BP (BP) (HNR) (RRC) (WTI) Close Up as Oil, Gas Continue to Rise

Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR), Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) and BP (NYSE:BP) closed up Thursday as oil and gas prices continue to move up.

Crude oil prices climbed above $112 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday while the U.S. dollar was up after three days of faltering.

The dollar index jumped 0.14 percent to 74.10, making up a little lost ground.

May delivery crude oil rose 80 cents in New York to $112.25 a barrel. Home heating oil fell 1.85 cents to $3.2174 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline was up 2.93 cents to $3.2777 a gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 11.3 cents to $4.423 per million British thermal units.

According to the AAA, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.848 a gallon Friday from Thursday's $3.84.

BP closed Thursday at $46.03, gaining $0.12, or 0.26 percent. W&T Offshore ended the day at $22.76, rising $0.01, or 0.04 percent. Range Resources closed at $54.21, jumping $1.26, or 2.38 percent. Harvest Natural Resources closed the session at $14.53, up $0.04, or 0.28 percent.

Chevron (CVX) (CRZO) (CHK) (COP) Close Up as Oil Prices Explode

Shares of Carrizo Oil & Gas (Nasdaq:CRZO) Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) Chevron (NYSE:CVX) ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) closed up on Wednesday as oil prices surged in response to news oil inventories unexpectedly dropped.

Oil prices exploded on Wednesday to roar above the $111 a barrel mark, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced oil inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels for the week ending April 15.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery for West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.17 or 2.93 percent to reach $111.45 a barrel.

The weakness of the U.S. dollar helped boost a number of commodities, including oil, as the U.S. dollar index dropped 0.91 on Wednesday.

Home heating oil prices increased 6.29 cents to $3.2214 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 4.42 cents to $3.2773 a gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices jumped 4.8 cents to $4.31 per million British thermal units.

The national average price of unleaded gasoline climbed to $3.837 a gallon Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $3.835, according to AAA.

ConocoPhillips closed Wednesday at $79.99, up $1.84, or 2.35 percent. Chevron closed at $107.81, gaining $2.41, or 2.29 percent. Petrohawk Chesapeake Energy Corp. ended the trading session at $32.21, rising $0.23, or 0.72 percent. Carrizo Oil & Gas closed at $37.08, jumping $0.82, or 2.26 percent.

BP (BP) (XOM) (APA) (DVN) Close Up as Oil Jumps Again

Questions as to the sustainability of high gasoline prices have been surfacing, but in America, it appears the higher prices aren't going away any time soon, and neither will higher oil prices, as BP (NYSE:BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Apache Corp (NYSE:APA) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) closed up on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $108.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday is the last trading day for that contract. Oil for June delivery climbed 59 cents to settle at $108.28 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil lost 2.43 cents to settle at $3.1585 a gallon and gasoline futures fell 1.97 cents to settle at $3.2331 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.4 cents to settle at $4.262 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude fell 28 cents to settle at $121.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

BP closed Tuesday at $44.68, gaining $0.21, or 0.47 percent. Devon Energy ended the day at $86.97, rising $0.78, or 0.90. Apache Corp. closed at $121.99, jumping $1.11, or 0.92 percent. Exxon Mobil closed the session at $83.80, up $0.70, or 0.84 percent.

Apache (APA) (RIG) (CAM) (MRO) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

With anticipation the demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, as Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Apache Corp (NYSE:APA), Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) and Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector was under pressure.

Crude-oil futures dropped Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery fell $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Marathon Oil closed Monday at $51.09, down $0.24, or 0.47 percent. Cameron International ended the day at $53.11, falling $0.24, or 0.45 percent. Apache Corp. closed at $120.93, dropping $1.47, or 1.20 percent. Transocean closed at $74.17, losing $1.41, or 1.87 percent.

