An oil company's track record on spills—and whether it is adjusted for future accidents—has become progressively more important to investors now that oil exploration and extraction is moving offshore and into hazardous areas like the Arctic or South America.
With all of the attention to the petrochemicals industry currently, a recent survey conducted by Resources Investing News has highlighted both oil and natural gas sectors as areas of high interest for investors.
Crude oil fell on Tuesday, snapping four days of gains, on concern a U.S. government report will show stockpiles climbed from the highest level since September 1990. Crude oil for June delivery declined as much as 77 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $53.70 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil is up 21 per cent this year.
Recent dismal economic data and growing U.S. inventories kept oil prices below $50 a barrel Friday despite hopes of a possible second-half recovery in crude demand. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 40 cents to $49.58 a barrel by Noon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Thursday rose 73 cents to settle at $49.98.
The market in Toronto jumped significantly, in part due to the merger announcement between Suncorp (TSE:SU) and Petro-Canada (TSE:PCA). Petro-Canada was up 20 per cent at the end of the day and many of the other Canadian oil patch companies rose along with it. EnCana (TSE:ECA), Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) and Talisman Energy (TSE:TLM) all closed up significantly.
After falling from $147 to $35 per barrel towards the end of last year, crude oil has once again gained and touched $45 per barrel on speculation that China's stimulus plan may spur demand for the commodity near term. However, some experts are of the view that this is not just speculation but real purchases driving the prices up.
The United States government statement that U.S. employers had slashed over a half million jobs in January, the highest yet in 35 years, lead to crude oil prices dropping just below $41 a barrel, way below the high of $147 a barrel last summer. There is a link between layoffs and the demand on oil, say analysts, as those laid off see no need for the daily commute, and buy less of petroleum products like toys and raincoats.
Brazil plans to invest some $400 bn in coming 10 years to develop new offshore fields that may contain as much as 80 billion barrels of oil. For full story, click here
It is obvious that a barrel price below $60 on the NYMEX is bad news for oil companies. Part of the drop reflects a strengthening American dollar, but recent demand forecast revisions are bleak. Governments, companies and investors think a prolonged recession or period of low growth is in the offing, and everyone should take note.
Along with OPEC production cuts and healthy company numbers, (both discussed below) the market is clearly disjointed. The tenor of discussions in the business pages and networks lately suggests that Yeats was right, and the centre cannot hold. Recession or recovery, echo boom or bust, few are predicting prolonged instability somewhere between these extremes.
Get our independent commentary on oil trends and companies delivered to your inbox.
