MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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8:36 AM Cleantech Solutions (CLNT) +22.2% premarket on news it has become a certified supplier of components to Sinopec (SNP) and China National Petroleum (PTR). As a certified supplier, CLNT is able to market its components to the subsidiary companies of Sinopec and CNPC throughout China, CEO Jianhua Wu says. Comment!
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8:21 AM Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +1.7% premarket as Susquehanna upgrades the stock to Positive from Neutral, believing CHK should get a boost from both higher oil and gas prices and its new CEO. The firm boosts its valuations for CHK's oil and gas reserves, saying investors have become more comfortable with higher prices; asset sales so far have been of "mixed quality." Comment!
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8:09 AM Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is unlikely to proceed with the planned sale of its holding in Australia’s Woodside Petroleum this year as it refuses to sell too low, CFO Simon Henry says. Shell is Woodside’s largest shareholder, with a 23% stake; it sold a 10% stake in 2010 at A$42.23/share, but Woodside stock closed yesterday at A$37.66. Comment!
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7:54 AM A Chevron (CVX) executive working in Indonesia is re-arrested as part of a probe into alleged corruption, despite a court order six months ago clearing him of any wrongdoing. The case adds to mounting concern among multinational companies over rising economic nationalism in Indonesia. Comment!
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5:59 AM Since February, BP has stepped-up challenges to compensation awards stemming from the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The company now objects to 9.3% of awards administered by Patrick Juneau who oversees settlement claims, that's up from just 4% earlier in the year. The company's lawyers are challenging the way Juneau calculates losses, although they have so far been unsuccessful. If an appeal of a District Court decision upholding Juneau's interpretation is denied, BP says it will be "irreparably harmed." 1 Comment
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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6:32 PM If you harbor doubts about the sharp rise of energy MLPs, you don’t have many short sellers on your side. Fewer than 1% of the shares of MLP constituents of the Alerian index (AMJ) are out on loan. Low short interest may have less to do with a lack of negative opinion than with the nature of who owns MLPs, but it’s a notable feature since it should mean a classic short squeeze isn’t possible. 4 Comments
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6:12 PM Four companies ignoring their shareholders' votes, according to Theo Francis: Impax Labs (IPXL), where three directors were retained despite failing to reach 50% approval; Occidental Petro (OXY), which counted 55M non-voting shares as voting against a proposal; Hecla Mining (HL), which left open a say-on-pay vote for an extra month; and NYSE Euronext (NXY), which continues to thwart the right to call special shareholder meetings. Comment!
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5:54 PM As a second U.S. liquefied natural gas export project gets the green light, Credit Suisse is the latest to predict how much LNG the U.S. might send overseas: potentially 10B cu. ft./day by the end of the decade. Growing confidence that more export approvals are ahead has lifted U.S. natural gas calendar-strip prices for 2015, '16 and '17 by 3%, 4% and 5%, respectively, CS says. (earlier) 1 Comment
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5:36 PM Enbridge (ENB) CEO Al Monaco says he's spending more time seeking public support for projects such as the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline than regulatory approval as opponents try to block new routes to market. New conduits are needed from Canada to correct a "huge disconnect” in North American oil prices as supply exceeds pipeline capacity - a $25B/year "value destruction" gap for Canada's economy. 3 Comments
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5:09 PM KBR is awarded a contract by Pacific NorthWest LNG, a subsidiary of Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petronas and Japan Petroleum Exploration, to execute front-end engineering and design and early detailed engineering work for a proposed $11B two-train liquefied natural gas export facility in British Columbia with a yearly capacity of 12M tons. Comment!
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4:58 PM Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) says initial production results for its First Horizontal Wolfcamp Shale well in Texas showed a 24-hour peak natural flow rate of 1,572 boe/day. PXD says the results demonstrate the prospectivity of its 900K-acre Spraberry/Wolfcamp leasehold, which holds an estimated net resource potential of more than 4.6B boe. Comment!
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4:28 PM CVR Partners (UAN) -3.3% AH after announcing a secondary offering of 12M common units by CVR Energy (CVI). UAN will receive no proceeds from the offering. 10 Comments
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3:57 PM SinoCoking Coal and Coke (SCOK +27.8%) shares skyrocket after Fenwei Energy Consulting says China's proposed ban on imports of lower-quality coal could boost domestic benchmark prices by as much as 8%. 2 Comments
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3:28 PM Shares of Pacific Ethanol (PEIX +20.2%) and BioFuel Energy (BIOF +11.5%) surge after the most recent EIA supply report shows ethanol stockpiles at 16.4M barrels in the week ended May 10, the lowest level since Dec. 2010. Production of ethanol also is at below-average levels for this time of year, Bloomberg data shows. 2 Comments
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2:49 PM Five cars from a Canadian Pacific (CP -0.2%) train derailed earlier today in Saskatchewan, and one leaked crude oil; there is no estimate of the amount of oil spilled. CP already has suffered two derailments involving crude oil this year, one in Ontario and the other in Minnesota. CP denies any link between the accidents and defends its safety record. Comment!
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2:26 PM Synergy Resources (SYRG -1.2%) increases proved reserves by 40% in its mid-year update. For the period ending Feb. 28, SYRG grew reserves to 13.6M boe vs. 10.6M boe in the previous six-month period. SYRG has not booked any of its 10 non-operated horizontal wells, so it expects another reserves increase for the next six months; also is on track to drill five operated horizontal wells. Comment!
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12:47 PM Energy infrastructure largely escapes damage from yesterday's tornado that ripped through Oklahoma, though a Southern Star natural gas pipeline reports some damage. Valero (VLO) and Phillips 66 (PSX) say their refineries escaped damage, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) reports no damage to its Seaway pipeline, and operations at the Cushing crude hub are unaffected. 2 Comments
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12:38 PM Oil States (OIS -0.6%) is downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee after shares jump 30% since Jana Partners disclosed its big stake and suggested turning its worker accommodations business into a REIT. Indeed, OIS shares could be worth $130-$145 with such a change, the firm says, but investors buying shares now are betting on exactly that; Sterne says it isn't yet willing to handicap the potential. Comment!
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12:17 PM ConocoPhillips (COP +0.7%) is pulling back its plans to sell Canadian oil sands assets in Alberta after it exceeded its target for raising capital by divesting energy properties elsewhere in the world, The Globe and Mail reports. COP is the latest energy company to hold on to assets it planned to divest amid a disappointing environment for selling Canadian oil reserves. 2 Comments
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11:43 AM Halliburton (HAL -1%) says its Q2 operating profit margin will be negatively impacted by a decline in rigs working in Mexico as the country transitions to a new way of awarding service contracts. HAL had earlier seen a margin close to the mid-teens for the quarter. In North America, HAL says the market for pressure pumping equipment remains 20% over-supplied, which should be cut in half by year's end. Comment!
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