Hess (HES) (NOG) (PBR) (HK) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES), Northern Oil and Gas (Amex:NOG), Petrohawk Energy Corp. (NYSE:HK) and Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures dropped Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery fell $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Hess Corporation closed Monday at $77.21, down $1.67, or 2.12 percent. Northern Oil and Gas ended the day at $22.10, falling $1.26, or 5.39 percent. Petrohawk Energy Corp. closed at $26.00, dropping $0.31, or 1.18 percent. Petrobras closed at $36.33, losing $1.48, or 3.91 percent.

BP (BP) (APC) (COP) (XOM) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions that demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, shares of companies like BP (NYSE:BP), Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Conoco (NYSE:COP) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures were down Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Exxon Mobil closed at $83.10, down $1.19, or 1.41 percent. Anadarko ended the day at $77.38, falling $3.04, or 3.78 percent. ConocoPhillips closed at $77.61, dropping $1.51, or 1.91 percent. BP closed at $44.47, losing $0.49, or 1.09 percent.

Shell (RDS-A) (RRC) (CHK) (CVX) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures were down Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) closed Monday at $104.50, down $1.74, or 1.64 percent. Shell ended the day at $71.22, falling $1.64, or 2.25 percent. Chesapeake Energy closed at $31.98, dropping $0.75, or 2.29 percent. Range Resources closed at $52.57, losing $0.68, or 1.28 percent.

Chesapeake (CHK) Acquires Bronco (BRNC) for $316 Million

Shares of Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ:BRNC) were up above 6 percent in trading today on the news Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) bid $316.8 million to acquire the company in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition will add a minimum of 22 onshore oil rigs to Chesapeake, boosting its oil production as it waits for natural gas prices to rebound.

Chesapeake Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon said his goal is to expand the company's oilfield services business as a way to control costs on the exploration and production side of the business.

Chesapeake will pay $11 a share for all of Bronco's outstanding stock, a 6 percent premium over Thursday's closing price.

The premium was unusually small, but the rigs Bronco operates are not newer ones, probably the reason for the lower bid, which values the rigs at about $13 million to $14 million each.

Chesapeake was trading at $32.73, up $0.08, or 0.25 percent, as of 1:55 PM EDT. Bronco was trading at $10.99, gaining $0.59, or 5.67 percent.

Berry (BRY) (ECA) (HK) (KOG) Rise as Oil Prices Continue Climb

Crude jumped above $108 a barrel Thursday, and oil and gas companies Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY), Encana Corp. (NYSE:ECA), Petrohawk Energy Corp. (NYSE:HK) and Kodiak Oil & Gas (Amex:KOG) climbed with it, as the U.S. dollar continues its collapse.

Crude for May delivery was up $1, or 0.9%, to $108.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gasoline settled lower, with the May contract down 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $3.23 a gallon. Gas at the wholesale level jumped 5.7 percent in March. Most of the price jump is being passed along to consumers, who are paying an average of $3.81 for a gallon.

Concerning natural gas, the Energy Information Administration said natural gas in storage added 28 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 8.

Analysts polled by Platts had expected an increase of 31 billion to 35 billion cubic feet.

Natural gas for May delivery increased 7 cents, or 1.7%, to $4.21 per million British thermal units. That was best settlement for natural gas since April 5.

Heating oil for May delivery dropped, down a penny, or 0.4%, to settle at $3.19 a gallon.

Kodiak Oil & Gas closed Thursday at $6.32, gaining $0.12, or 1.94 percent. Petrohawk Energy closed at $25.14, up $0.20, or 0.80 percent. Encana Corp. ended the session at $33.05, rising $0.09, or 0.27 percent. Berry Petroleum closed at $49.79, climbing $1.11, or 2.28 percent.

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) Putting Shale Asset Up for Sale

In an effort to raise capital to pay down its large debt, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) said they're putting their share natural gas field in Fayetteville, Arkansas up for sale, along with its stakes in a couple of companies.

