oil production posts
FeedPosted Nov 18th 2009 6:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Stocks to Buy

One can look at likely rising oil and gasoline prices one of two ways. You can get frustrated, or you can profit from it by buying Schlumberger Ltd. (
SLB), which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company, first recommended
on May 6, 2009 at a price of $56.09. If you bought SLB in May, you're up about 18%.
Some in the oil sector remain concerned about the recovery in demand for oilfield services. Based on the growth track for emerging markets, that concern is not warranted: the natural gas segment may encounter some head-winds, near-term, because in that energy commodity, the glut of supply has actually been matched
by a low price. But oil? Forget about it. Business is booming: the supply glut of oil has done little to lower its price, which shows one the many roles oil plays (alternative asset, inflation hedge, weak dollar hedge) in the modern economy, to Schlumberger's benefit. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for SLB
are $2.71 to $2.81.Continue reading Consider Schlumberger, because oil isn't going out of style
Posted May 27th 2009 6:20PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy
Given oil's recent run-up, at times it appears that all oil/natural gas plays have been bid-up, but Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) hasn't and it's worth a review.
Devon's shares were rudely treated by the Street from mid-2008 to early-2009, following the collapse in oil prices. Some of it was justified, due to the large, likely decline in FY 2009 revenue stemming from crude's price collapse. But valuing DVN with a p/e of 6 or 7 is a tad low, given the company's assets, hence the Buy rating that has been generated here.
Continue reading Devon Energy: Well-positioned for higher oil prices
Posted Mar 16th 2009 4:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Middle East, Economic Data, Oil, Federal Reserve, Recession, Financial Crisis

Earlier in the session we were looking at lower oil prices, but the mood has changed, and the precious crude is trading higher with the overall market today, picking up nearly 2.5% on the day.
Yesterday, despite rumors to the contrary, OPEC decided to
leave its oil output alone, and this had the initial reaction of sending prices lower in early morning trading. With oil prices falling sharply since last summer, many analysts had been expecting to see a production cut from the group, but instead OPEC announced that it would be leaving its output unchanged, and stated that previous cuts were starting to take effect.
Continue reading Oil rises despite OPEC decision
Posted Mar 14th 2009 8:40AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Middle East, Oil
Put yourself in the shoes of the OPEC ministers meeting this weekend in Geneva. They will be sitting down and discussing the current supply/demand for oil in the coming months. The world is in crisis and OPEC has cut oil production several times over the past year. Now they must decide again what to do.
Here are some cold facts. OPEC expects oil demand to fall by 1 million barrels per day in 2009. That in itself is not so unusual, but now look at the one. Demand growth from developing countries is shrinking by 80% compared with last year. There is a glut of oil in storage and in tankers around the world, with estimates of a 57-day supply. This excess supply is unusually high by OPEC's standards.
Continue reading Should OPEC cut oil production again at Sunday's meeting?
Posted Mar 10th 2009 3:40PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Middle East, Venezuela, Oil

Very often you can get a sense of the way a market is reacting by what is not happening. OPEC is meeting next Sunday to review their strategy in light of the current financial crisis. There is an indication that OPEC may not cut production this time around. Why is this?
Here are several reasons why we may see things stay as they are. First and foremost is that OPEC members "talk the talk" but they all do not "walk the walk." For example, Saudi Arabia has cut production by 16% since September but Iran cut its production only 4.3% and Venezuela cut its production by 8.3%. So as usual OPEC has difficulty holding each of its members to an agreed upon reduction.
Continue reading Has the oil price slide ended?
Posted Feb 16th 2009 4:00PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Newsletters, Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Commodities, Oil, Stocks to Buy
"Long term, supply remains the key issue to watch in the crude oil market; depressed prices continue to force producers to scale back on exploration and development spending," says energy expert Elliott Gue.
In The Energy Strategist, he says, "I watch oil service giant Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) as a gauge of overall health in energy markets; it has its hands in just about every imaginable oil- or gas-producing market on the planet."
"Schlumberger's fourth quarter earnings release and conference call were far and away the most bearish from the company in at least five years.
"CEO Andrew Gould was notably downbeat, particularly during the analysts' question and answer (Q&A) session. Predictably, earnings estimates have plummeted since that call.
Continue reading Schlumberger: 'Best of breed' in oil services
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 11:31AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Middle East, Japan, Economic Data, Oil, Financial Crisis
There are two competing forces at work in the oil market. On the one hand, OPEC has already cut production by 4.2 million barrels per day since last September. OPEC's secretary has said the producer group was willing to make further cuts when it meets in March. The price of crude has been holding steady near (above or below) the $40.00 per barrel mark.
Another factor weighing on the market is the threat of some 30,000 U.S. refinery workers who may go on strike. This can bring our refinery capacity to a virtual standstill. In Britain, workers staged an unofficial walkout on Friday in protest over the use of foreign workers.
Continue reading Is oil going up or down?
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