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November 23, 2011 Energy Data Highlights Crude oil futures price 11/21/2011: $96.92/bbl down$1.22 from week earlier up$15.41 from year earlier Natural gas futures price 11/21/2011: $3.399/mmBtu down$0.059 from week earlier down$0.765 from year earlier Retail gasoline price 11/21/2011: $3.368/gal down$0.068 from week earlier up$0.492 from year earlier Retail diesel price 11/21/2011: $4.01/gal up$0.023 from week earlier up$0.839 from year earlier Weekly coal production 11/12/2011: 21.273 million tons down0.027 million tons from week earlier up0.089 million tons from year earlier http://www.eia.gov/

Crude Oil News

OPEC Daily Basket Price 11/22/2011- $108.34 (OPEC Daily Basket Price 11/21/2011- $107.74)

Crude Oil Drops After German Bond Sale Signals Deepening of Euro Crisis Oil dropped from a three-day high in New York as a shortfall of bids in a German bond sale signaled a deepening of Europes debt crisis and slowing economic growth in the region. Futures fell as much as 2.3 percent after Germany failed to get sufficient bids at an auction of benchmark 10-year bunds today to reach its

maximum sales target. European services and manufacturing output contracted for a third month in November as the worsening debt crisis pushed the region closer to a recession. The American Petroleum Institute said yesterday motor-fuel supplies climbed 5.42 million barrels last week. Europes core is under attack, said Olivier Jakob, managing director at Petromatrix GmbH in Zug, Switzerland, who correctly predicted this month that crude prices would fall. Its getting harder and harder for Europe to escape austerity and a possible credit crunch in the same fashion as 2008. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/crude-declines-on-rising-u-sgasoline-stockpiles-slowing-economic-growth.html OPEC Likely to Cut Output in December: Iraq Oil Minister OPEC will likely decide to cut oil output at its December 14 meeting in Vienna as global oil demand is expected to decline next year, Iraq's oil minister said on Tuesday, a view in line with fellow member Iran but one which runs counter to mainstream expectations. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45398146 Metals and oil decline on growth worries The impact of the macroeconomic situation and financial market turmoil on commodities prices refuses to abate. JPMorgan revised down its crude oil price forecasts, noting that the headwind of economic and financial market risks is turning into a gale at the same time that Libyan production is ramping up. The bank said the oil price would move from the upper half of its defined range to the lower half for at least the next four months and lowered its Brent contract projects to $105 a barrel to the end of the first quarter of 2012 from $115. It also changed its WTI forecast for the first quarter of next year from $108 to $98 a barrel. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5393b88c-15c2-11e1-8db800144feabdc0.html#axzz1eXAyRA00 North Dakotas Oil Production Has More than Quadrupled Since 2005 North Dakota's oil production averaged over 460 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) in September 2011, more than four and one-half times its September 2005 level. Although the State's oil production growth slowed during the first few months of 2011, more favorable weather conditions helped operators significantly boost output in June, July, August, and September. North Dakota currently trails only Texas, Alaska, and California among oil-producing States. http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=4010# US retail gasoline demand fell 4.5% week ended November 18: survey US retail gasoline demand fell 4.5% year-on-year for the week ending November 18, with a total 60.943 million barrels pumped in the period, according to data from MasterCard Advisors' weekly survey. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/6704441 A Push to Hold OPEC Quotas The world's biggest oil producers are signaling they want OPEC to stick to existing crude-output quotas, as prices have remained lofty.The statements by top oil officials from Saudi Arabia and Iraq and by OPEC's secretary general this week represent a shift in stance. As recently as September, the Organization of

Petroleum Exporting Countries hinted in an oil-market report that some members could reduce production if the debt problems plaguing Europe create ripple effects that cut demand and if Libya rapidly resumes exports. Neither has come to pass, and oil prices surged 36% from early October to mid-November. On Tuesday, oil futures gained $1.09, or 1.1%, to close at $98.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020371070457705457404525163 2.html?mod=WSJ_Commodities_LeadStory Recent Rig Counts Date of Last Year's Count 19 Nov 10 19 Nov 10 September 2010

Area U.S. Canada

Date of Last Cou Change from Prior Count nt Prior Count Count 18 Nov 2001 11 18 Nov 487 11 -15 -13 +23 11 Nov 11 11 Nov 11 Septembe r 2011

