Oil And Gas Stock Roundup: Crude Falls, Chesapeake Completes Spin-Off
Zacks Investment Research | Jul 09, 2014 01:04AM ET
Oil prices suffered another weekly loss as geopolitical forces played their part in dampening sentiments. While tensions over Iraq subsided to ease supply concerns in the Middle East, expectations of increased output from Libya also pressured crude.
However, some of the negative sentiment was counterbalanced by a strong jobs report and larger-than-expected drop in oil stockpiles. By end of trading on Friday in New York, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.9% during the week to close at $103.77 per barrel.
Natural gas also slumped to a three-month low over the course of the week on a larger-than-average supply gain. This was partially offset by expectations of an uptick in electric power demand with forecasts of hotter-than-normal weather conditions across most parts of the U.S. Natural gas prices ended Friday at $4.37 per million Btu (MMBtu), down 1.0% over the week.
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories
1. Oklahoma City-based predominantly gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK) has spun off its oilfield services business into a stand-alone, publicly traded company called Seventy Seven Energy Inc. . The new entity was earlier held under Chesapeake Oilfield Operating, L.L.C.
2. U.S. energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp’s (NYSE:XOM) affiliate Esso Belgium – a division of ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical B.V.B.A – announced further investments at its Antwerp refinery.
3. Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC, an affiliate of midstream energy company Cheniere Energy Inc. (ARCA:LNG) announced that it has signed a liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with the Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas company, PT Pertamina. This deal follows a similar agreement with Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
4. Independent energy company Warren Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:WRES) announced that it has acquired certain assets in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale from Colorado-based oil and natural gas producer, Citrus Energy Corporation and two other parties that owned working interest in the region. The transaction, which marks Warren Resources’ entry into the prolific natural gas basin, was for a purchase price of $352.5 million.
5. Leading contract drilling company Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE) intends to sell $1.185 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2022 and 2024 in a private offering to prepare for its previously announced Paragon Offshore spin-off. The proceeds from the issue would be used as partial consideration for the transfer of Noble's standard specification drilling business to Paragon in connection with the spin-off, which is expected to be completed in the ongoing quarter.
h3 Price Performance /h3
Get The News You Want
The following table shows the price movement of the major oil and gas players over the past week and during the last 6 months.
Refiner Tesoro Corp. (NYSE:TSO) was the week's best performer among the market heavyweights, adding 2.5% to its stock price after recouping some of its losses that followed the oil export ban relaxation.
On the other end of the spectrum, the biggest loser was also a refiner – Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO). The downstream operator fell 1.5% during the week, extending the bearish sentiment from the previous week.
Over the last 6 months, oilfield services giant Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) was the leader of the pack with the company’s shares advancing 35.0%. However, offshore driller Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) witnessed a 9.4% price decline over the same time frame.
h3 What’s Next in the Energy World?/h3Apart from the usual releases in this week – the U.S. government data on oil and natural gas – market participants will be closely tracking Federal Reserve's June policy meeting due on Wednesday.
Original post
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.