Look at (PXD) (NFX) (SWN) (END) in Shale Natural Gas

Talking the potential of natural gas in shale, Rehan Rashid, energy and natural resources analyst for FBR Capital Markets, said some of the companies he likes include Endeavour International Corporation (NYSE:END), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) and Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN).

There is no doubt whatsoever that natural gas will become a huge source of energy in the United States, as it's only a question of when, not if, it becomes a major player.

Holding it back now is the extreme abundance of the resource, as new sources around the U.S. have been discovered recently, pushing down the price of the energy source, making it uneconomical at this time to produce in large quantities.

There are of course a number of other companies in the sector, but investors need to look closely and perform due diligence, as this could be one of the buys of the decade, and possibly century, as we may never see prices this low again for decades, once natural gas prices take off.

BHP (BHP) Acquires Chesapeake Energy's (CHK) Shale Gas Interests for $4.75 Billion

Global mining giant BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has agreed to buy shale gas interests from Chesapeake Energy Corp (NYSE:CHK) for $4.75 billion in its first move into shale gas as it looks to beef up its oil and gas business.

In BHP's first big acquisition since a string of failed deals, the global miner said it was buying Chesapeake's holdings in Arkansas' Fayetteville shale natural gas field.

"BHP have had four multi-billion deals which have tipped over so the market should be pleased that this is one that is going to go through and it is a change of direction in terms of looking at their petroleum division," said Ric Ronge, portfolio manager at Pengana Capital.

BHP shares jumped more than 3 percent in early Sydney trade on news of the deal, which the company will fund from its substantial cash reserves.

BHP's acquisitions strategy has shifted focus to its petroleum division after regulatory and political obstacles dashed its $39 billion takeover bid for fertilizer maker Potash Corp and an iron ore joint venture with Rio Tinto .




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Bank of America (BAC) Overseeing Nexen (NXY) Shale Gas Partner Search

Nexen (NYSE:NXY) has enlisted Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to help them search for a joint venture partner for its Horn River, Cordova and Liard projects in British Columbia.

while natural gas prices are subdued now, Nexen, along with others, are positioning themselves for when the inevitable price rebound begins, as gas prices appear to have bottomed out; although they could remain level for some time.

CEO Marvin Romanow said, "We anticipate that the process could take anywhere from being completed this summer to being completed late in the year."

The Horn River and Cordova properties have an estimated range of 5-14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, while the Liard Basin could even have more reserves.

A deal could be for one or any combination of the three, said Romanow.

Nexen was trading in New York at $24.43, down $0.17, or 0.70 percent, as of 1:28 PM EST.

Exxon (NYSE:XOM) Planning Sale of Polish Shale Gas Assets

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has plans to sell 49 percent of its stake in four Polish shale gas concessions, according to divestiture advisory firm IndigoPool, located in the Podlasie Basin in southeast of the country.

Once they divest of the 49 percent interest in the shale, they will continue on as operator of the fields.

Exxon, which also has shale acreage in Germany, is working with the European Union on shrinking their dependence on gas from Russia.

On February 16 an online data room will be opened on the website of IndigoPool.

Exxon closed Thursday at $83.20, gaining $0.65, or 0.79 percent.