1.30 percent.

Conoco (COP) (XOM) (RDS-A) (HAL) (CVX) Trading Mixed

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Shell (NYSE:RDS-A), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) were trading mixed today as oil prices were trading down in the session.

Crude-oil futures were trading down $0.79 to $97.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U. S. crude oil prices also gained some back from earlier losses spurred by comments from the German Bundesbank, which said growth in Europe's largest economy will probably slow down.

Chevron (CVX) was trading at $103.43, falling $0.44, or 0.42 percent, as of 1:51 PM EDT. Halliburton (HAL) was at $47.35, gaining $0.45, or 0.96 percent. Shell (RDS-A) was trading at $70.00, down $0.63, or 0.89 percent. Exxon Mobil (XOM) was at $82.04, losing $0.29, or 0.35 percent. Conoco (COP) was trading at $72.88, up $0.18, or 0.25 percent.

Petrobras (PBR) (CRK) (ECA) (XOM) (COP) Trade Mixed as Energy Falls

Shares of Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK), Encana Corp. (NYSE:ECA), Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Conoco (NYSE:COP) traded mixed on Thursday as oil and gas were down on the day.

After the International Energy Agency expressed concerns about the effects of higher oil and gasoline prices on the global economy, oil fell in Thursday trading.

Benchmark crude for June delivery fell $1.63 to settle at $98.93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

June, heating oil fell 1.12 cents to settle at $2.8947 a gallon, gasoline dropped 2.95 cents to $2.926 a gallon and natural gas fell 10.5 cents to $4.161 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Petrobras (PBR) closed Thursday at $33.69, falling $0.57, or 1.66 percent.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) (FTK) (BHI) (LUFK) (COP) Trade Positive as Oil, Gas Rise

Crude oil, natural gas and gasoline prices jumped Tuesday, pushing up the share prices of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK), Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), Lufkin Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUFK) and Conoco (NYSE:COP).

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.33 to settle at $103.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Heating oil jumped 3.94 cents to settle at $3.0012 a gallon. Gasoline futures climbed 10.13 cents to settle at $3.3797 a gallon, while natural gas for June delivery increased 8.7 cents to settle at $4.303 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Uncertainty remains as to the effects of the flooding along the Mississippi River could have on regional refinery operations, which could slow down gasoline production and put upward pressure on prices.

ConocoPhillips (COP) closed at $74.60, up $0.88, or 1.19 percent.

Berry (BRY) (PXP) (LINE) (OIS) (COP) Trade Up as Oil Prices Rebound

Most oil and related companies performed strong Monday, as Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY), Plains Exploration & Production (NYSE:PXP), Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ:LINE), Oil States Intl., Inc. (NYSE:OIS) and Conoco (NYSE:COP) traded mixed as the price of oil rebounded.

Gastar was the only one of the list above to close down Monday.

Crude oil for June delivery climbed $5.37 to settle at $102.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the largest one-day boost since February 22.

Brent crude for June settlement jumped $6.77, or 6.2 percent, to $115.90 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Wholesale gasoline prices soared 5 percent on Monday to $3.20 a gallon on fears that refineries in Mississippi may have to shut down because of the Mississippi River flooding.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline Monday fell by a penny to $3.96, according to AAA.

Immediate delivery futures of Texas crude oil rose $5.53 to $102.71 a barrel. Natural gas was up 0.06 cents to $4.17 per mbtu, while gasoline prices fell 20.17 cents to 329.18 cents a gallon.

Berry Petroleum (BRY) closed Monday at $49.02, climbing $1.67, or 3.53 percent.

Devon (DVN) (UPL) (TAT) (BHI) (COP) Close Mixed as Oil, Gas Rise

Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL), TransAtlantic Petroleum (NYSE:TAT), Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Conoco (NYSE:COP) closed mixed as oil, gasoline and natural gas moved up in price Thursday.

