Fitch Confirms NRG Rating

- Fitch Confirms NRG Rating



Aug 9, 2011

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday confirmed its noninvestment-grade "B+" overall credit rating for wholesale power company NRG Energy Inc.(NYSE:NRG).

The credit rating agency also gave its "BB+" rating to NRG's new first line facilities and affirmed its "BB" rating on the company's unsecured notes. The outlook is stable.

Fitch pointed to the diversity of NRG's power plants in terms of size, fuel location, along with its improved business risk profile, strong liquidity position and historically conservative hedging strategy, as grounds for the ratings.

Fitch said it expects NRG's credit metrics to bottom out in 2013 and for its solid liquidity profile to allow it to navigate a continued drop in commodity prices.

NRG Energy has a potential upside of 28.7% based on a current price of $21.24 and an average consensus analyst price target of $27.33.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

White House announces oil savings standards for heavy duty trucks, buses

- White House announces oil savings standards for heavy duty trucks, buses



Aug 9, 2011

The Obama administration announced new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas pollution standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy duty vehicles that it said will save American businesses who operate and own these commercial vehicles approximately $50B in fuel costs over the life of the program. Under the guidelines, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530M barrels and greenhouse gas pollution by approximately 270M metric tons.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

ReneSola Reported Q2 Results; Issued Guidance

- ReneSola Reported Q2 Results; Issued Guidance



Aug 9, 2011

ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) reported Q2 EPS of $0.02, missing consensus estimates of $0.16 per share. Revenues fell 1.8% year-over-year to $249.3 million, vs. consensus estimates of $147.6 million.

Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer said, "Both wafer and module prices fell faster than expected in the second quarter as European subsidy cuts weakened demand and led to oversupply in the industry. Although this affected both our top and bottom lines, we were able to maintain a gross margin of 18.4% with our industry-low wafer processing costs and growing in-house polysilicon production. Our new Virtus wafer, a multicrystalline wafer that can achieve cell efficiency rates of up to 18.2%, has an even higher profit margin than our existing wafers and has been well-received by clients with its high efficiency-to-price ratio. We expect Virtus wafers to replace all of ReneSola's existing multicrystalline wafers by the end of 2011. As the solar market matures, we will continue to focus on wafer production to capitalize on our brand name, scale of operations and innovative technologies to lead the industry in cost-competitive solar manufacturing."

The company expects Q3 revenues of $220 to $240 million, vs. consensus estimates of $166.63 million.

Renesola has a potential upside of 132.4% based on a current price of $2.77 and an average consensus analyst price target of $6.43.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

El Paso Pipeline Partners Missed Q2 Estimates, Top Line Up 9%

- El Paso Pipeline Partners Missed Q2 Estimates, Top Line Up 9%



Aug 4, 2011

El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE:EPB) reported Q2 EPS of $0.50, missing consensus estimates of $0.54 per share. Revenues for the quarter rose 9.1% year-over-year to $358.0 million, missing consensus estimates of $360.8 million.

Jim Yardley, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Pipeline Partners said, "We continue to deliver superior results for our unitholders with another quarter of higher earnings and cash flow. Our portfolio of high-quality assets continues to grow through acquisitions and expansions. During the quarter, we completed the acquisition of additional interests in CIG and SNG, and now own 100 percent of SNG. We also placed into service additional expansion projects which brings our total to fourteen in less than three years. Our successful acquisitions and expansions have enabled us to deliver consistent distribution growth, as we have increased quarterly distributions every quarter since our IPO in 2007."

El Paso Pipeline Partners has a potential upside of 19.4% based on a current price of $35.29 and an average consensus analyst price target of $42.15.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

El Paso Topped Q2 EPS Estimates By $0.10 Per Share

- El Paso Topped Q2 EPS Estimates By $0.10 Per Share



Aug 4, 2011

El Paso (NYSE:EP) reported Q2 EPS of $0.34, ahead of consensus estimates of $0.24 per share.

Doug Foshee, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of El Paso Corporation said, "We are very pleased with our financial and operational performance. With the completion of our Ruby Pipeline, we have placed three major projects into service this year and will complete two more by year end. And with natural gas likely to be the cornerstone for growth in electric power development, we continue to see exciting growth opportunities on the horizon. Execution in our E&P business is outstanding, with oil programs ramping up with results that are equal to or better than expectations. We are very encouraged by the completion of our first 7,000 foot plus lateral in the Wolfcamp Shale, and we see this program delivering many years of very profitable development across our large acreage position. On the financial front, we continue to make excellent progress, improving our balance sheet primarily through drop downs to El Paso Pipeline Partners. This progress has put us in position to separate into two outstanding companies by year end. We believe this is a great time to be a shareholder of El Paso."

