Energy
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PetroChina, Shell Target Australia's Arrow Energy
Oil companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE ADR: RDS.A) and PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE ADR: PTR) yesterday (Monday) made a joint offer for Australian energy producer Arrow Energy Ltd. in yet another demonstration of how China is turning Australia into its personal commodities broker.
The $3.4 billion (A$3.26 billion) deal would give shareholders A$4.45 per share - a 28% premium from Friday's share price - and a share in a new Arrow international-business entity for each current Arrow share.
Market reaction was favorable as Arrow's prices soared 47% Monday following the news, up to A$5.11 on the Australian stock exchange (ASX).
"It's an opportunistic bid and good for Arrow shareholders," Tim Schroeders, Pengana Capital portfolio manager, told CNBC.
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How to Profit from the Next Spike in Oil Prices
Earlier this week, British company Desire PLC (Pink Sheets: DSPMF) began drilling in an offshore block of the Falkland Islands. Immediately, Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner let loose with a howl of rage, and the Summit of Latin American and Caribbean Unity issued a protest against the British company's drilling operations.
Argentina's claim to the Falklands had remained dormant since the war 28 years ago, yet the moment the drill bit touched seabed the years rolled away. This showed yet again that oil remains salient to international politics and the world economy in a way shared by no other commodity. So how should investors play it?
For the best ways to profit from rising oil prices, read on...
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Saudi Arabia Shifts its Focus to China as the United States Falls Out of Favor
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, last year shipped more oil to China than it did the United States for the first time ever - a shift that highlights China's ascension to the ranks of the world's economic elite, as well as its position as the new focal point for the world's energy producers.
The flow of oil from Saudi Arabia to China rose to more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, just as demand in the United States fell below that level for the first time in more than two decades.
China in December alone imported a record-high 1.2 million bpd of Saudi oil, as its economy rode the momentum of Beijing's $585 billion (2 trillion yuan) stimulus package. U.S. imports of Saudi oil, on the other hand, fell to a 22-year low of 998,000 bpd in the first 11 months of 2009, as the world's largest oil consumer clawed its way back from its worst recession in 70 years.
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Schlumberger's Acquisition of Smith the Latest Evidence of a Takeover Trend
With global energy demand expected to surge over the next decade, straining production, it's no surprise that many of the sector's biggest players are racing to acquire competitors whose expertise will help them thrive in a more competitive environment. And Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) on Sunday became the latest energy giant to bring a competitor [...]
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How to Profit From the Geothermal Energy Push
Geothermal energy isn't a new concept in the United States.
It's actually been around for some time, with numerous geothermal power plants in California, Nevada and a few other western states. There are new plants on the drawing board, too. Unfortunately, the recession has stifled the construction progress on many of them.
But all that's about to change. Thanks to a few key technological developments - and a big cash infusion from the government - the stars are aligning to produce the perfect storm for this super-green energy source.
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Profit From the First Biofuel Winner – Before it Goes Public
Weeds are hardly my favorite flora. My hay fever doesn't like them and neither does my lawn. But a flax called camelina - needing little nitrogen and water - may just be the first big winner in renewable biofuels.
It is going to provide investors with a whole new way to play the renewable energy market. And its impact will be, quite literally, up in the air.
Anybody who flies has been feeling the pinch of exploding ticket prices. Having jetted over a quarter of a million miles in the last 18 months, I can attest to the connection between rising fuel prices and ticket hikes. And without a major change in how we source jet fuel, this problem will simply get worse - especially with ridership slowly returning as the crisis bottoms out.
Jet fuel is already imported in greater volume, and the refineries that can provide it reliably worldwide are limited. That's because refining puts jet fuel (which is really high-level kerosene) among the so-called "middle distillates" - along with diesel and low-sulfur heating oil. But prioritizing the need for high-octane gasoline ("light distillates") has taken up more of the available refinery capacity.
They're producing less diesel and jet fuel than the market requires, pushing up the price.
And jet biofuel may be an answer.
It's hardly theoretical.
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Wall Street Scrambles its "Contango Convoy" to Capitalize on Higher Oil Demand
A 26-mile-long line of idled oil tankers, enough to blockade the English Channel, are firing up their engines and jockeying for position in a race to cash in on the bone-chilling deep-freeze plaguing the North America, Europe, and Asia.
The supertankers, each of which can hold over 2 million barrels of oil, are steaming "all ahead full" to deliver their stores of crude, heating oil and other distillates to the United States.
Their clients - which include several huge Wall Street investment firms - are eager to unwind what's become known as the oil storage trade. -
Cold Snap Lighting a Fire Under Energy Complex and Agri-Commodities
A relentless surge of cold weather is slamming nearly every country in the Northern Hemisphere, disrupting travel, threatening crops and driving energy and commodity prices higher as investors look for ways to cash in.
In the United States, crude oil is trading near a 14-month high. Natural gas and heating oil prices have also surged, as the U.S. shivered under the onslaught of an arctic express that sent temperatures plummeting below zero across two-thirds of the country. Even Florida growers try to protect orange groves from overnight freezing temperatures.
The cold snap is one of the nation's most widespread since January 1985, according to meteorologists at Accuweather.com. While the cold is expected to ease slightly starting Thursday, this winter is on track to be one of the coldest in the past two decades, Ken Reeves, director of forecasting operations at Accuweather told The Wall Street Journal.
