Abraxas Announces New CFO

- Abraxas Announces New CFO

Friday, September 09, 2011
Abraxas Petroleum Corporation

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation today announced that Barbara M. Stuckey has been elected to serve as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and George William “Bill” Krog, Jr. has been elected to serve as Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer of the Company. The Company also announced that Chris E. Williford, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, has resigned from the Company to accept a job in an executive position with a private company.

Ms. Stuckey has been with the Company since 1997 and most recently served as Vice President – Corporate Finance. Ms. Stuckey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Bordeaux Business School. Mr. Krog has been with the Company since 1995 and most recently served as Information Systems / Financial Reporting Director. Mr. Krog received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant.

“I am pleased to announce two promotions from within the Company. Both Barbara and Bill have been instrumental in the growth and success of the Company over the past decade. On behalf of the entire Abraxas family, we thank Chris for 18 years of service and wish him well in his future endeavors,” commented Bob Watson, President and CEO of Abraxas.

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is a San Antonio based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations across the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent, Permian Basin and Gulf Coast regions of the United States and in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

PPL Corporation EPS In Line With Estimates, Beats Revenue For Q2

- PPL Corporation EPS In Line With Estimates, Beats Revenue For Q2



Aug 5, 2011

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.45 in line with analyst estimates. Revenues for the quarter were $2.49 billion, better than consensus estimates of $2.26 billion.

James H. Miller, PPL's chairman and chief executive officer said, "We're on track to achieve our forecasted 2011 earnings from ongoing operations despite extended unplanned outages to replace turbine blades at both of our Susquehanna nuclear units. We expect to mitigate the impact of the Susquehanna outages with strong performance from our U.K. business and positive results in other aspects of our competitive supply business."

PPL (NYSE:PPL) has a potential upside of 13.3% based on a current price of $26.53 and an average consensus analyst price target of $30.06.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Tesoro Fined For Refinery Violations

- Tesoro Fined For Refinery Violations



Jul 26, 2011

Oil giant Tesoro Corp.(NYSE:TSO) has arranged to pay $500,000 in fines for dozens of air pollution violations at its refinery in Martinez.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District reported the settlement to the San Antonio-based company on Monday. District officials say emissions from the Golden Eagle refinery often surpassed air-quality standards for carbon monoxide, soot and other pollutants between 2006 and 2009.

The refinery was also fined for failing to fix leaky equipment and failing to correctly sample and monitor pollution during that period. In total, Tesoro collected 46 different citations.

Company spokesman Mike Marcy tells the Contra Costa Times while the violations were regrettable, they were reported by the company for the most part. He also claimed that 40% of them were for paperwork errors.

Tesoro has a potential upside of 12.5% based on a current price of $25.48 and an average consensus analyst price target of $28.67.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

OXY 2Q Earnings Up 17%

- OXY 2Q Earnings Up 17%

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation announced core income of $1.8 billion ($2.23 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2011, compared with $1.1 billion ($1.32 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2010. Net income was $1.8 billion ($2.23 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2011, compared with $1.1 billion ($1.31 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2010.

In announcing the results, Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The second quarter 2011 net income of $1.8 billion was an increase of 17 percent over the first quarter results. Improved earnings in all of our business segments resulted in a six month, year-to-date cash flow from operations of $5.6 billion and an annualized return on equity of 20 percent. Our second quarter domestic oil and gas production grew 11 percent from the second quarter of the prior year to 424,000 BOE per day."

QUARTERLY RESULTS

Oil and Gas

Oil and gas segment earnings were $2.6 billion for the second quarter of 2011, compared with $1.9 billion for the same period in 2010. The increase in the second quarter of 2011 earnings was due mainly to higher crude oil prices.

For the second quarter of 2011, daily oil and gas production volumes averaged 715,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), compared with 701,000 BOE in the second quarter of 2010. As a result of higher year-over-year average oil prices and other factors affecting production sharing and similar contracts, production was reduced in the Middle East/North Africa and Colombia by 11,000 BOE per day, with another 1,000 BOE per day reduction at THUMS in Long Beach.

