Futures Trading Rises Slightly, Oil Stock Prices Falling

Oil futures trading prices saw a slight increase, taking it right above $73 a barrel. Crude oil has been on the decline, losing almost 11.5 percent from $82 a barrel since the beginning of the month. It's become clear that the U.S. economy is slowing, suggesting the oil and gas demand will remain sluggish.

The rebound in the prices of crude was a result of natural gas prices falling. Some analysts said that there is a vast majority of traders who thought natural gas wouldn't go below $4 per cubic foot, and that crude oil would fall below $70 a barrel. As the gas started dropping below that level, traders started buying crude to avoid losses and cover their bets.

"Given the future prospects for economic recovery, the oil market is considered to have fallen to much, to fast. We are seeing some uptake in oil pricing, and the low 70's seem to be the near term bottom," said Victor Shum, energy analyst for Pervin & Gertz.

BP (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Drilling in Libya and Half Year Results

Despite the environmental concerns after the massive oil spill in the Gulf, BP (NYSE:BP) says they're pushing forward and going to begin deepwater drilling in Libya. The well site in the Gulf of Sirte is even deeper than the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reported by the Financial Times, the plans are in the shadow of controversy and BP faces much scrutiny because of its deal in 2007 to purchase Libya's oil and gas fields at the cost of $1 billion.

In other BP news, the company will be reporting their half year results today. It's being rumored that Tony Hayward is expected to officially announce his leaving the company before the results are given. The results are expected to show BP making $10 billion in profits so far for the year, even with the costs of the disastrous oil spill.

BP (NYSE:BP) UPDATE: Sealing Cap Installed, Trading Shares, Futures Trading

After much anticipation, BP (NYSE:BP) has verified that they have been successful in installing the sealing cap onto the leaking Macondo well in the Gulf. Testing is the next phase of the process. Over the next 48 hours the integrity test will be preformed. If successful, no oil will be released into the ocean.

BP stated that a sealing cap like what they have installed, has never before been used at such depths as a mile below the surface. It is unsure if the cap will be able to contain the oil and gas. Once all the information is gathered from the testing, it will get forwarded to different U.S. Government agencies for review.

They will than be able to determine "the way forward" which may include such options as continued testing beyond the 48 hours, or the reinstatement of prior containment. Everything is still up in the air, even though there's success of the placement of the sealing cap, it could end up being no better then the previous containment cap.

BP trading shares have seen an incline again today of 2.5 percent. This is caused by speculation of the continued negotiations to sell $10 billion worth of their Alaskan assets to Apache Corporation. It leaves one wondering though, if the cap is a failure will the futures trading see another massive decline ?

BP's (NYSE:BP) Gulf Oil Leak Costs Reach Over $3 Billion

BP's (NYSE:BP) has released their latest report today of the Gulf oil leak costs. The total has reached $3.12 billion for the cleaning, capping, and payouts to government, businesses, and individuals. This amount does not include the $20 billion fund that was agreed upon and set up last month.

BP officials said that the tropical storms and continued turbulent weather has not inhibited the drilling of the two relief wells. They're still slightly ahead of schedule for the projected timeframe of early to mid-August for the completion of the drilling and plug to be in place. The burning of oil and gas continues without any delays at the site.

The weather and turbulant seas have delayed being able to bring in another vessel called the Helix Producer. Officials are saying the vessel will more than double the amount of oil able to be collected and then burned. It connects with the leaking well by a flexible hose that can disconnecting and reconnecting quickly due to bad weather.

There is also a giant Taiwanese oil skimming devise is called "A Whale," that has been being tested over the weekend North of BP's leaking well. Because of the choppy seas they had to stop the testing. According to the National Weather Service this bad weather is expected to continue on into next week.

China National Purchasing 9 Billion of BP (NYSE:BP) Assets

There have been rumors flying that China National Offshore Oil Company is planning on buying around $9 Billion in BP (NYSE:BP) assets. They are refusing comment saying, "we don't comment on market rumors," said Jiang Yongzhi, a spokesman for China National.

Over the past twelve months state controlled energy companies in China have spent a minimum of $20 billion to purchase overseas oil and gas assets. This is said to meet the demand of the fastest growing economy in the world.