El Paso has a potential upside of 27.7% based on a current price of $19.49 and an average consensus analyst price target of $24.89.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

GM Topped Estimates For Q2, Rose 18.7% YoY

- GM Topped Estimates For Q2, Rose 18.7% YoY



Aug 4, 2011

General Motors (NYSE:GM) reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $1.54, better than analyst estimates of a $1.20 per share. Revenues for the quarter rose 18.7% year-over-year to $39.40 billion, topping consensus estimates of $36.71 billion.

GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said in a statement, "GM's investments in fuel economy, design and quality are paying off around the world."

General Motors (NYSE:GM) has a potential upside of 59.9% based on a current price of $27.17 and an average consensus analyst price target of $43.45.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Toyota July Auto Sales Slip 20%

- Toyota July Auto Sales Slip 20%



Aug 2, 2011

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.(NYSE:TM) announced Tuesday that its July U.S. sales fell 22.7% as it continued to deal with parts shortages stemming from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Toyota sold 130,802 vehicles in July, compared to the 169,224 in the same month last year.

The Japanese automaker sold 27,016 of its Camry car, 22.9% down from 35,058 in July 2010.

Corolla sales dropped 35.7% to 17,577, while sales of the Prius hybrid, which is made only in Japan, tumbled 43.9% to 7,907.

Sales of the Sienna minivan rose 2.3 percent to 10,620.

Toyota Motor has a potential upside of 12.7% based on a current price of $81.96 and an average consensus analyst price target of $92.4.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

GM July Sales Rise 8%

- GM July Sales Rise 8%



Aug 2, 2011

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) says its U.S. sales climbed almost 8% last month, led by fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cruze car.

But GM's increase may not be the standard. Analysts foretell that sales of new cars and light trucks in the U.S. rose slightly from a year earlier as few deals and economic worries kept car shoppers home.

Vice President of Sales Don Johnson reports that unemployment, low consumer confidence and uncertainty over the federal debt ceiling scared some buyers off.

GM sold 214,915 vehicles in July, including almost 25,000 Cruzes. That could potentially make it America's top-selling car for the second straight month.

Sales of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain small crossovers rose nearly 80%.

General Motors has a potential upside of 56.8% based on a current price of $27.71 and an average consensus analyst price target of $43.45.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Trina Solar Shares Slip

- Trina Solar Shares Slip



Aug 2, 2011

Shares of Trina Solar Ltd.(NYSE:TSL) fell over 6% Tuesday in premarket trading after the company lowered its expectation for shipments of solar modules and profit margins in the second quarter.

Trina, a Chinese solar module maker, reported that it expects to report module shipments in the range of 395 to 397 megawatts for the three month period ended June 30. The company formerly said it would ship between 430 and 450 megawatts. Overall profit margins also were lowered to between 17 and 17.5%, compared with earlier forecasts of margin percentages in the "low 20s."

Company officials said shipments and profit margins suffered as demand for solar modules slowed down, in part because Italy cut solar subsidies.

Chairman and CEO Jifan Gao said, "We expect a significant improvement in production costs and an increase in shipment volumes in the third quarter."

Trina retained its prediction for 2011 shipments between 1.75 and 1.8 gigawatts. That's a rise of 65.6 to 70.3% from last year. The company will report its second-quarter results on Aug. 23.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

U.S. Consumer Spending Stalled In June

- U.S. Consumer Spending Stalled In June



Aug 2, 2011

U.S. consumer spending stalled in June as a drop in hiring caused households to cut back, according to the Commerce Department in a report on Tuesday.

In June purchases June rose 0.1% after not much change, while personal incomes likely increased 0.2% in June, the smallest gain in seven months.

Because of the lack of jobs in combination with wage gains have failed to keep pace with inflation, it raises the risk of further cut backs on consumer spending that accounts for 70% of the world's largest economy.

