Welcome to the Energy and Capital Weekend Edition – our insights from the week in investing and links to our most-read Energy and Capital and sister publication articles.
This week, natural gas investors finally had a reason to smile.
The latest jump in natural gas prices couldn’t have come at a better time. On Thursday, the EIA released their weekly storage report, which showed an increase of 69 Bcf, raising the total to 3.39 Tcf of natural gas — still well above the five-year average.
A Bloomberg News Analyst reported yesterday:
Natural gas soared 15 percent yesterday, the biggest one-day gain in almost five years, sparked by Energy Department data that showed a smaller-than-forecast increase in U.S. stockpiles. Confidence among U.S. consumers probably increased in September for the first time in three months as the pace of job losses slowed and the economy showed signs of pulling out of the recession.
How desperate are we for some good news?
Let’s just say that things are getting rough for some oil producers.
Pemex, Mexico’s state-run oil company, announced that production at the once-mighty Cantarell field has fallen to approximately 500,000 barrels per day. If you don’t think that’s a big deal, keep in mind the Cantarell field was pumping out more than 2.1 million barrels of crude oil just four years ago.
The company announced the loss of oil exports as costing Mexico roughly $14 billion a year in revenue. That’s a hefty chunk of change, considering 40% of the country’s budget comes from oil.
Meanwhile, BP’s latest discovery of a new ‘giant oil field’ in the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico has the Mexican president salivating over developing their offshore resources. President Felipe Calderon recently stated, ""It’s very likely we have similar [oil] wealth, but we don’t have . . . the technology or the organizational and operational capacity to do it by ourselves."
Energy analyst Chris Ruppel put BP’s discovery into perspective: "It says we’re seeing that improved technology is unlocking resources that were before either undiscovered or too costly to exploit because of economics."
But as you should know when it comes to oil discoveries lately, there’s always a catch. I briefly touched upon BP’s Tiber oil discovery earlier this week.
And looking at the steady rise of oil imports to meet our demand, complete U.S. energy independence may be nothing more than wishful thinking. Be sure to get the full story here.
Of course, we’re not going down without a fight. As my colleague, Nick Hodge, revealed to readers recently, alternative energy growth is on the move. . . particularly in the wind sector.
The question now is whether or not we’ll be ready when we reach that crossroad in energy.
Enjoy your weekend,
Keith Kohl
P.S. Just in case you missed out on any of our top stories this week from Energy and Capital or any of our companion publications, feel free to catch up now . .
Romania Wind Energy: A New 600 MW Wind Farm In Romania
With about half of the wind farm expected to come online in 2010, Green Chip Review Editor Jeff Siegel talks about how this particular wind farm is likely to be the largest onshore wind project in Europe.
Gas Discovery Sparks Louisiana Land Rush
In spite of this recession, one huge natural gas find has sent companies scrambling to grab new land leases. These four companies already have a foothold in the new play, offering investors one last chance to prepare their portfolio from the inevitable recovery in natural gas.
Water Infrastructure Stocks: Flow of Profits Under Your Nose
Editor Nick Hodge gives a point-by-point analysis of how readers can take advantage of the impressive water profits being made some by today’s leading companies.
Investing for Retirement: Getting Ready for the Golden Years
Wealth Daily Editor Steve Christ looks ahead at the financial reality for boomers set to retire. Steve outlines a five-point strategy on what you should know about your retirement portfolio.
A Meeting of the Bigwigs: What You Need to Know about the Upcoming COP-15 Summit
Some of the world’s most formidable leaders are attending a meeting in Denmark this December, including the very same Silicon Valley investment firms that brought you Google, Cisco, and Amazon. . . and we reveal how you can get in on what the insiders will discuss at this historic meeting.
Canadian Gold Stocks: Five Canadian Gold Companies Increasing Production
Gold World Editor Luke Burgess targets five little-known Canadian stocks poised to make a nice return for investors.
Solar Stocks 2010: "The Worst is Already Over" for Top Solar PV Stocks
Green Chip Editor Sam Hopkins warns readers about the common mistake of holding a short-sighted view of solar power stocks.
