Mmarrkk

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257 Comments

    • Fri Jul 6th 14:25 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Grand Nigerian Oil Scam
      The k's at the end are due to a sticky key, not a relation to a bunch of goons. But its always good to see you lib's pinning that on anyone you can. What next?

      Sorry, the $5B investment is not made "well after" the "functioning field" has been identified. In deepwater, you get a few wells drilled and a few hours of production testing. You then have to make a scientific estimate and a reasoned risked assessment of reserves and then you plop all of your $5B into building the structure and drilling the wells. YOu then get to turn it on and watch it produce and see if what you thought was there was really there.

      On the depreciation, we don't make the rules, we just abide by them. Same rules apply to mining companies.

      I'll be willing to lay down $100 that no major oil company or upper level executive will be found guilty of anything related to price fixing, market tampering, etc. There is none so I'm confident that even misguided vengeful hater's like the Dem's won't even be able to conjure something that will hold water in court. And that 5-4 Supreme Court wouldn't let it happen (wink wink with an evil snicker).
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    • Fri Jul 6th 08:36 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Grand Nigerian Oil Scam
      Phil: I'll send you today's copy of the talking points as soon as they come in. We usually get them around 7:30 AM CST. Would you send me copies of your talking points from Schmucky Schumer and Billary Clinton in return? I'm sure I'd find some interesting reading amoungst the villifying of American industry.

      You are right, oil companies COULD have invested in alternative energy years ago. However, these companies are OIL and GAS companies and have focused on OIL and GAS, not solar, wind, etc. The shareholders of these companies buy shares because these companies explore for, produce, transport, refine and market oil and gas and their derivities. That's what they do and who they are. Would you suggest that WalMart go into the medical field? Or should McDonald's start a new exercise center division of their company? Focus is the name of the game; know what you do, and do it well. And I believe that XOM's $40B in profits shows that they do what they do very well.

      The depreciation figure is cute. Do you know that oil companies have to book depreciation, depreciation and amoritization for every barrel of crude or MCF of gas produced? So whenever we produce more barrels, we have to take a charge for DD&A. It runs around $4 per barrel, sometimes much more. Do you realize that one field development in the Gulf of Mexico can cost upwards of $5 billion? Or LNG facilities, plants, ships, etc can run in the multi-billion dollar range?

      If you are so dead set convinced that we are up to no good, do a couple of things: get an investigative arm to FIND wrongdoings. Not crow about it, gather headlines, yell and scream but actually FIND firm hard admissable evidence that a crime has been committed. Second, if you don't like XOM, boycott them. I say that with a snicker as I read these all the time. Yes, that will work. Don't buy XOM gasoline for a day, week, month. Buy it from Wal Mart. That will teach those bad guys at XOM. Of course, XOM yields a very small portion of their "obscene" profits from selling gasoline at the retail level in the US. A very small portion so it won't even be a bother.

      Or better yet, get some rich folks who believe like you, take your money and invest in the business. Then, run it like you think XOM, BP, COP, etc. should be run. I'm sure folks will be lined up to pay you for your efforts. If investing in refineries and alternative energy is such a darned good idea and a good investment, why not get Buffet, Gates and Soros to chip in a few bucks to start the Phil Davis oil company. You know why?? Refineries are horrible investments. Horrible. And retail gasoline outlets are even worse.
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    • Thu Jul 5th 18:43 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Grand Nigerian Oil Scam
      You have continued to amaze me at your complete lack of understanding of an industry you continue to report on and analyze. Yes, Shell should supply security to an island that is part of a sovreign nation. That was done in Burma and lots of your types are suing the oil company that did it. Yes, we are holding back production on purpose. Yes we conspire to set prices, yet all me make is less than half the profit other industries derive. Heck, if we were setting prices, don't you think we'd at least try and get a return on our money that is equal to some of the other industries?

      And oil companies do not know the interactions and contract terms of other companies. We actually work very hard to keep these secret.

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    • Tue Jul 3rd 14:53 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Oil-Rich Canada Inspires Investor Confidence
      On the other hand, you have a government who has proven to not be trustworthy when it comes to tax law. They change their tax law kind of like our buddy Hugo down in the great Red state of VZ.
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    • Tue Jul 3rd 14:49 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      BP and Shell in Merger Talks -- Times of London
      Can't wait to hear the lib's and our silly congressmen wail about this one! Then they'll figure out that these are two non-US companies and they have no control over the deal. Great deal for the companies and probably for industry. Go ahead cry babies, start your boo hooing.
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    • Mon Jul 2nd 11:10 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Crude Oil and Gasoline: The Illusion of Equality
      Have you tried to run the economic case for a new refinery? Have you looked at the time it takes to get a permit? Have you looked at the costs and cost inflation on a refinery? I'm guessing you haven't. Bottom line: investment in a refinery cannot be supported by rational economics. Changes in fuel requirements, government's subsidies of competing fuels and the drive to reduce consumption all weigh in to uncertainty regarding overall returns. Plus our lovely government seems to like to change the rules on taxation and investment credits (kind of like our buddy Chavez in VZ). Your comment is akin to me saying that since you make so much money, why don't you invest in snow machine at the North Pole. It doesn't matter how much profit you make, you still shouldn't make bad investments and refineries are bad investments. And remember, all of these "big bad oil companies" are public companies and have share holders to answer to. Making bad investments isn't their business. Making money is.
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    • Mon Jul 2nd 09:39 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Duke Energy Pays Royal Dividends
      Thanks Robert for that add. Guess that little fact was missed by the original author. Kind of casts doubt on his capability as a researcher, doesn't it? If you research a company, you shouldn't just pull figures out of tables without looking at the fundamentals behind them. Of course, analysts are all about the numbers and very little about the underlying business. I hope in his continued search, the author finds a bit of knowledge on how to do proper research. Until then, I'll avoid his picks and his website.
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    • Thu Jun 28th 08:43 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Land-Based Drillers Extremely Mispriced
      I might take exception on the deep hypothesis. More and more rigs are being focused on unconventional plays like shale gas. In these plays, its not necessarily a depth issue as it is a reach issue...going horizontal. Wells aren't super deep (5000' to 10,000') but there are 1500' to 3000' horizontal sections being drilled. The big focus in unconventional gas drilling and development is turning the drilling program into a manufacturing process. Drilling hundreds of wells at rapid pace, using economies of scale to drag costs out, minimizing non-drilling time such as moving from well to well, etc. Efficiency is the word. The new-build rigs that are currently still on back order are driving efficiency to new levels. The old rigs can't compete.
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    • Fri Jun 22nd 09:27 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Why Investors Should Be Interested in Shale Oil
      Don't know if APC's land grant acreage extends over the Oil Shale areas. There is a lot of federal land (think Naval Strategic Reserve) and there has been some leasing over the years. Some companies own rights from the early 1900's as well!! Chevron, Shell and XOM have been very busy securing land positions but you may not be able to hear or see it (stealth mode, if a 6 gazillion pound gorilla like XOM can ever be stealth). Also, much of the federal land has not been put out for lease. Monitor smaller companies like Barrett and XTO as they tend to get their noses in early land plays. There are also additional deeper plays for nat gas in this area that may make things interesting.