The second quarter 2011 production volume increase was a result of 42,000 BOE per day higher domestic volumes, partially offset by reduced volumes in the Middle East / North Africa. The domestic increase was mainly from the new acquisitions in South Texas and the North Dakota Williston Basin. The Middle East/North Africa was lower primarily due to the lack of production in Libya and price impacts on production sharing contracts, partially offset by production from Iraq coming on line in 2011 and higher volumes from the Mukhaizna field in Oman.

Daily sales volumes remained flat at 705,000 BOE per day in the second quarter of 2011, compared with 705,000 BOE per day in the second quarter of 2010. The 2011 sales volumes were lower than the production volumes due to the timing of liftings in Iraq, Qatar and Oman.

Second quarter realized prices improved for all products on a year-over-year basis. The price for worldwide crude oil was $103.12 per barrel for the second quarter of 2011, compared with $74.39 per barrel for the second quarter of 2010. The second quarter of 2011 realized oil price represents 101 percent of the average WTI price for the quarter. Worldwide NGL prices were $57.67 per barrel in the second quarter of 2011, compared with $44.08 per barrel in the second quarter of 2010. Domestic gas prices increased from $4.19 per MCF in the second quarter of 2010 to $4.27 per MCF for the second quarter of 2011.

SIX-MONTH RESULTS

Year-to-date 2011 core results were over $3.4 billion ($4.19 per diluted share), compared with $2.2 billion ($2.67 per diluted share) for the same period in 2010. Net income for the first six months of 2011 was $3.4 billion ($4.13 per diluted share), compared with $2.1 billion ($2.61 per diluted share) for the same period in 2010.

Oil and Gas

Oil and gas segment earnings were $5.1 billion for the six months of 2011, compared with $3.7 billion for the same period of 2010. The $1.4 billion increase in the 2011 results reflected higher crude oil and NGL prices and higher sales volumes, partially offset by higher operating costs and DD&A rates.

Daily oil and gas production volumes for the six months were 723,000 BOE per day for 2011, compared with 701,000 BOE per day for the 2010 period. Higher year-over-year average oil prices and other factors affecting our production sharing and similar contracts lowered our Middle East/North Africa, Long Beach and Colombia production by 14,000 BOE per day.

Domestic volumes increased primarily due to new operations in South Texas and the Williston Basin, partially offset by lower gas volumes in California. The Middle East/North Africa's production declined due to impacts of price and other factors on production sharing contracts, lower production in Libya and planned maintenance in Dolphin. Partially offsetting these declines were increases from the new production in Iraq and higher production in the Mukhaizna field in Oman.

Daily sales volumes were 717,000 BOE in the first six months of 2011, compared with 695,000 BOE for 2010.

Oxy's realized prices improved for crude oil and NGLs but declined for natural gas on a year-over-year basis. Worldwide crude oil prices were $97.38 per barrel for the six months of 2011, compared with $74.24 per barrel for the six months of 2010. Worldwide NGL prices were $55.38 per barrel for the six months of 2011, compared with $45.73 per barrel in the six months of 2010. Domestic gas prices declined from $4.90 per MCF in the six months of 2010 to $4.24 per MCF in the six months of 2011.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Treaty Finalizes C&C Acquisition

- Treaty Finalizes C&C Acquisition

Thursday, July 07, 2011
Treaty Energy Corp.

Treaty Energy has fully paid off the acquisition of C&C Petroleum Management LLC.

Andrew V. Reid, Chairman and CEO of Treaty Energy Corporation, commented, "As of June 25, 2011, the C&C Petroleum Management LLC, acquisition was paid in full. We are all excited here at Treaty that we could accomplish the payoff of this acquisition eight months early and ahead of schedule. The $600,000 purchase price of C&C Petroleum was paid utilizing a combination of cash and stock. I am very pleased to have paid this acquisition off in the second quarter."

