MRC Global is the largest distributor of pipes, valves, fittings, and related products and services to the energy industry. The company was founded in 1921 as McJunkin Supply Company and grew organically and through acquisitions over the years. In January ...
This article presents an update to our in-depth profile of Contango published in September. The company's stock price has remained under significant pressure due to a number of company specific factors that we discuss in this update ...
One of the most important task investors face involves identifying distortions in a company's financial statements which may obscure actual economic performance or distort comparisons with other firms in the same industry. In this article we take a look at ...
Natural gas has remained cheap relative to crude oil for much longer than expected. In this article, we discuss the ongoing depression in the price of natural gas and the implications for industrial users and investors ...
Investors like to examine pricing anomalies, particularly related to commodities that could be viewed as substitutes but trade at radically different prices. One barrel of crude oil has approximately six times the energy content of one thousand cubic feet (mcf) ...
In a presentation today, Contango Oil & Gas CEO Kenneth Peak stated that the economics of oil and gas exploration in shallow Gulf of Mexico waters have improved significantly compared to 2008 conditions due to a dramatic decrease in dayrates ...
The official moratorium on deepwater drilling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was lifted in October 2010, but has been replaced with what can only be described as a quasi moratorium as new permits continue to languish in a byzantine ...
The shale gas boom in the United States has been something of a mixed blessing for independent oil and gas companies. While new technology has opened up vast new areas of exploration and production, natural gas prices have been in ...
Noble reported third quarter 2010 earnings of $86 million, or $0.34 per share, compared to $426 million, or $1.63 per share for the third quarter of 2009. Contract drilling revenues fell precipitously to $584.9 million for the third quarter of ...
Noble Corporation Chairman and CEO David Williams believes that uncertainty in the Gulf of Mexico will continue to impact the offshore drilling industry for some time to come. Mr. Williams, speaking today at the Barclays Capital Energy and Power Conference ...
Munich Re has announced plans to introduce insurance products designed to address the large losses that can arise from major events such as the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The insurer hopes to introduce coverage levels of about $10 billion to $20 ...
A quick look at the chart for Atwood Oceanics shows a familiar pattern for those who have been following the price action of companies in the offshore contract drilling industry. Shares of Atwood have declined by approximately 30 percent from ...
China's spectacular economic growth over the past decade has been accompanied by a major increase in energy consumption. In 2009, China consumed more energy than the United States for the first time according to a report from the International Energy ...
In this article, we profile Diamond Offshore, one of the leading companies in the deepwater drilling industry. In previous articles, we focused on two companies in the offshore drilling industry with lower risk profiles. Both Noble Corporation and Ensco plc ...
Earlier this week, Noble Corporation announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Frontier Drilling in a cash transaction valued at $2.16 billion. Frontier is a privately held independent drilling company with a fleet of three dynamically positioned ...
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman overturned the Obama Administration's six month deepwater drilling moratorium this afternoon citing the "immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy ...
Most of the headlines over the past week regarding the Deepwater Horizon disaster have focused on the $20 billion escrow account that BP was forced to set up for victim compensation. However, the far more important development from a public ...
Shell is in the final stages of completing a $19 billion plant in Qatar designed to convert abundant supplies of natural gas into clean burning diesel along with other fuels and byproducts. The gas-to-liquids (GTL) project is another sign of ...
Volatility in the markets for various forms of energy is nothing new. Prices react to a variety of factors including the weather, political and economic developments, and speculation. While short term prices of individual commodities can be influenced by any ...
For an entertaining commentary to natural gas economics, we recommend viewing a presentation made on January 7 by Contango Oil & Gas Company Chairman and CEO Kenneth Peak. Although the presentation is not a comprehensive introduction for investors, Mr. Peak ...