EveryJoe » crude oil

Occidental Strikes Oil in California

Mark Ellis — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:18:48 +0000

Occidental Petroleum Corp., Texas’s biggest producer of oil, has just increased its fortunes with a historic discovery in California. The company just discovered an enormous natural gas and oil field that holds the equivalent of 250 million barrels of crude, which makes it the largest discovery in the state in the last 35 years.

The field, which is located in California’s Kern County, belongs mostly to Occidental, and if the discovery pans out, it could boost Occidental’s California reserves by almost a third. Occidental decided last month to drill 20 exploratory wells last month, which means that this discovery has the potential to be followed by even more oil discoveries.

On the heels of Occidental’s good fortune, the company’s shares rose 1.4 percent to $71, meaning that Occidental’s shares have risen a total of 18 percent over the course of this year. So far, Occidental has outperformed the rest of its most significant U.S. rivals — Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp., and Conoco Philip – each of which has experienced declines.

Image: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Occidental Strikes Oil in California

Oil Prices Half as High as Last Year

Mark Ellis — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:34:23 +0000

If you were on the road this time last year, you surely remember the pain you felt each time you went to fill up at the gas station. Crude oil prices skyrocketed last year, reaching an astronomical $145.29 a barrel, but this year, oil prices remain relatively tame at $66.73 a barrel. Slackening demand for oil across the world has seen prices fall by almost $3 recently.

Oil prices have appeared to be on a rollercoaster ride over the past year. From the record-high prices reached last year, oil plummeted to about $34 per barrel in December as the economic crisis shattered demand for crude oil. Despite the touchy situation of the economy still, oil has slowly recovered and gained value from then until now.

Analysts have attributed last year’s oil price spike to a number of factors. The first was a global increase in demand for oil, which allowed oil holders to drive the price higher and maintain profitability. The second was the fact that the dollar was actually very weak at a bad time, leading to shocking prices at the pump.

Remember those days? (Image: Flickr)

Post from: EveryJoe

Oil Prices Half as High as Last Year

Enterprise Buys Teppco for $3.3 Billion

Mark Ellis — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:05:42 +0000

Two massive Houston-based energy corporations will become one when Enterprise Products Partners LP completes its acquisition of Teppco Partners LP for the sum of $3.3 billion. These two pipeline operators, both owned by billionaire Dan Duncan, will form the largest energy partnership in the United States.

The move has proven to be mutually beneficial. Teppco owners will receive 1.24 units of Enterprise stock for their Teppco units, which comes out to 9.3 percent more value than Teppco stocks alone. Enterprise will see earnings rise by next year and will be able to save about $20 million in costs.

All together, the conglomerated company will own about 48,000 miles worth of pipelines and control the most natural gas, liquid gas, and crude oil of any energy company in the United States. Analysts have attested to the profitability of the merger, crediting Dan Duncan with a move that will be overwhelmingly beneficial by cutting costs and increasing efficiency by a large margin.

Oil Pipeline (Image: Flickr)

Post from: EveryJoe

Enterprise Buys Teppco for $3.3 Billion