Change from Last Year +324 +69 +98

Internatio October 1197 nal 2011

http://investor.shareholder.com/bhi/rig_counts/rc_index.cfm

Natural Gas/ Power News

EIA Storage Release 11/17/11 (Actual): +19 Bcf Previous Week: +37 Bcf +0.4% Change from 1 Year Ago +6.2% Change 5-year Average SemGroup to build 60,000 Mcf/d US Midcontinent gas processing plant SemGroup Corp plans to build a natural gas processing plant for SemGas LP in the Midcontinent region, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said Tuesday. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/6704439 Cheniere inks 3.5 mil mt/year LNG deal with Gas Natural Fenosa Cheniere Energy Partners' Sabine Pass Liquefaction unit has reached an LNG saleand-purchase agreement with a unit of Gas Natural Fenosa, under which the Spanish company's subsidiary would buy as much as 3.5 million mt/year of LNG (equivalent to 448,000 Mcf/d of gas), the Houston-based company said Monday. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/8611247

NYMEX December gas contract settles 8.3 cents higher on weather The NYMEX December natural gas futures contract settled at $3.399/MMBtu on Monday, 8.3 cents above Friday's $3.316/MMBtu close, on expectations of rising heating demand. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/6699990 ERCOT proposed demand-response rule changes draw mixed reviews An Electric Reliability Council of Texas proposal to loosen restrictions on its emergency interruptible load service program has drawn conflicting reactions from stakeholders. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/6704486

Weir buys US fracking group for $675m Weir Group, the FTSE 100 supplier of pumps and drilling equipment, is to extend its exposure to the North American boom in fracking, or fracturing, of shale formations to extract oil and gas by paying $675m (431m) for Texas-based wellhead specialist Seaboard Holdings. The deal is aimed to complement Weirs existing business in the US and Canada, which is struggling to keep up with demand for its pumps and related drilling equipment being used by energy companies to develop unconventional reserves of oil and gas. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/de369984-15ac-11e1-a69100144feabdc0.html#axzz1eXAyRA00

Green/ Alternative Energy News

Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice Renewables are now the fastest-growing sector of the energy mix and offer great potential to address issues of energy security and sustainability, but their rapid deployment is also bringing a host of challenges. To maintain renewable energys rapid growth, new IEA study assesses challenges and shows how to overcome obstacles. http://www.commodities-now.com/commodities-now-reports/environmentalmarkets/8937-deploying-renewables-2011-best-and-future-policy-practice.html

China Bends to US Complaint on Solar Panels but Plans Retaliation Chinese solar panel makers plan to shift some of their production to South Korea, Taiwan and the United States in hopes of defusing a trade case pending against them in Washington, according to industry executives. But at the same time, the Chinese industry is considering retaliating by filing a trade case of its own with Chinas Commerce Ministry. The most likely target would be American exports to China of polysilicon a prime ingredient in solar panels Chinese industry

executives and officials said on Monday. American manufacturers exported about $873 million of polysilicon to China last year, nearly as much in dollar terms as the value of the solar panels that China shipped to the United States. The Chinese moves come after the United States Commerce Department opened a trade case against Chinas solar panel makers earlier this month, at the request of SolarWorld Industries America and six other American solar companies. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45400687 Suzlons Repower to Supply 140-Megawatt Pennsylvania Wind Farm Repower Systems SE, a German unit of Indias wind-turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd. (SUEL), won an order to supply a 140-megawatt project in Pennsylvania. Repower signed a contract to deliver 68 of its 2.05- megawatt turbines for the Twin Ridges project developed by EverPower Wind Holdings Inc in Somerset County near the Maryland border, Hamburg-based Repower said today in an emailed statement. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/suzlon-s-repower-to-supply-140megawatt-pennsylvania-wind-farm.html

Abengoa Says Nuclear, Hydro Swell Power Gap by $4.7 Billion Abengoa SA (ABG), the largest developer of solar-thermal plants in Spain, said excessive profits earned by hydro and nuclear power stations swelled the nations energy- system deficit by 3.5 billion euros ($4.7 billion) last yearThese two sectors, as well as having exaggerated and excessive profits, are monopolies as the government wont approve new dams or reactors, Sanchez said today in Madrid. Abengoa is investing in the construction of 10 solar thermal sites in Spain to compete with hydro and nuclear operators. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/sanchez-says-excess-profits-inflatedspain-power-gap-correct-.html

Ags News
Coffee Crunch Spurs Rally After Folgers Cut Coffees biggest slump in three years may be ending as weather damages crops from Colombia to Indonesia, reducing U.S. inventories to the lowest since 2000 just as Kraft Foods Inc. and J.M. Smucker Co. cut prices. Stockpiles in warehouses monitored by ICE Futures U.S. fell 16 percent since December, declining for a fourth year, exchange data show. Arabica-coffee futures, already poised for the highest annual average price on record, may rise 15 percent to $2.71 a pound by March, according to the average estimate of 13 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/coffee-supply-crunch-spursrally.html

