Earnings season is in full force for some of the world’s largest public oil companies, and the news from their balance sheets is turning out to be almost as grim as the rest of the economy. Oil major ConocoPhillips yesterday disclosed nearly $32 billion in losses in a write-down that included its stake in the Russian oil firm Lukoil. The company is also reducing new investment, as part of...
Energy Industry Archive
January 2009
Should major energy companies have to pay the penalties for hastily-made government policy? Class action lawyers around the country are likely hoping the answer is ‘yes’, while watching a lawsuit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to see if its strategy might pay off. The lawsuit alleges that six oil companies, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Shell Oil and Tower Energy, are...
President Obama’s stimulus package passed today in the United States House, wrapping up the first step of its journey to passage. Although the bill must make it past Republican opposition in the Senate, it’s almost certainly in the clear. Because of its massive size — at $819 billion, it may be the largest one-off expenditure ever — the bill has received plenty of...
The Company: Fuel System Solutions, a major provider of alternative fuel systems worldwide which convert gasoline vehicles to run on cleaner burning natural gas or propane. The Filing: FORM 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 10, 2008. The Finding: Fuel Systems Solutions recently announced it would begin manufacturing its innovative alternative fuel solutions for the U.S. automotive...
An interesting item running in 24/7 Wall St. today, and reprinted in Time, has some scary thoughts for alternative energy mavens. In a nutshell, the argument is that the recession could rapidly worsen to the point that the entire bailout package, which includes funds for energy, broadband and other measures, needs to be diverted to staunch the bleeding. The title of the piece is “Creating...
One of today’s top news items in the energy sector is German conglomerate Siemens‘ sale of its shares in French nuclear firm Areva. The stake amounted to about a third of Areva’s shares, valued at $2-3 billion. The sale of shares back to Areva doesn’t appear to be directly related to the recession, and has up to three years to be completed. It looks like neither firm...
Noble Energy, an independent oil-and-gas producer, hit pay dirt last week when it uncovered a huge cache of natural gas off the coast of Israel. Now the Houston-based company, which may be sitting on the largest gas discovery in its history, just has to figure out how to take advantage of it in a time when its peers are busy abandoning exploration. It will take a considerable amount of...
The Company: Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, the largest double-hull bunkering delivery fleet operator in the world. The Filing: FORM 6-K filed with the SEC on November 12, 2008. The Finding: Given a ban of a significant portion of single hull bunkering tankers, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network believes that the number of bunkering tankers worldwide will decline significantly. In addition to...
Chinese solar panel maker Suntech received a reputation boost this week with the announcement that it would join thin-film solar firm First Solar in providing half of the first 10 megawatts of power for Masdar City, a zero-carbon community under development in Abu Dhabi. Although some reports have suggested that Masdar has just “broken ground” on the 10MW plant, having seen it...
The Company: Marathon Oil, the fourth largest United States-based integrated energy company. The Filing: FORM 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 07, 2008. The Finding: Marathon Oil said production of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas sold during the fourth-quarter 2008 would be approximately 415,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), at the low end of the company’s guidance....
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- Valero CEO: Climate Bill Threatens U.S. National Security
- China's Big Bet on Rail Transportation
- Week in Oil & Gas: Foreign Oil Sands Grab and Climate Shenanigans
- Week in Renewables: Glowing and Grim Reports, a New Bank, and Big Wind
- Sue Big Oil Over Global Warming? Court Tells Katrina Victims, Yes You Can!
- Clinton: Energy Efficiency Is Not Sexy, But Important Low-Hanging Fruit
- Geoengineering: From Crackpot Theorizing to Excuse Du Jour
- Clean Coal, a Global Failure in the Making
- Week in Renewables: Obama vs. Public Opinion, and New Energy Bets
- Wind Power Poised For a Possible Fast Recovery
- Boxer Rolls Political Dice, Climate Bill Moves Onto Senate Floor
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- Clinton: Energy Efficiency Is Not Sexy, But Important Low-Hanging Fruit
- Boxer Rolls Political Dice, Climate Bill Moves Onto Senate Floor
- Carbon Offsets: The Next Cash Crop for Farmers?
- Valero to Shutter Some Refinery Operations, Cut Hundreds of Jobs
- Canada Starts Doling Out Carbon Capture Dollars
- Big Three Automakers, Michigan Nab Bulk of U.S. Battery Grants
- POET CEO: Future of Second-Gen Biofuels Depends on E15
- Laureate Effect: Will a Nobel Prize In Obama's Hand Help or Hurt the Climate Bill Cause?
Industry Transcripts by Seeking Alpha
- Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
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- BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. Q3 2009 Earnings Conference Call
- Central Vermont Public Services Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
- Mariner Energy, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
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