The Chinese energy company has shown increasing interest in purchasing a 60 percent stake that BP currently owns in Pan American Energy, this was report by The Guardian but omitted who the source of the information was from. A spokeswoman for BP, Sheila Williams also declined comment.

BP has stated they will be selling some of their assets to help cover the costs of the $20 billion that they agreed to do with President Obama. This is to be put into an account to help cover the continued costs of oil cleanup and compensation to be paid out. While BP has lost over half their market value since the explosion of the Deepwater rig on April 20th, they did see a a gain in their stock prices to 2.8 percent to 327.95 pence.

BP (NYSE:BP) Stock Price Reaches All Time Low

Due to concerns continuing to mount about BP's (NYSE:BP) future, there is added pressure on oil and gas stocks by the New York stock oil futures. These losses came after BP announced that it has to date spent $2.35 billion. This money has went to various things including the oil cleanup efforts, legal claims that have been paid, and grants to the states on the Gulf that have seen the biggest impact since the April 20th rig disaster.

The other thing that is causing renewed concern and placing pressure on BP stocks, is the pending development of a tropical storm. If this storm hits the Gulf of Mexico as predicted, it will cause possible large delays in the fuel containment efforts. Broker Nomura cut it projected BP price target from 593p to 465p.

Nomura said, "a heavy inversion of both credit yield and equity volatility suggests the market is concerned about a near term credit event around BP." BP stock fell to $26.96 a share losing another 6.1 percent. This beating their prior day low of $28.56, losing a total market value of almost 53 percent since April 20th.

"BP's market cap is eroding and its ability to finance itself in the capital market is impaired. It's anybodies guess what can happen but the fear of the market is that that liability could be so enormous that BP may have to seek bankruptcy protection," said Orr.

BP's (NYSE:BP) Spill Containment Cap Back In Place

BP (NYSE:BP) said they have been successful in putting the spill containment cap back onto the Macondo well. Oil and gas has resumed being taken to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise at the surface.

Thad Allen, Coast Guard Admiral said the containment cap was removed by Transocean after an ROV hit the cap. The drillship Discoverer Enterprise was then moved off the site so that repair could begin. What happened was the ROV accidentally closed a vent which regulates the gas and oil flow and prevents pressure from building.

The vent closure than caused the pressure to build and hydrocarbons started bubbling up through the line which purpose is to inject warm water as oil is being brought to the surface. This water prevents hydrate crystals from forming and clogging the line.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and BP (NYSE:BP) Agree On Deal

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and BP (NYSE:BP) have agreed to join together on the bidding of a South China Sea exploration block. Although the financial terms haven't been made public, the deal is waiting for approval by China's Ministry of Commerce.

If the deal is given approval, Chevron will hold a 60 percent stake as well as being the operator. With BP's stake being the other 40 percent. Although if they were to find commercial oil and gas that would give China National Offshore Oil Corporation the right to take 51 percent stake.

Nobody would comment on the deal when spokesmen were contacted. Steve Westwell, BP's Global Chief of Staff said of course the oil spill will have a "profound effect" on the industry. He continued, despite the current situation they are dealing with it should not "stop all further deepwater production." Not to mention the fact that drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has had an impeccable safety record for the past 20 years.

Chevron is also currently bidding on two other blocks in South China.

BP (NYSE:BP) UPDATE: Fuel Spill containment

A group of reporters were able to tour the BP (NYSE:BP) oil rig on Saturday and see how the fuel spill containment was progressing. They flew along the Mississippi River Delta above the wetlands. They saw the ineffective boom floating as well as the skimmers. About 40 miles off the coast, they reach their destination which has a 200 foot derrick.

Wendell Guidry, the Transocean drilling superintendent that was on the rig said," its always, always on our mind." Work continues to press on around the clock. There are eight thrusters in place that keep the rig positioned correctly over the well. In the distance another rig is visible, it is siphoning oil and gas from the well and burning it. It appears the flames are coming down like a shower. There are ships surrounding this rig, their purpose is to hose of the deck to keep the heat from building.

Thad Allen, Coast Guard Administrator said that the drilling and construction of the relief wells is still ahead of schedule. Of course there can always be delays. Like on Saturday, a set of tongs which are used to hold the casings in place broke.