Other Market/ Economic News

Greece Faces Last Opportunity to Remain in Euro Region, Central Bank Says Greece has one last chance to reshape its economy and stay in the euro region as it goes through a new, exceptionally critical phase, the Bank of Greece (TELL) said. A 130 billion-euro ($174 billion) bailout approved by European Union leaders on Oct. 26 represents a milestone on the adjustment path of the Greek economy, the bank said today in its interim monetary policy report. Greeces debt- sustainability dynamics have changed in the past year, putting the country in its most critical situation since World War II. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/greece-faces-last-opportunity-toremain-in-euro-region-central-bank-says.html Euro Slides on Weak German Bond Sale The euro sank to a six-week low against the dollar on a shockingly poor German government bond auction. Germany sold only 3.6 billion of the 6 billion in 10year benchmark bonds on offer, sparking worries that the euro-zone debt crisis might even be spreading to its hitherto solid German core. "I cannot recall a worse auction," said Marc Ostwald, a rates strategist at Monument Securities in London. "If Germany can only manage this sort of participation, what hope for the rest?" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020444340457705511250103049 8.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection Futures Drop on Europe's Debt Crisis Worries about a slowing global economy and the ability of European leaders to rein in the euro zone's debt crisis weighed on U.S. stock-index futures on Wednesday, pointing to a lower start for Wall Street after five losing sessions. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 87 points to 11360. S&P 500 Index futures dropped 10.4 points to 1172.40, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 15.75 points to 2198.50. European equities traded lower, while Asian stocks lost ground after poor Chinese manufacturing data. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020463090457705573341327574 6.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection Financials end broadly lower; ICE bucks the trend Financial stocks finished broadly lower Tuesday with Bank of America Corp. shares among the biggest decliners on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but shares of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. bucked the trend to close higher. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/b-of-a-morgan-stanley-lead-financialsrebound-2011-11-22-1010260?reflink=MW_news_stmp Turkey Prices Are Taking Flight Turkey prices have soared to a record, as farmers roasted by a deep downturn three years ago still are reluctant to expand their flocks. Tight supplies of the

traditional Thanksgiving fixture have sent wholesale prices on the East Coast up 26% this year, to $1.18 a pound as of Monday. That is down about a penny from the record set earlier this month and compares with less than a dollar a pound for much of the past five years. Turkey "growers," as they are known, have been slow to hatch more birds since high feed costs and the U.S. recession fueled a deep downturn in 2008. Like other commodity producers, many turkey growers are wary of oversupply. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020371070457705106245908478 8.html?mod=WSJ_Commodities_LEFTTopNews

JPMorgan to buy MF Globals LME stake JPMorgan Chase is to buy MF Globals stake in the London Metal Exchange, making the US bank the largest shareholder in the historic institution as it prepares for a potential bidding war. The deal implies that the LME, the centre for global metals trading, is worth just over 530m ($828m) the first public valuation of the exchange since it revealed in September that it would initiate a sales process after being approached by more than 10 suitors. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f85f7be2-1533-11e1-855a00144feabdc0.html#axzz1eXAyRA00

Government/ Regulations
MF Global: Fraud, Incompetence, or a Bit of Both? In the wake of its futures-market-rattling bankruptcy, there is a huge shortage of client funds at MF Global. But when we look back at what led to the broker's collapse, one thing is clear: There's no shortage of incompetence http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/11/22/mf-global-fraud-incompetenceor-a-bit-of-both.aspx

CFTC asked to create rules on handling dollars from separate accounts at securities firms A Federal regulator is being asked to spell out more clearly rules for when securities firms can mingle money from different clients accounts. The request comes weeks after the collapse of MF Global, which is being investigated by regulators over whether it diverted hundreds of millions in client money after its bad trades made from the firms own account triggered a large quarterly loss at the firm. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cftc-asked-to-create-rules-on-handlingdollars-from-separate-accounts-at-securitiesfirms/2011/11/22/gIQAo0QklN_story.html Dodd-Frank Law May Hinder Crisis Response by U.S. Policy Makers

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and fellow U.S. policy makers may find themselves hampered in restoring financial stability should the European debt crisis spread to America. The Dodd-Frank legislation passed last year prohibits the Fed from engaging in rescues of individual financial firms, such as it did with Bear Stearns Cos. and American International Group Inc. (AIG) during the 2008 financial crisis. Lawmakers also banned the Treasury Department from again using an emergency reserve program to backstop money market funds. And the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. now has to get Congressional approval before it can guarantee senior debt issued by banks. Investors dont realize the extent to which Congress has tied peoples hands, said Donald Kohn, who served as vice chairman of the Fed from 2006 to 2010 and is now senior economic strategist for Potomac Research Group in Washington, an independent research firm. There is less room to maneuver for the authorities. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-22/dodd-frank-may-hamper-policymakers-shielding-banking-system-in-a-crisis.html

Weather
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