Oil settled higher in volatile trading Thursday, pushed up by a collapsing U.S. dollar. After soaring to close to $114 a barrel, West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 10 cents, at $112.86, in futures trading in New York.

Brent North Sea crude oil fell 11 cents to settle at $125.02 a barrel on the Ice Futures exchange.

In futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas climbed 15.7 cents to settle at $4.63 per million British thermal units.

Gasoline for May delivery jumped 1.04 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $3.4298 a gallon, the highest settlement since July 14, 2008. Futures have risen 47 percent in the past year.

The Dollar Index fell to the lowest level since July 31, 2008. The index was down 0.5 percent to 73.139, its eighth straight daily decline.

ConocoPhillips (COP) Pleas on High Taxes, Warns on Low Flow

As with most things the government enters into when it attempts to extract capital from productive companies, there are always unintended consequences, and that's the case when Alaska imposed higher taxes on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) under "Alaska's Clear and Equitable System", or ACES, which was put in place under then-Governor Sarah Palin at the time.

According to ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, because of its 'escalator' mechanism, that increases rates as oil prices rise, Alaska has the highest oil-production taxes among all OECD nations.

"As a result, Alaska is not attracting as much investment as it should during periods of high oil prices. And that's unfortunate. In fact, it's downright sad," Mulva added. "No other state's production has declined more than Alaska's."

Also noted by Mulva was the consequences of lower oil flow through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System because of lower production from too-high taxes.

Oil flow through the aging line is now under a third of the peak levels of 2 million barrels a day in 1988 and falling at a rate of about 6 percent a year, meaning the remaining oil flow could soon diminish to a point where the system can no longer function, according to Mulva.

"TAPS faces new challenges with less oil flowing through the pipeline," Mulva said. "When it starts getting down to 300,000 and 400,000 (barrels per day), there are serious technical issues of its ability to flow. We're reaching that in the next several years."

ConocoPhillips closed Thursday at $80.40, falling $0.03, or 0.04 percent.

ConocoPhillips (COP) EPS, PT Raised by Jefferies (JEF)

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has been moving up steadily over the last year, and Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) continues to like what it sees, raising the price target and EPS estimate on the company.

Jefferies increased its price target to $87.50. That new target suggests an upside of over 11 percent against the stock’s Thursday closing price.

Specifically noted by Jefferies was ConocoPhillips potential increase in profits from the divestation of some of its downstream assets.

Jefferies reiterated its “Buy” rating on COP, which closed Thursday at $79.70, gaining $1.16, or 1.48 percent.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) Stops Trading with Libya

Although Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) jumped out of the blocks today, soaring in earlier trading, it has pulled back in the red, as news they have stopped trading crude oil with Libya, in accordance with sanctions from the U.S.

Also reducing or totally scrapping Libyan business are Marathon (NYSE:MRO) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).

Over the longer term the oil companies should continue to push up in price, as long as crude prices continue their upward climb.

Exxon was trading at $84.91, down $0.17, or 0.20 percent, as of 1:50 PM EST. Marathon was at $51.09, falling $0.57, or 1.10 percent. ConocoPhillips was trading at $79.23, down $0.74, or 0.93 percent.

BP (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP) Capex in Alaska Level in 2011

BP (NYSE:BP) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) said their capex in Alaska will probably be level in 2011.

While there is a possibility ConocoPhillips could spend up to $170 million more than in 2010, spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said there were several contingencies connected to that, including a more favorable state tax structure.

ConocoPhillips has set aside $900 million for Alaska for potential spend.

BP spend approximately $800 million in Alaska in 2010, and said they plan on spending about the same in 2011.

The more business-friendly Republican Governor Sean Parnell has proposed cutting taxes on oil production in order to generate more investment in the state.

BP (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP) Capex in Alaska Level in 2011

BP (NYSE:BP) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) said their capex in Alaska will probably be level in 2011.

While there is a possibility ConocoPhillips could spend up to $170 million more than in 2010, spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said there were several contingencies connected to that, including a more favorable state tax structure.