      This is a long term opportunity. 10 years may be about right. For instance, the Shell pilot is on a micro fraction scale relative to a commercial plant and it will take 2 years or more for the in-situ retorting to yield oil. Then evaluations will occur, then they will enter into large scale build ups. That will take at least 3 more years. Then on a large scale, I'm guessing another 3-year heat cycle for retorting before the oil starts to flow. Whew. And that is assuming the greenie weenies don't get their panties in a wad which we know won't happen, right?? I think we may, may see gas from Alaska before Shale Oil. But heck, my guess on gas from Alaska is 10 years + as well. And if the Dem's maintain control of Congress, add 5 years to that as they are anti-investment, anti-oil and anti-prosperity. See Kudlow and Company on the tube.
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    • Tue Jun 19th 11:36 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Oil Companies Borrow A Page From OPEC's Playbook
      I think we're still talking past each other. My original issue was with the claim that oil companies are colluding to keep OIL prices high by not building refineries. Again, how can a lack of refining capacity keep OIL PRICES high?? Not refined products, but OIL! your points and counterpoints are all talking about the price of gasoline and other refined products. We can agree that with a limited refining capacity, gasoline prices will stay up. But I still need you to explain how a limited refining capacity can result in keeping oil prices up. That doesn't click!
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    • Tue Jun 19th 10:00 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Oil Companies Borrow A Page From OPEC's Playbook
      DPazz, don't try using logic in this argument!! Everyone wants a scapegoat and Big Bad Oil is "it". Yes, profit margins at Big Oil are very small relative to most all other businesses in the US, but that won't stop the money and vote hungry politicians from rambling on about how "obscene" the profits are. Quite frankly, I'd prefer if all US oil companies just pulled out of the US completely and focused all of their efforts internationally. Then, maybe the nimrods here in the US would come to grips with reality. But with the Dem's in charge of congress, I'm sure we'll keep getting hearings and logic-challenged statutes. Oh well, at least we're still making money!!
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    • Tue Jun 19th 09:56 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Oil Companies Borrow A Page From OPEC's Playbook
      I believe DPazz properly addressed your missed efforts! Shortage of refineries = shortage of gasoline + glut of crude oil = higher gasoline prices and lower crude oil prices.

      So, Mr. Cooper, what say ye??
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    • Tue Jun 19th 08:43 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Oil Companies Borrow A Page From OPEC's Playbook
      Another oh so logical post!! Can't wait to see what the good ol' government can do to oil refining! It is doing so well with Social Secuity, the Post Office and other border control! I'm sure there will be unlimited supplies of dirt cheap gasoline!!! good one. ha ha

      And how do you nationalize a company that has over 75% of its assets located outside of your borders? And I'm sure in the constitution you can find something that gives this legal standing??????
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    • Tue Jun 19th 08:38 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      US Oil Companies Borrow A Page From OPEC's Playbook
      Todd: did you sleep through economics class? "Why are you and OPEC colluding to keep oil prices high by threatening to refuse to invest in more refining capacity." Do you really not see the lack of logic? If there is a shortage of refineries to use the raw product crude oil, how is that going to keep oil prices high? If there aren't enough refineries, doesn't that mean that there will be no place for the crude oil to go?? And if there is no place for the crude oil to go, then what happens? It sits in storage or it sits in tankers or it sits in the ground. In all cases, the demand for crude oil goes down. And what happens when demand for a commodity goes down? The price goes down.

      Thanks for taking pot shots at the oil companies. But by including that comment in your post you reveal yourself to be lacking in credibility.
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    • Sat Jun 16th 16:09 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Oil Companies That Haven't (Yet) Capitalized on MLPs - Barron's
      The great thing about MLP's is that they avoid the double taxation that our great and illustrious socialists in government love. Instead of having a tax on the company and then a tax on the shareholders there is only one tax paid by the unit holders. I wish we could get enough fiscal conservatives in office to where we could get this treatment for all companies. But even the small reduction in dividend taxes and capital gains taxes are under attack by the Demoncratic Socialists party and the moderates. How many of you are ready for the biggest tax increase in US history when the Demon's let the tax rate reductions expire in 2010? Get ready for it unless someone does something about it.
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