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natgas storage feb15

With all eyes focused on falling oil prices for the past several months, the US natural gas market has often been overlooked. Not that it has done much from a price movement perspective in the past couple of years. Another cold blast of Arctic weather is headed for the Midwest and Northeast over the next… Keep reading →


Analysts mostly agree that Chesapeake Energy received a relatively low price for the Mississippi Lime acreage it agreed to sell to China’s Sinopec for $1.02 billion. What is less clear though, is whether the price Chesapeake received reflects the company’s position as a distressed seller, or the quality of the assets sold. The Mississippi Lime is a shale play extending from northern Oklahoma into central Kansas.

“From my perspective, the proceeds looked a bit light on a per acre basis as well as per barrel of oil equivalent on a proved reserve basis,” Phil Weiss, Senior Analyst covering energy for Argus Research recently told Breaking Energy in an email. Keep reading →


BP’s heads of terms agreement to sell its 50% TNK-BP stake to Russian oil giant Rosneft was major news this week. But there was little mention of how oil and gas reserves would be treated as part of the transaction.

This is perhaps the most important aspect of this deal because reserves are one of the main factors that go into valuing an oil company. “On completion of the proposed transaction, BP expects to hold 19.75 per cent of Rosneft shares, including BP’s existing holding of 1.25 per cent, and to have received $12.3 billion in cash,” according to BP’s press release. Keep reading →


Independent oil and gas firms are attempting to focus on the fundamentals following major allegations against one of the sector’s most colorful figures. The looming dispute over Chesapeake Energy’s chairman comes as companies already contend with a glut of natural gas production amid high prices for oil and liquids production warping traditional price dynamics.

US oil and gas company executives “talked turkey” with Wall Street analysts in New York last week at a high-level investor conference. Every spring, the industry’s exploration and production community convenes to discuss their business models and corporate strategies with the analysts who rate their company’s stock for investors. Keep reading →


Engine manufacturers, natural gas producers and fuel distributors have been “pushing” the financial and environmental benefits their technology offers, but some industry leaders are now seeing significant “market pull.”

The fuel cost differential that has emerged between natural gas and diesel or gasoline is perhaps the most compelling aspect of the natural gas vehicle business case. Navistar Engine Group President Eric Tech told Breaking Energy that it’s not hard to convince customers to save money. Keep reading →