Crude Oil
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Marcellus Explosion-BP Spill: Both Involved This Faulty $7 Piece of Plastic
Sometimes the very smallest part of a complicated piece of equipment can bring down the entire project. The part at issue here, a thin ring of rubberized plastic, costs about $7. Yet it may be responsible for forcing the U.S. to rethink its entire domestic energy strategy. Here's what happened. Clearfield County is a rural [...] -
Free Report: Prepare for Washington's "Heavy Hand," Thanks to BP
BP (NYSE: BP) has guaranteed that the drilling environment in the U.S. will undergo significant change. There will be government overreaction, but leaving the production of new crude oil to the whims of company bottom lines is no longer an option. Some of what is coming will require intense ongoing negotiations. That the increasingly heavy [...]
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Oil Sector Expert Kent Moors Sees Tough Times, Stricter Regs For BP After Oil Spill
Energy expert Dr. Kent Moors is angry. And the main target for that anger is BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP).
At its core, the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill is a human tragedy: 11 workers were killed, others were injured and now many Gulf Coast residents will end up losing their homes and livelihoods.
But that's not all that has Dr. Moors seeing red: The accident that resulted from BP's incomprehensible risk-taking has killed an energy bill that could have set the U.S. economy on a course for energy freedom, and is going to summon the heavy hand of government in a way that will cost American consumers dearly while also keeping regular U.S. investors from reaping green.
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Two Energy Stocks For a Post-Oil-Spill World
With the failure of the BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP) "top kill" strategy, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill takes on a more serious hue, both for the Gulf of Mexico environment and for BP itself. If it indeed proves impossible to cap the oil flow before August, public anger against BP and against deep-sea drilling in general may put BP out of business and set deep-sea drilling around the United States back for years.
The business fallout from the oil spill could be widespread. As was true of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident of 1979, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could end up causing massive damage to companies that were in no way involved with the BP tragedy. Risks of different types of operation will be reassessed, new rules will be enacted, and the energy business will change radically.
Smart investors will anticipate these changes.
To discover two stocks poised to thrive in a post-oil-spill world, please read on... -
BP's Sharp Stock Drop Prompts Takeover Rumors as Gulf Oil Spill Disaster Spirals Out of Control
BP PLC's (NYSE ADR: BP) share price has plunged by more than one-third, as the company has struggled to contain the Gulf oil spill. Now, the company is being rumored as a takeover target as its stock has yet to find a floor.
BP shares have tumbled 36% since the company's leased drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20. The company has lost a third of its market value - $75 billion - stirring rumors that there could be acquisition interest. About $17 billion in losses came on Tuesday alone when the stock plunged 15%.
"There is a 10% to 20% chance of BP being taken over," Gudmund Halle Isfeldt, an analyst at DnB NOR ASA, told Bloomberg News. "The only real candidate, in size and with similar operations globally, would be Royal Dutch Shell [PLC (NYSE ADR: RDS.A, RDS.B)]."
BP's drastic market value loss could make it cheap enough to attract buyers, but some analysts say the total cost and implications of the spill are too vague to justify a commitment.
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Gulf Oil Spill Could Cost BP More Than Half its Net Income
As its engineers struggle to plug an underwater oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the total cost of the spill to BP PLC (NYSE ADR: BP) continues to mount, and might even threaten the financial stability of the company.
The total cost to BP to date has reached about $760 million, or $22 million a day, compared with an initial estimate of $6 million a day last month, the London- based oil company said. BP's net income in 2009 was $16.6 billion, or $45.4 million a day, in that time, according to separate data compiled by Bloomberg.
"The longer it takes, more costs are going to be incurred," Greg Smith, managing director of research firm Fat Prophets in London, told Bloomberg in a telephone interview yesterday (Monday).
The final bill, which may not be known for more than six months and will heavily depend on the outcome of pending litigation, may be as much as $10 billion, he said.
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What Insiders Don't Want You to Know About "Peak Oil"
Why did the oil industry impose a media blackout at a recent summit of industry giants in Mexico? The answer explains why thirsty nations are already pitted against each other in a cutthroat brawl for ever-dwindling oil supplies. Read this report to find out two ways to profit from the coming shortage of black gold.
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Occidental Petroleum Leads Onshore Oil Hunt as Offshore Drilling Faces Tighter Regulation
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) announced yesterday (Wednesday) it was doubling the capacity estimate for a California oil field discovery as U.S. offshore drilling restrictions fuel onshore interest.
The Los Angeles-based oil explorer has focused on onshore oil production for years and estimates its current discovery near Bakersfield, California holds up to 500 million barrels of oil, valuing it at more than $34 billion at current prices.
"There is a lot of new interest in onshore-production potential in the U.S. and Occidental is at the forefront of that," Brian Youngberg, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co., told Bloomberg.
Occidental, the fourth largest U.S. oil and gas producer, made the announcement at a meeting with investors and analysts Wednesday in New York. Chief Executive Officer Ray R. Irani detailed the company's long-term strategy for profitability.
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Full Cost of Gulf Oil Spill Just Beginning to Surface
As oil soiled the shores of Louisiana over the weekend, the costs of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are just beginning to surface.
The effects of the spill, which may prove to be bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, are proving to be widespread--and costly.
The oil threatens one of the world's richest fisheries, and could decimate entire species of wildlife and their habitat, while convincing the millions of tourists they attract to take their vacation dollars elsewhere.