ConocoPhillips has set aside $900 million for Alaska for potential spend.

BP spend approximately $800 million in Alaska in 2010, and said they plan on spending about the same in 2011.

The more business-friendly Republican Governor Sean Parnell has proposed cutting taxes on oil production in order to generate more investment in the state.

Noble Energy (NBL) Lands first Gulf Permit After BP (BP) Spill

Shares of oil driller like BP PLC (NYSE:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE:MRO), Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) jumped on the news Noble Corp. was awarded the first deepwater drilling permit since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Contrary to the assertions by the Obama administration, mounting pressure to drill for more oil in the Gulf of Mexico in light of the weak economic conditions and growing unrest in the Middle East played a big part in pushing the permit forward. More permits will be sure to follow as the administration socializes people into gradually accepting the reality.

The well Noble received a permit to drill on in is located in 6,500 feet of water, and which they had started to drill in April 2010, the same month the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

Drilling was suspended in June as a moratorium was imposed upon the Gulf by Obama.

ConocoPhillips (COP), Halliburton (HAL) Top Picks After Mideast Turmoil

Philip Weiss of Argus Research said his top picks in the sector in the midst of the turmoil in the Middle East are ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL).

While this week’s oil price spike above $100 a barrel and turmoil in the Middle East raises uncertainty about energy supplies, companies in the business of drilling and producing oil continue to fare well in the U.S., but refining operations may find themselves under pressure.

With political violence in Libya causing oil to move into the triple-digit range for the first time in three years, experts are predicting a long period of unrest throughout the region and challenges for parts of the energy sector.

Meanwhile, companies in the business of alternative energy said they noticed an uptick in interest from the financial community in recent days.

“If you have refining operations, it’s not so great,” said Philip Weiss of Argus Research, pointing out that raw material costs for making gasoline and other fuels will go up with the price of oil. “In general it’s harder for refiners to keep up with rapidly rising prices.”

He said oil service companies will benefit as higher oil prices make it more economically feasible to boost spending on exploration. Companies that specialize in producing oil will also fetch higher prices for their crude.




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ConocoPhillips (COP) Joined by Sinopec (SHI) in Aussie LNG Deal

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced Friday it will be joined by Sinopec (NYSE:SHI) in a liquefied natural gas venture in Australia, where they'll acquire a 15 percent stake in the project.

Also known as China Petrochemical Corp., they will purchase a stake in a venture dubbed Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd.

Before the deal ConocoPhillips was a 50/50 partner with Origin Energy in the project, with each dropping their stakes to 42.5 percent.

While financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, what was disclosed is Sinopec will take 4.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas from the project over a 20-year period.

After passing Australian environmental hurdles this week, ConocoPhillips said LNG shipments should begin in 2015.

NRG Energy (NRG) Acquiring Solar Projects Before Pullback

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG), which recently entered into a venture fund with ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE), has been scooping up solar projects from companies like First Solar Inc. (FSLR).

CEO David Crane says he sees demand for large solar projects shrinking over the next several years, and has been on an acquisition spree for those with over 20 megawatts in size and are more centralized before that happens.

NRG's most recent acquisition was a 290 megawatt project from First Solar.

Along with First Solar being an important source of revenue for NRG in the U.S., there's also SunPower Corp. (SPWRA), which its been increasing business with.

Concerning renewable energy generation, Crane said he sees solar having more upside than wind.

Choose Mosaic (MOS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), State Street (STT), Cummins (CMI), Alcoa (AA), Cameco (CCJ) if Unrest Wanes

If the current unrest in the Middle East begins to wane, Vadim Zlotnikov, a strategist at BernsteinResearch, says he would choose stocks like Mosaic (MOS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), State Street (STT), Cummins (CMI), Alcoa (AA) and Cameco (CCJ).