Mr. Reid commented further, "Our team at Treaty Energy continues to work diligently and earnestly to accomplish dramatic improvements in our company's net worth and operating profits, and this early payoff of the C&C acquisition and numerous other positive financial events will be reflected in our soon to be announced 2Q results."

Finally, Mr. Reid commented, "Treaty Energy stakeholders will see remarkable improvements in every aspect of our company over the balance of this year."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

South Africa, South Korea Sign Deal on Hydrocarbon Exploration

- South Africa, South Korea Sign Deal on Hydrocarbon Exploration

Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

The national oil companies of South Africa and South Korea on Tuesday signed a deal on hydrocarbon exploration in Africa.

PetroSA and the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said they will also explore investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector on the continent.

The South African company said the deal would help it secure fuel supplies for the country, while its South Korean counterpart said this was a "golden opportunity to advance into African regions."

This is the latest deal between major Asian economies and African firms on natural resources, while countries like South Korea seek access to key exports to ensure their growth.

Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Libya leaves it late for Opec show

- Libya leaves it late for Opec show

Jun 9, 2011
April Yee

VIENNA // Libya waited until the last minute to send a delegate to yesterday's Opec meeting in what is being interpreted as a message the regime led by Muammar Qaddafi remains in control despite the ongoing civil war.

Omran Abu Kraa, Libya's former electricity chief, entered Opec headquarters hours into yesterday's ministerial deliberations through a basement garage, avoiding reporters waiting at the building's entrance. Since conflict gripped the country in February, its energy industry has been crippled by the exit of foreign oil companies, international sanctions and attacks on infrastructure.

"They want to still have a say," said Catherine Hunter, an analyst with IHS in London. "It keeps the illusion of normality. It's not a done deal that the government side will not prevail, so they've got to keep up their representation as a sovereign state. It would be an admission of defeat to not come."

Libyan rebels adjust an anti-aircraft gun as smoke from a damaged oil facility darkens the sky in Ras Lanuf, Libya. Getty Images

The organisation that controls more than 40 per cent of the world's oil supply was meeting for the first time since popular uprisings took place in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and sent the price of oil as high as US$127 a barrel.

In Libya, civil war has shut down most of its production capacity of 1.6 million barrels a day (bpd).

Last week Libya's former top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, announced his defection from Col Qaddafi's regime and stepped down from his post as Libya's head Opec negotiator and chairman of National Oil Corporation, the state oil company.

At stake yesterday was whether Libya should be exempt from a system that caps the production of member countries. If Libya were to join Iraq in being exempt from the quota system, the significance of Opec's output target could be further eroded. The ceiling is now at 24.8 million bpd, but members pump about 1.5 million bpd in excess of that, according to most estimates.

"Libya is almost theoretical at the moment because it can't actually ramp up production," said Ms Hunter, adding that redistributing Libya's quota would be an impractical solution for Opec. "What happens when Libya comes back? There's so much sensitivity about the quota system to begin with. Anything that would affect new lines in the sand on quota distribution would be contentious and would probably take more than a day."

Before the start of yesterday's meeting Libya's seat was conspicuously empty. But officials made an effort to project a common front.

"We have to be united," said Abdullah el Badri, the secretary general of Opec. "We have no other choice."

Mr el Badri deflected questions about Libya, his home country, and said he would "facilitate anybody who will want to come here".

Representatives of Libya's opposition forces, who had said they were interested in sending delegates to the meeting, were nowhere to be seen.

"At Opec, they don't want to do these things — invite rebels — otherwise they might have problems in the future," said Ehsan Ul-Haq, a senior market consultant with KBC, an energy economics consultancy. "And Opec doesn't want to create problems."

Mohammed al Sada, the oil minister of Qatar, who has backed the opposition in Libya by providing military aid and marketing Benghazi crude, insisted the discussions would not be affected by politics.

