La Croix Energy Capital

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Price Review Week Ending 1-Apr-10

NYMEX Crude Oil Daily Continuation

NYMEX Crude Oil Weekly Continuation

NYMEX Natual Gas Daily Continuation

NYMEX Natural Gas Weekly Continuation

Exploration in the News

U.S. companies looking to shale, this time for oil

NEW YORK/HOUSTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Independent U.S. oil and gas companies are scrambling to pick up land where oil is trapped in shale formations in a bid to benefit from relatively high prices for the commodity.

Companies and investors are increasingly scouring the country for shales rich in oil and natural gas liquids rather than the gas-rich shales that had been the focus of a series of recent deals.

As a result, the Niobrara Shale in Colorado and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota have started to replace hot names like the Haynesville and Marcellus shales as the "next big thing."

Baker Hughes N.A. Rotary Rig Count 1-Apr-10

Source: Baker Hughes, Inc.

Refining in the News

Shell, Total Chase ‘Impossible’ Sales in Race to Curb Refining

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Oil companies may struggle to unload their excess refining capacity in Europe this year as profits from turning crude into fuel stay depressed.

Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. are seeking to sell refineries in Europe after the recession reduced demand. Eni SpA Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said this month it’s “impossible” to find buyers after refining profit margins slumped to a 15-year low in December.

EIA Weekly NatGas Storage Report 26-Mar-10

NYMEX Natural Gas 60-min. Intra-day Price Profile

EIA Summary

"Working gas in storage was 1,638 Bcf as of Friday, March 26, 2010, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 12 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 16 Bcf less than last year at this time and 160 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,478 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 89 Bcf above the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 7 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 8 Bcf above the 5-year average of 588 Bcf after a net injection of 15 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 63 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 4 Bcf. At 1,638 Bcf, total working gas is within the 5-year historical range."

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration; NOAA

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report 26-Mar-10

NYMEX Crude Oil 60-min. Intra-day Price Profile

Stocks mmbbls

Crude: 354.2 (+2.9)

- Cushing: 30.9 (+0.5)

Gasoline: 224.9 (+0.3)

Distillates: 144.6 (-1.1)

Total Products: 688.2 (+0.3)

Supplied mmbbls/d

Gasoline: 9.1 (unch)

Distillates: 3.6 (-0.2)

Total Products: 19.0 (-0.3)

Refinery Utilization: 82.60% (+1.49)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

API Stocks 26-Mar-10

mmbbls
Crude: +0.4 (vs. +2.4 fcst)
Gasoline: -0.9 (vs. -1.5 fcst)
Distillates: -1.0 (vs. -1.6 fcst)

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose slightly in post-settlement trading on Tuesday, after industry data showed a much smaller-than-expected increase in crude stocks last week. Heating oil and gasoline futures edged up, as data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that distillate and gasoline supplies fell, but by less than analysts had forecast.

"The API has reported a slim crude stock build here and it all boils down to imports being down last week," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.

"People probably thought that last week's report showing a large increase in crude stocks was part of a trend. Well, it now looks like this week's level of imports, if confirmed in tomorrow's EIA data, may show that inflow of crude is normalizing, after several weeks of uncertainty due to bad weather in the Gulf Coast," Flynn added.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Weekly Price Review

CFTC Commitment of Traders 23-Mar-10

Source: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Friday, March 26, 2010

Baker Hughes N.A. Rotary Rig Count 26-Mar-10

Source: Baker Hughes, Inc.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

EIA Weekly NatGas Storage Report 19-Mar-10

NYMEX Natural Gas 5-min. Intra-day Price Profile

Summary

"Working gas in storage was 1,626 Bcf as of Friday, March 19, 2010, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 11 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 28 Bcf less than last year at this time and 121 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,505 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 64 Bcf above the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 10 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region equaled the 5-year average of 581 Bcf after a net injection of 19 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 57 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 2 Bcf. At 1,626 Bcf, total working gas is within the 5-year historical range."

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration; NOAA

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report 19-Mar-10

S&P 500

NYMEX Crude Oil 5-min. Intra-day Price Profile

Stocks mmbbls
Crude: 351.3 (+7.2)
- Cushing: 30.5 (+0.5)
Gasoline: 224.6 (-2.7)
Distillates: 145.7 (-2.4)
Total Products: 687.9 (-6.9)

Supplied mmbbls/d
Gasoline: 9.1 (+0.2)
Distillates: 3.8 (+0.1)
Total Products: 19.3 (+0.5)

Refinery Utilization: 81.11% (+0.56)
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

API Stocks 19-Mar-10

mmbbls
Crude: +7.5 (vs. +1.5 fcst)
Gasoline: -0.1 (vs. -1.3 fcst)
Distillates: -2.5 (vs. -1.0 fcst)

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Wednesday as the euro stayed under pressure against the strengthening dollar and after industry oil inventory data showed a large build in crude oil stocks.

"A test of the downside of (the $80-$82 range) will likely be seen today given the double whammy of a strong dollar and yesterday's bearish API guidance," Jim Ritterbusch, president
at Ritterbusch & Associates, said in Wednesday note.