The Gross domestic product increased to a 1.3% annually rate from April in the course of June after a 0.4% gain in the previous quarter that was less than what was earlier expected. Household spending increased 0.1%, the weakest performance since the Q2 of 2009, the end of the last recession.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in semi-annual testimony to Congress on July 13, "Wages are very stagnant and that's affecting consumer spending and consumer confidence. There is also ongoing uncertainty about the durability of the recovery."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

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

BP Shares Drop after Earnings Miss Expectations

- BP Shares Drop after Earnings Miss Expectations

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
LONDON
by Alexis Flynn

BP faced fresh scrutiny from investors Tuesday after quarterly earnings beat last year's level but came in below expectations following a big drop in oil and gas production.

BP posted a 12% rise in adjusted profit for the second quarter as it benefited from higher crude prices and better refining margins. But oil and gas production fell a whopping 11% compared with the 2010 quarter due in part to anemic output in the Gulf of Mexico and unexpected maintenance in the North Sea and Angola.

BP shares were down 11 pence to 464p at 803 GMT, the biggest drop Tuesday morning in the FTSE 100. Analysts also had pointed questions on the slow resumption of BP activities in the Gulf of Mexico, its growth strategy after the demise of a major proposed deal in Russia and the effectiveness of much-touted safety upgrades following a recent fire in the North Sea that has further crimped output.

The U.K.-based energy giant said its clean replacement cost of supplies, a keenly-watched figure that strips out gains or losses from inventories and other non-operating items, for the three months ended June 30 totaled $5.60 billion, compared with $4.98 billion for the second quarter of 2010.

This was below expectations of $6.04 billion in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 11 analysts. BP said this was due to the loss of production from high-margin areas, such as Angola and the North Sea.

BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley said the company is "making rapid progress" and that the results are in line with expectations that 2011 would be a "year of consolidation" after the travails of recent years.

Total oil and gas production was 3.43 million barrels a day, a decline of almost 11% on the year. BP said that after adjusting for acquisitions and divestitures and entitlement impacts from production agreements, the output decrease was 7% compared with the same period of 2010.

"BP appears to be running a business as usual strategy and we are not convinced that the market will put up with this for much longer," said analyst Dougie Youngson from Arbuthnot Securities. "BP has been significantly under-performing the peer group for some time and this looks set to continue."

Royal Bank of Canada analyst Peter Hutton said investors are anxious about BP's difficulty controlling costs compared with peer companies. A complicating factor is the slow progress in resuming operations in the U.S. Gulf, Hutton added. "Other operators are getting things through and BP has a sum total of zero approvals," Hutton said. "When you rank BP against the others, it is quite stark."

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Anadarko Petroleum Topped Q2 EPS Estimates

- Anadarko Petroleum Topped Q2 EPS Estimates



Jul 25, 2011

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) announced Q2 EPS of $1.14, ex-items, ahead of consensus estimates of $0.95 per share. During the quarter, sales volumes totaled 62 million barrels of oil equivalent, or 685,000 BOE per day, averaging about 2.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, 225,000 barrels of oil per day, and 72,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day.

Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said, "We achieved record liquids sales volumes during the quarter, enhancing margins and generating excellent cash flows. Nearly all of the year-over-year volume growth was attributable to a 34,000 barrel-per-day increase in liquids volumes. These results contributed to strong discretionary cash flows of more than $1.8 billion -- approximately $117 million above our capital expenditures, which included a one-time cash investment of $518 million associated with the acquisition of the Wattenberg plant."

Anadarko Petroleum has a potential upside of 15.4% based on a current price of $82.58 and an average consensus analyst price target of $95.26.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Exxon Mobil's Marine Affiliate Announces Plan For Two New Tankers

- Exxon Mobil's Marine Affiliate Announces Plan For Two New Tankers



Jul 25, 2011

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) U.S. marine affiliate, SeaRiver Maritime, signed a letter of intetn with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for the construction of two U.S. flag, crude, oil tankers in partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries.

The vessels will be used to transport Alaska North Sloe crude oil from Prince William Sound, Alaska to U.S. West Coast destinations. Project planning work is underway with construction of the 115,000 deadweight ton tankers expected to begin by mid-2012.

The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2014 and will be capable of carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil to help meet U.S. energy needs. They will replace two double hull tankers.

Will Jenkins, president of SeaRiver said, "Today's announcement is consistent with our long-term ongoing commitment to safe and reliable marine transportation in the United States and throughout the world. These new vessels will provide jobs for American shipyard workers and help support energy needs along the U.S. West Coast for decades to come."

