Commodity Corner: Oil Down 14.7% for the Week

Commodity Corner: Oil Down 14.7% for the Week

Friday, May 06, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Matthew V. Veazey

June crude oil returned to triple-digit territory Friday but only temporarily.

Oil ultimately lost $2.62 to settle at $97.18 a barrel, but it peaked at $102.38 after the U.S. Department of Labor reported encouraging nonfarm payroll figures. The agency reported that nonfarm payroll employment added 244,000 jobs last month, beating expectations. In addition, it announced that the private sector added 268,000 jobs during the same period.

The positive development was short-lived, however. Dragging oil back downward were a higher U.S. unemployment rate and a stronger dollar. In the case of unemployment, the Labor Department announced the country's unemployment rate rose from 8.8 to 9.0 percent in April.

Meanwhile, the euro weakened against the dollar on a German media outlet's claim that the Greek government is weighing leaving the euro zone. Greece's Finance Ministry denied the claim, calling the report "completely untrue." A stronger dollar makes crude oil less attractive to investors holding other currencies.

Crude oil bottomed out at $94.63 Friday. Since last Friday, oil has fallen 14.7 percent. The indicators of slowing economic growth, coupled with a higher-than-expected build in inventories as reported Thursday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, have also ended natural gas' recent rally. Natural gas for June delivery lost 2.5 cents Friday to settle at $4.235 per thousand cubic feet.

June natural gas fluctuated from $4.22 to $4.34 during Friday's session. For the week, gas is down 11 percent.

Front-month gasoline lost a penny to end the day at $3.09 a gallon. The June contract traded within a range from $2.99 to $3.18. Gasoline is down 10.7 percent for the week.

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Nordic: New Lloydminster Well Starts Production

Nordic: New Lloydminster Well Starts Production

Friday, May 06, 2011
Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd.

Donald Benson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. announced Friday that a new heavy oil well at Lloydminster, Alberta, located at 3D-11-50-02W4 is now on production. This brings to 15 the total number wells that Nordic has a 33 1/3% interest in at Lloydminster.

"The operator of the Lloydminster wells says this new well makes lots of sand which is a sign of a good well," Benson stated. "They will be undertaking a production flush to further enhance production and all signs point in a positive direction."

Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. is a junior oil and gas company engaged in the exploration and development of oil, natural gas and Coal Bed Methane in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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Oxy Reviews 2010 Progress at Annual Meeting

Oxy Reviews 2010 Progress at Annual Meeting

Friday, May 06, 2011
Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. Executive Chairman Ray R. Irani and Oxy President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen I. Chazen reported the company's 2010 operational, financial and long-term achievements at the company's annual stockholders' meeting Friday in Santa Monica, California.

"Today marks a noteworthy moment for the future of the company. As announced last October, consistent with the Board's long-established succession plan, Steve Chazen was elected as President and Chief Executive Officer. I will continue as full-time Executive Chairman. The Board believes that Occidental will benefit from the continuation of our long and successful partnership," said Irani.

"For 17 years I have had the pleasure of working with Steve. He is widely recognized as one of the best financial minds in the industry. Steve has served in a number of important posts at Oxy, from head of business development, to Chief Financial Officer, to President and Chief Operating Officer."

Chazen noted, "Ray and I have worked side by side during these years. Oxy's achievements have been impressive: record profits, record market capitalization, recurring increases in production, significant reserve replacement, high credit ratings, and a very strong performance in total shareholder return. Oxy's cumulative stockholder return was 914 percent over the past 10 years. It has been a challenging and successful past and we now look forward to a challenging and even more successful future."

In reviewing Oxy's 2010 performance, Irani said, "Oxy delivered record production, a strengthened asset base and solid profitability in 2010, building value for our stockholders while positioning the company for continued growth and top-tier performance."

Oxy increased worldwide production by 5 percent in 2010 to a company-record of 753,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day. In addition, the company replaced 150 percent of its production in 2010, adding a total of 409 million BOE in proved reserves.

Oxy ended 2010 with

BP Shares Jump On News Of Deal To Solve Russian Arctic Dispute

BP Shares Jump On News Of Deal To Solve Russian Arctic Dispute



May 6, 2011

BP Plc (NYSE:BP) said on Friday that an arbitration panel had issued a consent order permitting BP and the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium to assign a disputed Arctic exploration opportunity to TNK-BP, a large Russian natural gas venture.

TNK-BP is Russians 3rd largest oil company, and is a 50/50 joint venture between BP and the AAR consortium.

AAR had gone to court to stop BP from entering into a deal with Rosneft, a Russian state-controlled firm, citing their existing contract with BP and their right of first refusal.

BP released a statement saying, "The order also permits the proposed share swap between BP and Rosneft to proceed subject to Rosneft having consented to assign the Arctic opportunity to TNK-BP."

The interim injunction preventing the firms from moving forward with their arctic exploration plans remains in place, pending Rosneft's consent to the deal.

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