Steven Ward

Canadian Oil Sands: Why a Larger Syncrude Holding Makes Sense

COS paid Talisman 400 plus million for Talisman's 1.25 percent interest in Syncrude so 3 billion might be a slight bargain for COS.

Doubt if a foreign buyer will appear due to the lack of pipeline capacity flowing to Vancouver.

Nexen and Suncor will probably do a deal with each other on Buzzard in the North Sea so probably no selling their Syncrude assets.
Unless Nexen wants the money for buying Buzzard from Suncor.

Imperial is committed to Kearle and other heavy oil expansion projects so no interest there.

That leaves Murphy Oil. Murphy wants to expand a refinery to an additional 175 to 200 thousand barrels per day.
So that leaves only COS and Murphy as buyers because Suncor and Nexen are like Imperial, already have bitumen projects on the boards.
Two buyers may be enough to heat up the bidding. Maybe just maybe.
Otherwise COS would be in the driver's seat.
One to two bidders that'sit, I think.

Fadel Gheit: Oil Prices to Remain Inflated but Don't Pass on Gas

I don't think it matters one whit whether Gheit is wrong or right on the financial manipulation theory. Fact is: he stated it will keep prices high for quite some time.

Demand or manipulation, oil prices will remain high.
So invest accordingly.

Is ConocoPhillips a Potential Multi-Bagger?

With what CVX and XOM and even BP has comming on -line I simply do not see COP's advantage here. COP needs gas to go up alot and soon with her Burlington purchase.
CVX and XOM have huge supplies of gas comming on stream over the next 5 years and signed contracts to boot.
BP cost cutting, discarding of silly "green" projects and current and future deep water discoveries coupled with the dividend is better choice than COP.

BP Strikes Oil, Enhances Exploration Potential in Gulf of Mexico

As a former Amoco employee, a second generation employee at that, I still own some Amoco, oops BP that is, shares in a small investment savings account. Amoco had a problem, a serious lack of capital to really go elephant hunting. The fix was to sell to BP, where most of the Americans kept their jobs and then some.
Amoco at the time had the largest employee and former employee stock ownership in all of the large integrated oil companies, around 28 percent. It was the main reason we were not raided by T. Boone Pickens when he was raiding Phillips and others. He wasn't welcome and he knew it. Nobody sold their stock, darn near nobody. It was a religous cuilt the stock ownership. But we all knew from the CEO down to the truck drivers we had excessive refining capacity and no oil. BP came along and we all exchanged our shares. It was the right decision based solely on future shareholder value.
Uncle's right in the lack of capital investment by some US oil companies. But sometimes a good deal comes along and your survival depends on it.

Five Energy Companies That Spell Opportunity

With all the bubble manias paultaut mentioned I know eagerly await the "Carbon Credit" bubble mania that will pull Wall Street out of its slide.
Anyone for a carbon credit collar or a collateral carbon debt instrument.?

Five Energy Companies That Spell Opportunity

Wulff has to be empasizing "somewhere down the road" when it comes to jumping in and taking new positions in these stocks. But he should have said that instead ofleaving it open ended.

Why TransCanada Wants a Palin Victory

I can only assume the NY Times does not favor a pipeline for natural gas out of A;aska to the lower 48.
I can only further assuime that the NY Times has no other hidden agenda on the Palin /pipeline proposal than other to say that the NY Times needs to point out as to what alternative does have an immediate value. And by immediate I guess we mean NOW.
It is incumbent of the NY Times to profer the "immediate solution".

Why TransCanada Wants a Palin Victory

The article misses the point. That point being: Nothing was being done at all on the pipeline front, until Palin started a defined bidding process. now look what happens: BP and CP both are now enthusiastic. Palin doesn't care one whit, in reality, who builds the pipeline. But as long as Trans Canada is there then you have competition which is what is needed.And that's the point.

Energy Companies Follow the Big Pharma Model for R&D

R&D can be frustratingly elusive in results. Look at Apple and Microsoft, initially startups. Apple in a garage with only two guys. Then look at IBM and their vast amounts poured into their OS and PC harware.
We all know who is left standing.
That maybe the model we are liikoing at instead.

Canadian Oil Sands: Gates and Buffett Visit

You get three things from oil sands development: 1. environmental problems that are significant, 2. Jobs, alot of jobs, 3. You also get oil.

I wonder what Buffet and Gates were looking at: environment or jobs or oil?
I think they were looking at the color of money.