The Amex Oil Index skidded 1.5% to 1,432, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX:297.80, -1.92, -0.6%) dropped 0.6% to 297.8. Despite the declines, both indexes closed up from mid-session lows. The Amex Natural Gas Index clawed its was back from a mid-morning slump to close with a 0.2% gain at 529.7. A 5.4% rally late in the day by natural gas prices supported the sector.
Meanwhile, crude-oil for November delivery fell 19 cents to $80.05 a barrel, trimming early losses on reports of tropical storm activity moving into the eastern U.S. Gulf.
A big mover was Petroquest Energy (PQ:12.18, +1.22, +11.1%) , shares of which rallied 11% to $12.18 a share. The company raised its third-quarter production forecast and affirmed its production projection for 2007. Shares of Noble Energy (NBL:72.51, +1.02, +1.4%) rose 1.4% to $72.51. The company has been added to the S&P 500 ($SPX 1,546.63, -0.41, 0.0%) market benchmark, effective after the close of trading on Oct. 5. Cameron International (CAM:94.95, +1.23, +1.3%) saw its shares rise 1.3% to $94.95. The company's board approved a two-for-one stock split to take place after a shareholder vote at a Dec. 7 special meeting. Also lower, shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM:92.24, -1.71, -1.8%) , part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slipped $1.71 to $92.24, pulling back after hitting a fresh 52-week high in the previous session.
The company declined to comment on whether it's selling downstream assets in South America.
Media reports have surfaced in recent days of a move by Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR: 77.61, -0.52, -0.7%) to form a consortium to buy assets valued at about $800 million.
"Globally, we are continuously assessing our portfolio and opportunities for growth, restructuring or divestment depending on fit with overall strategic business objectives," Exxon spokeswoman Prem Nair said in an e-mail to MarketWatch.
"We are continuing to run our businesses in South America as usual," according to Nair, who declined further comment as a matter of corporate policy.
Meanwhile, Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. analyst Roger Read boosted his price target for shares of oilfield-services giant Halliburton (HAL:39.08, +0.24, +0.6%) to $48 from $47.
Read also increased his 2007 earnings estimate to $2.48 a share from $2.45 previously, due to expectations for an "impressive international results across all of Halliburton's segments" as well as a slightly lower share count as a result of its repurchase program.
Read cautioned that Halliburton's North American pressure-pumping operations are currently the most vulnerable of its businesses, but he expects strong revenue and operating income growth from its international completion and production segments. Halliburton's shares rose 24 cents to $39.08.
ConocoPhillips (COP:85.47, -1.92, -2.2%) spokeswoman Janet Grothe confirmed Tuesday the oil giant is marketing the Chuan Zhong oil asset in China, but it's not yet concluded the sale of the unit. Acquired in 2006, Chuan Zhong Oil is a co-venture with China National Petroleum Corp. in the interior of China near the city of Chengdu. At year-end 2006, 19 development wells had been drilled there. Shares of ConocoPhillips fell 2.2% to $85.47 the day after an analyst placed a sell rating on the stock.
Found this post useful? Consider subscribing to