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has a potential upside of 9.3% based on a current price of $85.08 and an average consensus analyst price target of $92.96.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Harley-Davidson Beats EPS Estimates, Sees Growth in 2011

- Harley-Davidson Beats EPS Estimates, Sees Growth in 2011



Jul 19, 2011

Harley Davidson (NYSE:HOG) reported quarter results of $0.81 per share above consensus estimates of $0.71. Revenue for the quarter rose 18% year-over-year to $1.34 billion ahead of consensus estimates of $1.26 billion.

The Company raised shipment guidance for 2011 and now expects to ship 228,000 to 235,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide, compared to guidance provided April 19, 2011 of 215,000 to 228,000 motorcycles. In the third quarter of 2011, the Company expects to ship 60,000 to 65,000 motorcycles. For all of 2010, the Company shipped 210,494 motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $38.24 and above its 200-day of $36.91.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Kodiak to Offer Shares to Fund Bakken Activity

- Kodiak to Offer Shares to Fund Bakken Activity

Monday, July 18, 2011
Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. today announced that it is commencing an offering of 20,000,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Kodiak expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day over allotment option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 shares of Kodiak's common stock.

Kodiak intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay debt outstanding under its revolving credit facility, to fund capital expenditures related to drilling, development and infrastructure, principally in the Bakken play located in North Dakota, and for general corporate purposes, including financing the potential acquisition of oil and gas properties in certain core areas, such as the Bakken play.

In connection with the offering, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained by contacting: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Prospectus Department, One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, 1-800-221-1037.

The offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Department of Energy Grants DTE Energy $5.4M

- Department of Energy Grants DTE Energy $5.4M



Jul 14, 2011

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) received a $5.4 million federal grant through the Clean Energy Coalition to fund the conversion of more than 170 gasoline-powered fleet vehicles to use compacted natural gas.

The grant that was awarded to Clean Energy Coalition's Green Fleets program by the U.S. Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also pays for the building of two new CNG fueling stations and the refurbishment of 11 others across the state of Michigan.

DTE Energy has a potential upside of 1.3% based on a current price of $50.08 and an average consensus analyst price target of $50.71.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

ConocoPhillips to Split Into Two Next Year

- ConocoPhillips to Split Into Two Next Year



Jul 14, 2011

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced Thursday that it will be splitting into two companies. The division should take place sometime in the first half of 2012.

James J. Mulva, the ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive, said in a statement, "We have concluded that two independent companies focused on their respective industries will be better positioned to pursue their individually focused business strategies."

ConocoPhillips has a potential upside of 13.4% based on a current price of $74.4 and an average consensus analyst price target of $84.38.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

GE Unit Receives $45M Contract to supply TLP Tensioner System for Chevron

- GE Unit Receives $45M Contract to supply TLP Tensioner System for Chevron



Jul 6, 2011

GE (NYSE:GE) Oil & Gas' Drilling & Production business has been awarded a contract of approximately $45M to supply and service the industry's largest tension leg platform to Chevron (NYSE:CVX) for deployment in its Big Foot oil and gas field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Installation of the TLP is scheduled to begin in November 2012 and first oil is expected in 2014.

Chevron has a potential upside of 17.1% based on a current price of $104.86 and an average consensus analyst price target of $122.75.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Apache Corp Announced The Results Of Two Development Wells

- Apache Corp Announced The Results Of Two Development Wells



Jul 6, 2011

Apache Corp. (NASDAQ:APA) announced the results of two development wells completed in June at the company's Forties field in the UK sector of the North Sea.

Charlie 4-3 commenced production at a rate of 12,567 barrels of oil per day (b/d), which is the highest in the Forties since 1990 and follows the previously disclosed Charlie 2-2, completed in March with an initial production rate of 11,876 b/d. Delta 3-5 commenced production at 8,781 b/d.

The company acquired a new 4-D seismic survey over Forties during 2010, enhancing the company's ability to identify accumulations of by-passed oil within the field area.

James L. House, region vice president and managing director of Apache North Sea Ltd. said, "The safe and very successful delivery of our 2011 drilling program reflects the experience, teamwork, technical skill and commitment of the Apache North Sea region."

Apache has a potential upside of 18.1% based on a current price of $124.49 and an average consensus analyst price target of $147.05.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too