Follow

January 3, 2012

Energy Data Highlights

Crude oil futures price 12/29/2011: $99.65/bbl up$0.12 from week earlier up$8.53 from year earlier Natural gas futures price 12/29/2011: $3.027/mmBtu down$0.142 from week earlier down$1.260 from year earlier Weekly coal production 12/24/2011: 20.291 million tons down1.647 million tons from week earlier up0.236 million tons from year earlier Natural gas inventories 12/23/2011: 3,548 Bcf down81 Bcf from week earlier up297 Bcf from year earlier Crude oil inventories 12/23/2011: 327.5 mmbbl up3.9 mmbbl from week earlier down11.9 mmbbl from year earlier

Natural Gas/ Power News

EIA Storage Release 12/29/11 (Actual): -81 Bcf Previous Week: -100 Bcf +9.1 % Change from 1 Year Ago +13.7% Change 5-year Average Natural Gas Ends 2011 at 27-Month Low U.S. natural gas prices fell to their lowest point in more than two years, underscoring how the nation's booming energy business is becoming a victim of its own success. Prices for the commodity have been under pressure over the last couple of years, as new drilling techniques unlocked vast new stores of natural

gas from shale formations and other so-called unconventional reservoirs. But in the last two months, the steady price decline has turned into a free-fall, as unusually mild temperatures across much of the U.S. have damped demand for gas to heat homes and offices. Natural gas for February delivery settled Friday at $2.989 per million British thermal units, the lowest closing price for the commodity since September 2009. It closed below $3 in the winter for the first time in nearly a decade. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020472020457713048268406087 6.html?mod=WSJ_Commodities_LEFTTopNews

Total Buys $2.32 Billion Shale Stake, Helping Chesapeake Pare Its Debt French oil giant Total SA purchased a minority stake in a swath of Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s Ohio shale discovery for $2.32 billion, in a deal that shows foreign companies' growing appetite for U.S. oil-and-gas assets. The investment moves Chesapeake, the second-largest natural-gas producer in the U.S., toward its goal of reducing long-term debt by 25% while boosting production 30%. It also kicks off a year in which the Oklahoma City energy explorer has told investors to expect another $7 billion worth of asset sales and joint ventures, apart from the Ohio deal. Chesapeake has been under pressure from some shareholders and analysts to reduce spending and pare debt. The company is responding with asset sales but also says it doesn't want to pass up opportunities to buy shale properties before prices rise. In recent years, international energy companies have flocked to the U.S. to get a piece of the booming business of domestic shale drilling. Some analysts and industry insiders believed such interest would wane once the companies were able to master and then export the expertise needed to unlock shale formations. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020355030457713749053388158 0.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Green/ Alternative Energy News

Storehouses for Solar Energy Can Step In When the Sun Goes Down If solar energy is eventually going to matter that is, generate a significant portion of the nations electricity the industry must overcome a major stumbling block, experts say: finding a way to store it for use when the sun isnt shining. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/business/energy-environment/buildingstorehouses-for-the-suns-energy-for-use-after-dark.html

Crude Oil News

OPEC Daily Basket Price 12/30/2011- $106.84 (OPEC Daily Basket Price 12/29/2011- $106.75)

Crude Advances in New York Amid Manufacturing Expansion, Tension Over Iran Oil climbed in New York after manufacturing activity in China and India expanded, while concern persisted that further sanctions against Iran may disrupt supply. Futures gained as much as 2.7 percent on the first trading day of 2012. Indias Purchasing Managers Index rose the most in six months in December, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said yesterday, and a manufacturing index in China signaled expansion. Irans Deputy Navy Commander Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi told Press TV that any effort to harm the nations interests will lead to reciprocal measures. Iran will probably be centre-stage this year, at least in the first half, Amrita Sen, an analyst Barclays Plc in London, said in an interview on Bloomberg Televisions The Pulse with Maryam Nemazee. The risks surrounding Iran are clearly rising. Demand could surprise to the upside, and Id especially highlight China. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-03/crude-advances-in-new-york-amidmanufacturing-expansion-tension-over-iran.html

Brent Crude Up Above $108 on China, Iran Brent crude rose to above $108 a barrel on Tuesday as China's manufacturing activity expanded slightly, lifting hopes of higher oil demand, and as rising tensions between Iran and the West created supply disruption fears. Crude had been one of the best performers among commodities in 2011, with Brent posting an annual gain of 13 percent to a record average of nearly $111 a barrel as unrest in North Africa and the Middle East disrupted supply. London Brent climbed $1.12 to $108.50 a barrel by 0321 GMT on the first day of trading for 2012. U.S. light, sweet crude rose $1.43 to $100.26 a barrel. "Over the next few months, it will be a balance of economic issues in Europe and the U.S. versus bullish geopolitical factors and the reality of economic growth in major Asian economies," Victor Shum, an oil consultant at Purvin & Gertz, said. "Oil in 2012 will see a continuing strengthening trend as there are more upside risks." http://www.cnbc.com/id/45852335 Oil jumps to above $101 in Europe on concerns rising Iran tensions may threaten crude supplies Oil prices jumped to over $101 a barrel Tuesday amid concerns that rising tensions between Western powers and Iran could lead to crude supply disruptions. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up $2.67 to $101.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 82 cents to settle at $98.83 in New York on Friday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/markets/oil-jumps-to-near-101-in-asiaon-concern-rising-iran-tensions-could-threaten-crudesupplies/2012/01/03/gIQAf12TXP_story.html Ohio Shuts Wells Following Quakes Ohio became the latest state to take action on the possible link between seismic activity and wells used to dispose of waste water from oil and gas production when state officials ordered a halt to the practice near Youngstown this weekend after several minor earthquakes