Chesapeake started a shale gas buying binge which ended with them not having the capital to start drilling new wells and a heavy debt load, prompting the announcement of the sale.

Ongoing anemic natural gas prices have also hurt Chesapeake, as it has all companies with significant natural gas exposure at this time.

The two stakes they're looking to offload are Frac Tech Holdings LLC and Chaparral Energy.

Chesapeake has said they're going to focus more on oil and other liquids while natural gas prices remain depressed, which could be several years.

Chesapeake was trading at $31.79, gaining $1.73, or 5.76 percent, as of 12:30 PM EST.

What of Exxon (NYSE:XOM) When Natural Gas Prices Rise?

If people think ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) is generating significant revenue now (and they are), wait until natural gas prices start to rise, as in general, at this time the energy giant is subsidizing their natural gas strategy with oil profits.

The power of Exxon lies in its ability to continue to generate significant earnings from its oil assets, while at the same time building out its natural gas business with little or no discernible effect on the bottom line.

That's the beauty of their strategy. The truth is natural gas is weighing the company down, but it's performing so strongly it simply isn't a factor in its performance, as far as shareholders are concerned.

When you'll realize the effect of natural gas, is when Exxon maintains its oil earnings and natural gas starts to add to earnings in the future.

With Exxon having a market cap of $423 billion plus at this time, there can be no doubt they'll soar past the half trillion mark, and more, as natural gas becomes a viable source of earnings.

It's almost scary to think of the heights Exxon will reach with this powerful combination of energy.

Oil will continue to be a major source of energy for a long time, and prices will continue to rise, along with demand. Add to that rising natural gas demand and prices, and it's amazing to see the potential Exxon has for the future, even at the size it has grown to.

Exxon closed Tuesday at $83.91, gaining $3.23, or 4.00 percent.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) Will Continue to be Driven by Oil

The story of ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) is the story of oil at this time, even though some financial writers have attempted to assign natural gas as a big part of their last quarterly result.

Volumes of natural gas obviously increased for the energy giant, based primarily on their acquisition of XTO. That was a given, and not a surprise. The growth in natural gas, for the most part, wasn't organic for Exxon.

It's hard to tell how soon natural gas will play a big role in earnings for Exxon, as now it's more of a weight on the company. But if oil prices remain high and natural gas prices take off, the value of ExxonMobil will skyrocket, along with its share price.

This isn't going to happen quickly, but we will probably see Exxon move incrementally toward that as an operational reality.

As far as their last quarter, Jefferies commented on their performance, saying, "XOM reported excellent earnings, clean net income of US$9.25bn was a rise of 53% YoY, which at present is the best result of the global integrated majors in this reporting season. EPS of US$1.85 beat consensus by 16%. The key driver of the beat was the upstream, where XOM produced very impressive production growth of 19% on 4Q09. Although XTO accounted for most of this, the base portfolio also performed very well, with much of the 6% annual organic growth from its Qatar developments, which are now operating close to capacity. At our maintained price target of US$75, we calculate XOM would be on a PER of 11.0x, a 10% premium to the sector."

ExxonMobil was trading at $83.69, up $3.01, or 3.73 percent, as of 1:45 PM EST.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Prepared for Short-, Long-Term Growth

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has made some good moves, especially their move into natural gas via its acquisition of XTO Energy in 2010.

While their strong exposure to natural gas will weigh on the company for some time, the high price of oil is helping them overcome its exposure at this time.

In general, Exxon has the best of both worlds, as they're set for the short-term with oil, which will continue in high demand, and for the future which they believe will increasingly be dominated by natural gas.

Low prices of natural gas, as mentioned, has and does weigh on Exxon, but their strong performance in the last quarter because of high oil prices bodes well for them in their decision, as the oil prices not only help them to exceed earnings expectations, but also to limit the weakness related to natural gas.

In other words, they can continue to generate hefty profits while they those earnings subsidize their future natural gas play when prices inevitably rise.