Assuming unrest continues, he would choose plays such as Chevron (CVX) and Conoco (COP), Bristol Myers (BMY), Sony (SNE) and DirecTV (DTV).

Big increases in the VIX, also known as the fear index, tend to weigh especially heavily on companies whose earnings prospects are tied closely to economic growth. These so-called procyclical stocks won't look like a good bet if the unrest in Libya intensifies and the New York price of oil soars to, say, $120 a barrel.

But Zlotnikov says he doesn't expect that to happen – which should be good news for the global economy and companies whose profits are strongly tied to global growth.

"While potential for spread of unrest to other major oil producing countries is clearly possible, this is not our base case as governments of oil-producing countries will seek to mitigate unrest through wage and other concessions," he writes. "Under the scenario of sustainable $100 oil during 2011, the adverse economic impact should be contained and a 'normal' decline in VIX should ensue during the next couple of weeks."




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Invest in ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP) if Looking Long Term Energy

Companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) will be better oil plays over the long-term than energy ETFs.

Are you ready for $4 gasoline? With the conflict in Libya and across the Middle East, you need to get ready -- and while the right investments could help you make money from rising energy costs, the wrong ones could leave you wondering what went wrong.

Oil prices are back at $100 per barrel, bringing back memories of the commodities boom that pushed oil almost to the $150 mark back in 2008. Many analysts believe the move up for oil may just be getting started. Yet if you want to profit from these big price moves -- and the potentially bigger ones that the future may bring -- you need to pick the best investments for the job. Unfortunately, some investment vehicles that seem like they should be ideal for the task have disappointed investors who didn't understand their peculiar quirks.

Energy ETFs and you

When exchange-traded funds first came out, they focused entirely on stocks. Even once sector ETFs became available, they still concentrated on the stocks within a particular industry.

That works perfectly fine for stock investors, and even as interest in commodities like oil grew, you could always buy ETFs that owned energy stocks. As long as the stocks traded roughly in line with oil prices, you could expect your energy stock ETF to go up when oil prices went up. However, as the BP (NYSE:BP) crisis reminded investors recently, sometimes company-specific news trumps the impact of commodity prices on a stock.




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China in Cyber Attack on Exxon (XOM), Shell (RDS-A), BP Plc (BP), Marathon Oil (MRO), ConocoPhillips (COP)?

Computer hackers working through Internet servers in China broke into and stole proprietary information from the networks of six U.S. and European energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE:RDS-A) and BP Plc (NYSE:BP), according to one of the companies and investigators who declined to be identified.

McAfee Inc., a cyber-security firm, reported Feb. 10 that such attacks had resulted in the loss of “project-financing information with regard to oil and gas field bids and operations.” In its report, Santa Clara, California-based McAfee, assisted by other cyber-security firms, didn’t identify the energy companies targeted. The attacks, which it dubbed “Night Dragon,” originated “primarily in China” and occurred during the past three years.

The list of companies hit, none of which disclosed the attacks in filings with regulators, also includes Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE:MR), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI), according to the people who worked on or are familiar with the companies’ investigations and asked not to be identified because of the confidential nature of the matter.





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Why Marathon (NYSE:MRO), Hess (NYSE:HES), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Struggling in Strong Energy Environment

Some have been wondering why energy companies like Marathon (NYSE:MRO), Hess (NYSE:HES), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and ConocoPhilips (NYSE:COP) are struggling in an otherwise strong energy market.

The answer is simple: Exposure to Libya.

UBS (NYSE:UBS) says that Marathon Oil has about 12% of overall production coming out of Libya, Hess 6%, ConocoPhillips 3% and Occidental Petroleum 2%.

Even though UBS attempted to sooth the situation, noting that approximately 90 percent of Libyan oil revenue is taken through taxation and royalties, making the impact not as strong as thought.

That didn't impress investors though, who punished the companies because of the Libyan exposure they have.

It's possible that will keep the share prices of the companies under pressure until more clarity and stability emerges.