"The focus today is the economy," he said. "The focus is the supply and demand, the fundamentals.

"This is an economic type of forum so we are not addressing the political issue, though Qatar recognises the National Transitional Council and helping our Libyan brothers in many facets; we're going to continue."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Devon Energy Posts Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Slight Beat, Revenues Miss

Devon Energy Posts Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Slight Beat, Revenues Miss



May 4, 2011

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) reported Q1 EPS of $1.34 ex-items today, just beating the consensus estimate for $1.33 per share. Revenue for the quarter was down 33% year-over-year to $2.15 billion, below the consensus estimate for $2.24 billion.

Devon Energy has a potential upside of 17% based on a current price of $87.32 and an average consensus analyst price target of $102.17.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Entergy Reports Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Beats By $0.05, Revenue Down 8% YoY

Entergy Reports Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Beats By $0.05, Revenue Down 8% YoY



Apr 29, 2011

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) reported Q1 EPS of $1.38 today, beating the consensus estimate for $1.33 per share. Revenue for the quarter was down 8% year-over-year to $2.54 billion, below the consensus estimate for $2.79 billion.

J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer said, "Results for the quarter reflect the continued benefits of constructive regulatory decisions. The quarter also brought challenges to the business climate for the nuclear industry with the tragic events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. As always, we will continue our intense focus on safety and operational excellence in all aspects of our business. Whatever learning may come from the Fukushima event will be quickly applied to our own emergency preparation and processes."

The company affirmed its 2011 EPS guidance in the range of $6.35 to $6.85, in-line with the consensus estimate of $6.55 per share.

AMR Corporation Reports Q1 Earnings Just About In-Line

AMR Corporation Reports Q1 Earnings Just About In-Line



Apr 20, 2011

AMR Corporation, (NYSE:AMR) the parent company of American Airlines, reported a Q1 EPS loss of $1.31, slightly narrow than the $1.32 loss analysts had expected. Revenues for the quarter were up 9.2% year-over-year to $5.5 billion, in-line with the consensus estimate.

"High fuel prices remain one of the biggest challenges to our industry and our company. We believe our steps to aggressively increase revenues, reduce capacity, control non-fuel operating costs, and bolster liquidity will help us to better manage the challenges we currently face," said AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey. "While we clearly must achieve better results as we continue to strengthen our business, we have made some meaningful progress. I want to thank our people for their commitment to serving our customers, and I am confident that our overall strategy positions American well to address our current challenges and sets the stage for long-term success."

Jubilant Reaches TD at Golaghat Well

Jubilant Reaches TD at Golaghat Well

Monday, April 18, 2011
Jubilant Energy N.V.

Jubilant announced that the P-16-1 well, which was spudded on March 20, 2011 in the Golaghat Block (AA-ONN-2003/1), reached a total depth of 1625 meters. The well encountered a granitic basement from 1555 meters onwards.

The well tested a NE/SW fault prospect and was drilled through all the potential reservoirs that were previously identified at this location. Based upon drilling, electric logs and MDT data, no hydrocarbons were encountered in the well. The well is thus being prepared to be plugged and abandoned.

The drilling of the well was completed under budget and without any health, safety and environmental incidents.

The execution of the remaining work program comprising of six additional exploratory wells will be finalized on obtaining forestry land approval.

Jubilant through its subsidiary, Jubilant Oil and Gas Pvt Limited, holds a 10% participating interest in this block and is the Operator. Jubilant Securities Private Limited (JSPL), a company in the wider Jubilant Bhartia Group, also holds 35% participating interest in this block. Jubilant, through its subsidiary, Jubilant Energy (Nelp-V) Pvt Limited, has entered into a business transfer agreement dated 1 April 2007 with JSPL for acquiring its entire stake in the block. This transfer is subject to, inter alia, the parties obtaining consents from various third parties, including the management committee under the relevant Production Sharing Contract and the Government of India.