For investors, it doesn't get much better than that for the type of safety that comes with Exxon.

Exxon Mobil said fourth-quarter profits surged 53%, the latest of its big oil competitors to report a big gain in earnings.

Exxon Mobil said earnings came to $9.25 billion, or $1.85 a share, compared to $6.05 billion, or $1.27 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $105.2 billion, compared to $89.8 billion in the same quarter last year.

Exxon closed Monday at $80.68, gaining $1.69, or 2.14 percent.

Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Marcellus Shale Results Exceed Expectations

Drilling results for Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) in the Marcellus Shale exceeded expectations says Ticonderoga, but gas prices will keep it from having any meaningful impact on the company in 2011.

Ticonderoga says, "While we have been expecting a strong reserve report from RRC on the back of improving drilling results in the Marcellus Shale, today’s release from the company show results in the Marcellus are better than expected...Our view is that, while we were expecting a relatively strong reserve report, it would be difficult for RRC to move to a premium to the group over the next two quarters given our bearish view on gas prices. Today’s results certainly suggest that RRC’s 2010 reserve growth will be considerably higher than many of its peers, but the impact on relative valuation is unclear. RRC’s proved reserves are still 80% gas weighted and will not benefit from any price improvement as our 2011 gas price outlook is unchanged from 2010. Meanwhile our oil price deck has moved from $80/bbl to $90/bbl, meaning oil weighted E&P’s with strong reserve growth could see a stronger move in NAV."

Ticonderoga reiterates a "Neutral" rating on Range Resources (RRC), which closed Tuesday at $46.54, down $0.18, or 0.39 percent.

Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX) PT Lowered on Natural Gas Revision

UBS (NYSE:UBS) lowered their price target on Consol Energy, (NYSE:CNX), citing revisions in the forecast concerning natural gas.

UBS said, "We are lowering our 2011-14 NYMEX natgas price forecast to $4.60/MMBtu, $5.00/MMBtu, $5.50/MMBtu, and $6.00/MMBtu, down from $5.00/MMBtu, $5.50/MMBtu, $6.00/MMBtu, and $6.50/MMBtu...Due to the NatGas forecast revision, we are lowering our 2010, 2011, & 2012 EPS estimates to $2.39, $3.47, and $5.35 from $2.47, $3.64, and $5.63, respectively."

UBS maintains a "Buy" rating on Consol Energy, which was trading at $44.06, up $0.05, or 0.11 percent, as of 11:50 AM EST. The price target on Consol was lowered by UBS from $67 to $65.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Changes Ratings on Plains (NYSE:PXP), Consol (NYSE:CNX), Apache (NYSE:APA), Newfield (NYSE:NFX)

After the outlook for oil turned more bullish today, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) responded by either making ratings changes to Plains Exploration (NYSE:PXP), Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX), Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) and Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX).

Reasoning behind the changes, according to Goldman, was probable upside for oil prices, lower natural gas prices, and higher value for M&A potential within the Goldman model.

They added Apache Corp. to its "Conviction Buy" list, while removing Newfield Exploration. Apache was added because of their strong exposure to the Permian Basin.

Plains Exploration was upgraded from "Neutral" to "Buy," and added to the "Conviction Buy" list as well. Particularly noted was their exposure to Eagle Ford and Granite Wash. Possible assets sales in the Gulf of Mexico could also improve the valuation of the company.

Consol Energy was downgraded from "Buy" to "Sell," saying downside from "sustained low gas prices will outweigh potential upside from expected non-core met coal reserve sales...."

Plains was trading at $28.61, falling $0.05, or 0.17 percent at 2:31 PM EST. Goldman has a price target of $36 on them. Consol was at $43.97, gaining $2.01, or 4.79 percent. Goldman lowered their price target on them from $44 to $38. Apache soared to $111.13, rising by $3.49, or 3.24 percent. Newfield was up to $68.57, gaining $1.74, or 2.60 percent.