The United States is lining up with China, India and the world's other biggest polluting nations to oppose mandatory cuts in global-warming greenhouse gases sought by the United Nations and European countries. President Bush's two-day climate meeting opened Thursday. It will emphasize creating more processes to find a solution to global warming, rather than setting firm goals for reducing carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for heating up the atmosphere. The nations summoned by Bush will "seek agreement on the process" and more work teams for nations to set their own strategies beyond 2012, when the U.N.-brokered Kyoto Protocol expires, according to a White House statement. It also "could include a long-term global goal, nationally defined midterm goals and strategies, and sector-based approaches for improving energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions," the White House said.
Energy Futures Contracts Rise
Oil and other petroleum futures rose amid supply concerns sparked by a decline in crude inventories at a key Oklahoma terminal and the confrontation between the West and Iran.
Many traders are betting the West will take action against Iran before the end of the year, and worry that such a move - either economic sanctions or a military strike - will result in disruption of oil supplies from the Middle East.
November light, sweet crude rose $1.45 to $81.75 on the Nymex, while October gasoline added 1.66 cents at $2.044 a gallon.
Heating oil futures gained 4.69 cents at $2.2295 a gallon, while natural gas for November fell 16.2 cents to $6.884 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The government reported that natural gas inventories rose by 74 billion cubic feet last week, slightly more than expected. Natural gas inventories are higher than they were one year ago.
FBR Cuts Earnings Estimates on Refiners
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey lowered its third-quarter and full-year earnings estimates for independent refiners.
Analyst Eltan Bernstein said refining margin indicators have been very volatile. "Our regional analysis suggests that Midwest margins remained fairly robust, while West Coast margins showed the greatest year-over-year decline."
Bernstein said Midwest margins, where refineries experienced multiple supply disruptions, were up more than 20 percent year-over-year. Smooth-running West Coast refineries saw margins fall 17 percent below average levels in the third quarter of 2006.
He dropped his third-quarter and annual profit outlooks for Valero Energy Corp. , Tesoro Corp. , Sunoco Inc. , Holly Corp. and Frontier Oil Corp.
Bernstein has a "Market Weight" rating on the sector and rates Valero and Sunoco "Outperform." He thinks Tesoro has the most potential for downside.
ExxonMobil and Murphy Suing Canadian Government
ExxonMobil and Murphy Oil plan to sue Canada for breaching the North American Free Trade Agreement by permitting the province of Newfoundland to require them to spend millions of dollars on research in the province.
The two companies plan to sue the federal government, alleging it violated a previous NAFTA agreement when a provincial-federal agency adopted a new guideline on research and development in November 2004.
The complaints stem from the Terra Nova and Hibernia offshore oil projects, in which both U.S. oil companies own stakes.
In notices of intent filed last month, ExxonMobil and Murphy Oil said the new regulation would cost them about $40 million and $10 million, respectively, even if there is a need for such investment.
The companies call the guideline "restrictive," since it specifies a fixed amount of money to be invested.
ADM and ConocoPhillips in Biofuel Partnership
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and ConocoPhillips will team to create biofuel, creating a partnership between the biggest U.S. ethanol producer and one of the biggest oil refiners.
ADM, a Decatur, Ill.-based agricultural processing company, will provide "biomass," or organic material left over from crops, wood or switchgrass. Houston-based ConocoPhillips will convert the materials into "biocrude" fuel for transportation.
Energy Futures Contracts Rise
Oil and other petroleum futures rose amid supply concerns sparked by a decline in crude inventories at a key Oklahoma terminal and the confrontation between the West and Iran.
Many traders are betting the West will take action against Iran before the end of the year, and worry that such a move - either economic sanctions or a military strike - will result in disruption of oil supplies from the Middle East.
November light, sweet crude rose $1.45 to $81.75 on the Nymex, while October gasoline added 1.66 cents at $2.044 a gallon.
Heating oil futures gained 4.69 cents at $2.2295 a gallon, while natural gas for November fell 16.2 cents to $6.884 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The government reported that natural gas inventories rose by 74 billion cubic feet last week, slightly more than expected. Natural gas inventories are higher than they were one year ago.
FBR Cuts Earnings Estimates on Refiners
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey lowered its third-quarter and full-year earnings estimates for independent refiners.
Analyst Eltan Bernstein said refining margin indicators have been very volatile. "Our regional analysis suggests that Midwest margins remained fairly robust, while West Coast margins showed the greatest year-over-year decline."
Bernstein said Midwest margins, where refineries experienced multiple supply disruptions, were up more than 20 percent year-over-year. Smooth-running West Coast refineries saw margins fall 17 percent below average levels in the third quarter of 2006.
He dropped his third-quarter and annual profit outlooks for Valero Energy Corp. , Tesoro Corp. , Sunoco Inc. , Holly Corp. and Frontier Oil Corp.
Bernstein has a "Market Weight" rating on the sector and rates Valero and Sunoco "Outperform." He thinks Tesoro has the most potential for downside.
ExxonMobil and Murphy Suing Canadian Government
ExxonMobil and Murphy Oil plan to sue Canada for breaching the North American Free Trade Agreement by permitting the province of Newfoundland to require them to spend millions of dollars on research in the province.
The two companies plan to sue the federal government, alleging it violated a previous NAFTA agreement when a provincial-federal agency adopted a new guideline on research and development in November 2004.
The complaints stem from the Terra Nova and Hibernia offshore oil projects, in which both U.S. oil companies own stakes.
In notices of intent filed last month, ExxonMobil and Murphy Oil said the new regulation would cost them about $40 million and $10 million, respectively, even if there is a need for such investment.
The companies call the guideline "restrictive," since it specifies a fixed amount of money to be invested.
ADM and ConocoPhillips in Biofuel Partnership
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and ConocoPhillips will team to create biofuel, creating a partnership between the biggest U.S. ethanol producer and one of the biggest oil refiners.
ADM, a Decatur, Ill.-based agricultural processing company, will provide "biomass," or organic material left over from crops, wood or switchgrass. Houston-based ConocoPhillips will convert the materials into "biocrude" fuel for transportation.
The companies did not release financial details of the agreement.
The collaboration follows a trend across the energy industry, supported by government initiatives, to explore renewable resources rather than relying solely on fossil fuels.Shell and Tatneft Sign Oil Sands Deal
Russian oil producer OAO Tatneft signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell Group to jointly develop oil-bearing tar sands in the central Tatarstan region.
The company gave no indication of when it expected to start producing oil from the project, or how much it could ultimately produce. Earlier reports put the project's potential daily output at around 40,000 barrels. Oil sands contain tar-like bitumen that is extracted using high-pressure, high-temperature mining techniques.
In a separate statement, Tatneft - a government-controlled oil company that is the sixth largest producer in Russia - said its board of directors approved a three-year plan under which it will keep output stable at around 520,000 barrels a day through 2010.
Found this post useful? Consider subscribing to