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020346230457713692074912377 2.html Panel Deals a Setback to Exxon in Venezuela An international arbitration panel awarded Exxon Mobil Corp. about $908 million in a verdict over oil assets nationalized by Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez in 2007, the company said late Saturday. The payout was substantially lower than the $7 billion that Exxon was seeking in restitution and is likely to be a boon for Venezuela's leftist government, which in recent years has embarked on a nationalization campaign to centralize control over key economic sectors. State oil company Petrleos de Venezuela SA said Monday it will pay Exxon a total of $255 millionafter subtracting existing debtover the next 60 days. Analysts said the panel's verdict appears to be a victory for Mr. Chvez, who in 2007 seized the U.S. oil giant's Cerro Negro project as part of a wide-scale expropriation campaign. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020346230457713457132325998 2.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

U.S. Raises Alarm Over Oil Lanes Iran said it will launch missiles and torpedoes as part of an ongoing naval drill in the Persian Gulf, an Iranian news agency reported, following a week of saberrattling in which Tehran threatened to close some of the world's most vital oilshipping lanes. Tehran said this week it could easily block oil deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if the U.S. and other nations impose further sanctions on it. Such threats could be largely bluster. But they also speak to the degree to which Iran has chafed at recent U.S. and European Union threats to impose sanctions on Iran's central bank to punish Tehran for its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran denies such allegations. On Saturday the country's oil minister was quoted as saying crude prices will rise to more than $200 a barrel if sanctions are imposed on Iran's oil exports. "Undoubtedly the price of crude will increase dramatically if sanctions are imposed on our oil," Iran's Moj news agency quoted Rostam Ghasemi as saying. "It will reach at least over $200 per barrel." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020472020457713098351787494 6.html?mod=WSJ_Commodities_LEFTTopNews

Iran Tells Departed US Carrier Not to Return Iran's army chief told the United States that a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises should not return to the Gulf, the state news agency reported on Tuesday. "Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Ataollah Salehi told IRNA. France wants its European partners to agree by end-January on sanctions on Iran similar to those envisaged by the United States, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday."France ... wants sanctions toughened and the president (Nicolas Sarkozy) has made two concrete proposals on that front the first being the freezing of Iranian central bank assets, a tough measure, and the second an embargo on Iranian oil exports," Juppe told i>tele, a French news TV channel. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45853689

Global crude oil prices reach new heights Global Brent crude oil prices for 2011 are set to reach the highest average price in the 150-year history of the modern petroleum industry, according to an HIS CERA analysis release this week. Prices for 2011 are averaging $111 per barrel a price that would marks the highest annual average in a century and a half. The previous high of $97.25 was set in 2008 when oil prices topped out at $147.50. Record high prices in 2011 are no fluke, according to the IHS report, which was written by senior director Bhushan Bahree and associate Jeff Meyer. Both demand and supply factors are underpinning historically high oil prices. The report sites growing oil demand from developing countries, anxiety about supply from Middle Eastern countries and expensive extraction techniques have caused the price of crude oil to swell. http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/12/30/global-crude-oil-prices-reach-new-heights/

BP seeks all costs from Halliburton over oil spill BP has called on contractor Halliburton to pay all costs and expenses it incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which the oil major previously put at about $42bn. Halliburton cemented the failed well that caused the USs biggest offshore oil spill. In a US court filing, BP said it was suing to recover costs and expenses from cleaning up the oil spill, lost profits, and all other costs and damages incurred by BP related to the Deepwater Horizon incident and resulting oil spill. It did not specify an amount and it was not clear how the latest suit differed from a previous one brought last year. A BP spokesman declined to put a figure on the costs sought in the latest filing, but said the documents speak for themselves. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/be63cff2-35a3-11e1-84b900144feabdc0.html#axzz1iOleakJ1

Iraq's oil exports reach 2.145 million b/d in December: SOMO Iraq's oil exports rose by 10,000 b/d in December, to 2.145 million b/d from 2.135 million b/d in November, data obtained Monday by Platts from the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) show. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/8749828

Value of S.Korea's oil product exports hits $51.7 billion in 2011 South Korea notched up $51.7 billion of oil product exports in 2011, up 63.9% from $31.53 billion in 2010, on the back of strong demand from Japan and other southeast Asian countries, the energy ministry said Monday. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/7952132

Recent Rig Counts

Area Last Cou Change from Date of Change Date of

Count U.S. Canada

nt

Prior Count -1 -185 -12

Prior Count 22 Dec 11 22 Dec 11 October 2011

from Last Year +313 -25 +55

Last Year's Count 30 Dec 10 30 Dec 10 November 2010

29 Dec 2007 11 29 Dec 11 221

Internatio Novemb 1185 nal er 2011

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

Weather
6 to 10 Day Outlooks Temperature

Precipitation

8 to 14 Day Outlooks Temperature

Precipitation