BP is still maintaining their drilling of the relief well should be completed sometime in August, of course there are no guarantees. Currently, they are close to 11,000 feet below the sea floor.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Oil Leak, Will Pay All Oil Cleanup Costs

Chevron's (NYSE:CVX) engineers are frantically trying to find out the cause of their oil leak, which has been going on since April. So far, it's reporting to have lost at least 50 liters of oil and gas into the Burrard Inlet.

The company has said it is putting together a plan to extract and treat the pollutants stemming from their refinery. Although, this plan will not be put into effect until sometime in the Summer.

Ray Lord, Chevron's spokesman said they will put into place extraction wells as well as absorption blooms in the Inlet for now to help contain and recover the leak. Even though Lord would not give an estimate of what the fuel cleanup would cost, he assures that Chevron will be paying for everything in full.

"How long the wells and booms need to be there is difficult for us to say right now. It'll depend on how much of the ground water is appearing, what the transmission rate is and how effective our
interception systems are," said Lord.

BP (NYSE:BP) Delaying Attempts To Cap Oil Spill

As the frustration and anger continues to mount, BP's (NYSE:BP) planned attempt to cap the oil spill today known as "top kill," is now delayed until possibly Wednesday at the earliest.

"It could slip to Wednesday because it has to be a day operation," said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry on a conference call Sunday. Landry also added that she has visited the BP offices and confirms that "BP is working around the clock" on their attempts to resolve the fuel oil spill. "We are doing everything we can, everything I know," said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer at BP, on NBC's Today Show.

All the while, the oil siphoning attempts continue to drop daily. John Curry, BP's spokesperson told the Associated Press on Monday that the tube collected about 47,040 gallons of oil on Sunday. That's a significant drop from Saturday's collection of oil which was 57,120 gallons. Friday's siphoning brought in 92,400 gallons from the oil spill.

In a news release, BP said the mile long tube is "a new technology and both its continued operation and its effectiveness in capturing the oil and gas remain uncertain."

Oil | Gasprom, Statoil, Petrobras

What to the names Gasprom, Statoil and Petrobras have in common? They're all state-owned oil and natural gas energy companies that have a lot of upside potential for oil investors.

When you consider the national monopolies represented by state-owned oil & gas companies, you realize the great potential an energy investor has, assuming they do their homework, as not all nationalized oil companies are the same. Take Mexico and Venezuela, who run their oil exploration companies horribly, and you'd have to have oil in your veins to invest in them.

But in some cases, the competitive advantage for a well run national oil company offers great opportunity.

Take Petrobras of Brazil for a moment. They discovered huge offshore oil fields over the last couple years, and the government offered the prime drilling locations to who? You got it: Petrobras. If any other oil companies are allowed in, you know all they'll get is the leftovers.

Now Statoil, or StoilHydro, from Norway, is in a similar situation, and are positioned for some good profits going forword.

As far as Russian oil company Gazprom, which also has a presence in the UK, they are obviously a much more risky investment, but worthwhile testing out with your spare change rather than serious energy investment money. The Gazprom news is a little more volatile than the oil news concerning other energy companies owned by governments.

Now that the idea is being floated around out there that all the easy oil has been accessed (it hasn't but that's a different story), these national oil and natural gas exploration companies should receive a lot of positive attention from news outlets as the idea of scarcity and higher prices woo oil investors.

We're going to see more oil rigs offshore, and those will be installed by companies like statoil, Petrobras and Gazprom.

Many energy investors don't realize the size of some of the state oil companies even when compared to huge oil and gas firms like Exxon Mobile. Exxon Mobile doesn't have anywhere near the oil and gas capacity that these state oil & gas companies have, and they have to pay taxes, contrary to the national oil and gas companies.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us with huge companies that own a monopoly exploring and drilling a natural resource that will be needed for decades and decades ahead.

Those energy companies owned run by those countries operationally sound way, will bring good returns for investors for years to come. Just think of the country producing the oil and gas to see what the risks are. As risky as the country is in other areas, will be the risk involved for investors in oil and gas.

New techniques used allow oil & gas exploration companies to see through the salty ocean bottoms to find new energy reserves. That is what allowed Petrobras to discover the Tupi and other oil fields which had been there all along.

Depending on what your energy investment strategy is and your personal risk disposition, national companies like Gazprom, Statoil and Petrobras could be places you put your dollars for the long haul.