Friday, May 27, 2011

Petrobras (PBR) (APC) (RIG) (RDS-A) (CAM) Jump While Oil Futures Pull Back

Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) and Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) all closed up Thursday, bucking the trend of oil futures pulling back after climbing over $101 a barrel on Wednesday.

Obama's economy continues to crumble as first-time unemployment claims surged by close to 10,000, exploding past the anticipated decline of 4,000 economists had been expecting. That is a seasonally adjusted 424,000 for the week ended May 21.

The U.S. economy growth rate was also worst than expected, growing at a very weak 1.8 percent rate in the first quarter, falling from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter, and missing the 2.2 percent growth rate economists had projected.

The U.S. Labor Department also upwardly revised initial unemployment claims from the last report they issued.

All of this had an impact on oil prices, as oil futures ended lower Thursday. Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled down $1.09, or 1.1 percent, to $100.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled up 12 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $115.05 a barrel.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, settled up 3.21 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $3.0483 a gallon. June heating oil was up 0.26 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $2.9829 a gallon.

With the Memorial Day weekend coming in the U.S., which usually involves heavy travel and usage of gasoline in vehicles, it probably counteracted the slightly lower price of oil and gas heading into the summer season.

Petrobras closed Thursday at $34.15, gaining $0.50, or 1.49 percent. Cameron International closed at $48.33, up $0.56, or 1.17 percent. Royal Dutch Shell soared to $70.28, surging $1.27, or 1.84 percent. Transocean ended the session at $69.36, rising $0.30, or 0.43 percent. Anadarko closed at $77.89, up $0.67, or 0.87 percent.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Chevron's (CVX) Downstream Business Unimpressive

The fact that Chevron (NYSE:CVX) had its "Buy" rating from Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated on them today isn't because of its downstream refinery business, as margins are anemic in comparison to its upstream oil and natural gas production business.

That's not to say there isn't substantial revenue in the refined products business of Chevron, as the company could have sold as much as $100 billion in refined products in 2010, although it doesn't release those figures.

Among refinded products sold are gasoline, jet fuel, gas oil and kerosene, among other products.

Estimates are refined products make up about 8 percent of the overall stock value of Chevron, mostly because of the low margin business it is. Margins have been at about 2.33 percent in the refined business for the energy giant for 2010.

In contrast, the oil and natural gas production generates margins of 53 percent.

The leading refined product sold by far was gasoline, which accounted for close to $39 billion in revenue in the segment.

Among Chevron's major competitors are BP (NYSE:BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).

Chevron was trading at $103.57, up $0.32, or 0.31 percent, as of 2:05 PM EDT.

BP (BP) (MRO) (RDS-A) End Positive on $100 Oil

Shares of BP (NYSE:BP), Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) and Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) ended the session up as oil prices gained the $100 a barrel mark for the first time this week.

Light sweet crude oil for July delivery was up $1.73 to settle at $101.32 a barrel and July Brent crude jumped $2.40 to settle at $114.93.

Also aiding oil prices was a Department of Energy report on Wednesday saying U.S. commercial crude inventories climbed 600,000 barrels in the week ended May 20 versus an expected 1.3 million barrel fall in crude stocks.

Gasoline inventories rose 3.8 million barrels last week versus an estimated 300,000 barrel jump.

Marathon closed Wednesday at $52.76, gaining $0.88, or 1.70 percent. Royal Dutch Shell closed at $69.01, up $0.33, or 0.48 percent. BP ended the day at $44.71, rising $0.34, or 0.77 percent.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Quicksilver Resources (KWK) Gets Rating Boost from MLV Capital

Analysts at McNicoll Lewis & Vlak Capital raised their rating on Quicksilver Resources Inc (NYSE: KWK) from a "Hold" to a "Buy," with a price target of $17.50 on the company.

"We recently met with management of Quicksilver Resources, and feel confident that 2011 is a year of transition for the Company. As we review our RNAV, we believe KWK shares are getting zero value for its potentially game changer frontier projects. With its take-private efforts now concluded, management is newly focused on getting recognition for the value not recognized in the share price," said MLV.

Much of Quicksilver's outlook is connected to production at its projects in Barnett Shale, located in Texas, where the company recently reported it produced 318.6 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalents per day from its Barnett Shale assets in the first quarter of the year.

Overall in the first quarter of 2011 it produced 392.3 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalents per day from all its properties.

Quicksilver was trading at $14.25, up $0.27, or 1.93 percent, as of 1:11 PM EDT.

Exxon (XOM) (BP) (COP) Close Up on Oil Price Outlook

Shares of oil companies like Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), BP (NYSE:BP) and ConocoPhillips all closed up Tuesday as analysts boosted their outlook on the price of Brent crude.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) increased its Brent crude projection, noting stronger demand and supply problems related to Libyan production. The brokerage lifted its 2011 Brent crude price projection from $100 to $120 a barrel a barrel and its 2012 projection from $105 to $130.

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) reiterated its Brent crude price estimate of $130 in the third-quarter of 2011.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised it projection for Brent crude from $105 to $120 a barrel for 2011, and for 2012 from $120 to $140 a barrel.

BP closed Tuesday at $44.37, jumping $0.34, or 0.77 percent. ConocoPhillips closed at $71.91, up $0.58, or 0.81 percent. Exxon ended the session at $81.29, rising $0.62, or 0.77 percent.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Kinder Morgan (KMP) Gets Fueled by Janney Montgomery Scott

Analysts from Janney Montgomery Scott gave some fuel to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP), initiating coverage on them with a "Buy" rating.

The "Buy" rating did little for Kinder Morgan Monday, as the market wasn't too interested in the company, with volume down almost 20 percent from the 3-month daily average.

The stock also traded in a tight range of $72.71 - $73.36.

Shares of Kinder Morgan closed down Monday at $73.19, dropping $0.31, or 0.42 percent. In after hours trading the company took some more damage, falling another $0.30 a share, to $72.89.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. owns and participates in the management of energy transportation and storage assets.