Royal Dutch Shell

Article Index

Iraq's Energy Sector Is Moving Forward - With or Without the U.S.

By , Money Morning -

Iraq on Wednesday broke the record - 207 days - for the time between a parliamentary election and the formation of a government. But while Iraq's government is at a standstill, the country's energy sector remains dynamic and U.S. companies can't afford to wait for the political climate to thaw before diving in.

Iraq is slowly retaking the shape of one of the world's most prolific oil producers. Its reserves are actually 25% larger than previously thought.

"Iraq's oil reserves which are extractable are 143.1 billion barrels," Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, said earlier this week, basing his comments on data provided by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Read More…

Gasoline-Price Forecasting: What Sam the Gas Station Owner Knows That We Don't

By , Global Energy Strategist, Oil & Energy Investor • @KentMoors_OEI -

What started out as a routine fill-up at the service station that I frequent has turned into a solid gasoline-price-forecasting model that should spotlight the most-imminent profit opportunities.

Of course, it wouldn't have happened without Sam.

Sam runs a gasoline station 12 miles from my house, in a little, out-of-the-way, suburban town. We have formed a friendship, of sorts, through the years. He's one of the few people I run into on a regular basis who does not ask me where gasoline prices are headed.

He already knows.

To find out how Sam's pricing prescience can mean profits for you, please read on...

Shell Grabs Crucial Shale Gas Deposits With $4.7 Billion Deal

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE ADR: RDS.A, RDS.B) announced Friday it would pay $4.7 billion in cash for U.S.-based East Resources, Inc. to obtain a sizeable stake of "high-potential" North American shale gas acreage.

Shell, Europe's largest energy producer, gets 1.05 million acres of gas properties in the northeastern United States and Texas. About 650,000 acres gained in the acquisition are part of the crucial Marcellus Shale, a tight gas property with shale formations estimated to hold up to 262 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

The remaining acres are part of the Eagle Ford Shale area in South Texas. The deal brings Shell's total U.S. tight gas acreage up to 3.6 million acres.

"The opportunity now is to consolidate our tight gas portfolio, divest from non-core positions across North America, and to invest for profitable growth," Peter Voser, chief executive of Shell, told The New York Times.

Read More…

How to Profit from the New Iranian Sanction

By , Global Energy Strategist, Oil & Energy Investor • @KentMoors_OEI -

Growing up in Massachusetts, my mother used to say, "Live long enough, and you'll see just about anything happen in politics."

And she was right.

A wrestler, a standup comic, several movie actors, and former sports figures have been elected to office; tea parties are back as a way of challenging leadership; even a disgraced former governor makes it onto "Celebrity Apprentice."

But she never saw this one coming - a U.S. sanctions move against Iran that may actually work... and make you some money in the process.

Read More…

High Gas Prices Got You Down? Beat the Oil Industry at its Own Game...

By , Global Energy Strategist, Oil & Energy Investor • @KentMoors_OEI -

As the price of crude oil moves above $80 a barrel, consumers are wondering just how high gas prices can go.

Now is the time for such questions.

It's during the month of March that the market begins to readjust inventory and production in advance of the summer driving season. This usually means that production shifts from heating oil to gasoline.

Actually, the real issue is what refined products will be emphasized in the production process. To put it bluntly, U.S. refineries have insufficient capacity to handle all needs.

And that could make you some serious money.

To find out how you can profit from the oil market, read on...

To find out how you can profit from the oil market, read on...

BP Dives Into Brazil's Offshore Oil Industry With $7 Billion Deal

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

British oil giant BP PLC (NYSE: BP) has finally entered Brazil's vaunted deepwater oil market with a $7 billion purchase of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) assets. BP yesterday (Thursday) announced it would acquire some of Devon's interests in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico. BP also agreed to sell Devon a 50% stake […]

Read More…

PetroChina, Shell Target Australia's Arrow Energy

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

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.

Read More…

Ghana May Kill Exxon's $4 Billion Oil Deal

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

The government of Ghana may kill Exxon Mobile Corp.'s (NYSE: XOM) plans to buy a $4 billion stake in a giant offshore oil discovery from Kosmos Energy LLC. The move could help China expand its growing presence in the region through its state-owned oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp. (NYSE ADR: CEO).

Ghanaian Energy Minister Joe Oteng-Adjei sent a letter to Exxon last week informing the company that the government wouldn't approve the deal with Kosmos. The letter said the government is "unable to support an Exxon Mobil acquisition of Kosmos's Ghana assets," according to a copy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The government said Dallas-based Kosmos had shared critical information about the field with potential buyers without its permission. Ghana also said Kosmos had left Ghana's state-run oil company, Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC) out of discussions held to determine how the field should be developed.

Read More…

Wall Street Scrambles its "Contango Convoy" to Capitalize on Higher Oil Demand

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

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.

Read More…

If U.S. Oil Companies Aren't Winning Bids in Iraq, Who Is?

By , Money Morning -

Iraq has auctioned off more proven oil reserves in the past six months than are collectively held by the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

But U.S. oil companies have signed surprisingly few development contracts – and foreign rivals have swooped in to scoop up major deals.

Take last weekend, when Iraq wrapped up the biggest oil-field auction in history. Major new deals were announced by Europe's Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS.A , RDS.B), OAO Gazprom (OTC ADR: OGZPY), Lukoil (OTC ADR: LUKOY), China's China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas).

The U.S. oil majors – ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) – were nowhere to be seen.

Read More…

Investment News Briefs

By , Money Morning -

With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. Alcoa Earnings Rallies Stock; Retailers Post Strong September; Initial Jobless Claims Hit 9-Month Low; ECB and BOE Leave Rates Unchanged; PepsiCo Beats 3Q Estimates; CEO: China Auto Market to Cool; […]

Read More…