The other partners in the acreage are Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited with 20% and GAIL India Limited with 35% Participating Interest.

French, US, Canadian Oil Ventures in Libya

French, US, Canadian Oil Ventures in Libya

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

Three Libyan oil ventures involving French, US and Canadian companies had their assets frozen by the European Union on Thursday, as it issued a fresh round of sanctions in a bid to increase pressure on the regime of Moammer Gaddafi.

Sanctions against a total of 11 Libyan energy firms came into force Thursday.

The three joint ventures are between Libya's National Oil Corporation and France-based Total, and the US-based Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Petro Canada.

The other companies targeted by the sanctions are all subsidiaries of the National Oil Corporation.

These sanctions add to the 16 energy companies already placed under sanctions, implementing a "de facto oil and gas embargo," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Tuesday while announcing the extra sanctions.

The EU also froze the assets of 15 other Libyan companies, including banks, investment firms and Libyan Arab Airlines, which is owned by the Libyan government.

Libya's ambassador to Chad and the governor of Libya's southern Ghat district were also hit with travel bans and asset freezes for recruiting mercenaries to support Gaddafi's regime.

Some two dozen people, including Gaddafi, his relatives and close associates, had earlier been targeted by EU sanctions.

One, however, had his travel ban and asset freeze lifted on Thursday, former foreign minister Musa Kusa, who had been defected on March 30, in Britain.

'Fracking' Deemed Eco-Safe at Hearing

'Fracking' Deemed Eco-Safe at Hearing

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tulsa World, Okla.
by Jim Myers

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud told key U.S. senators that his agency's record on protecting water from pollution makes it clear that states, not the federal government, should regulate hydraulic fracturing.

The decades-old practice has helped spark a natural-gas boom in parts of the country, along with growing controversy.

"During more than half a century of hydraulic fracturing experience, there has not been a single documented instance of contamination to groundwater or drinking water as a result of hydraulic fracturing," Cloud told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

That record, he said, covers more than 100,000 wells in Oklahoma.

Cloud's testimony triggered praise from an unlikely source, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who not only led the hearing into natural-gas drilling and public health but who also represents a state that has imposed a moratorium on "fracking operations."

Cardin was critical of both the industry, which he accused of failing to meet even minimally acceptable performance levels for protecting human health, and regulatory agencies that in his view also have failed to do what is necessary to protect drinking water supplies.

What especially impressed Cardin was Cloud's explanation that Oklahoma requires the fluids used in fracking to be either recycled or injected into wells.

Cloud repeatedly offered assurances that those fluids never get into the state's water.

Cardin urged other states to follow Oklahoma's lead.

"I think we need to learn from best practices, and we have seen some of that catch on from other states," he said, also citing the record in Colorado.

In some areas, the fluids reportedly are taken to municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the committee's top Republican and a key player on environmental issues in Congress, also welcomed Cloud's testimony about the state's "long and successful history of regulating hydraulic fracturing."

"Oklahoma has long been a leader in natural gas production, and hydraulic fracturing plays a key role in providing affordable domestic energy," Inhofe said.

Tuesday's hearing came as natural gas is generating more attention, both negative and positive, as an alternative to oil as a transportation fuel. Rising oil prices and an abundance of domestic natural gas have sparked the interest of politicians, but environmental concerns accompanying the gas boom have prompted states like Maryland and New York to step back from increased drilling activity.

Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., is sponsoring legislation to repeal the so-called loophole for the industry and require the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking.

Casey admitted that for decades his state did not take the correct approach to regulating coal mining. Today, he said, "we have to get it right on natural gas."

According to Cardin, who cited a number of violations, and statements from others at the hearing, Pennsylvania is still struggling when it comes to regulation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also did not escape critical questions, especially concerning its take on the use of diesel fuel in fracking and whether firms that use diesel fuel must apply for a permit.