Oil earnings plays for this week

[chinaman711]

HES reports wed. XOM thur CVX and CHK fri. SU reports next week aug 3rd.

[chinaman711]

CVX back to 65 looking good. SU looks strong too as it looks to test 79. Good luck

[chinaman711]

CVX looks like the best of the bunch today up .75 to 65.20

[chinaman711]

CVX up a buck looks like a run into some great earnings imo

[aiki14]

CVX clearly a great play into earnings. Lowest P/E in the sector and all kinds of good exposure. Plus I've been loading up on calls so good karma continuously sent :lol:

[chinaman711]

Looking for a 3 bagger on the aug 70's

[chinaman711]

SU picking up again as it movesd thru 79 while cvx looks to test day high of 66.09 again.

[chinaman711]

Oil back to $75 a barrel and oil stocks running into earnings imo

[chinaman711]

SU new day high as it takes out 80.25 and i hope to see 85 this week as they report next monday. CVX looks to test d/h soon and hope to see 70 this week as they report friday. Good luck

[englishman26]

Everyone knoes SU is going to report big and it's really going to run into earnings. Maybe a sell straight after - depends if it finds $90 or not perhaps. I really just want to hold until october-ish.

[chinaman711]

By Matthew Robinson


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose to $75 a barrel on Monday after the United States said an immediate ceasefire in the violence between Israel and Hizbollah is "unenforceable."
News of refinery outages in the western hemisphere in the midst of the U.S. summer driving season also helped push crude higher, dealers said.

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U.S. crude for September delivery rose 57 cents to $75.00 a barrel at 1734 GMT, while London Brent gained 77 cents to $74.53 a barrel.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew unannounced to Beirut on Monday to seek a "sustainable" ceasefire in Lebanon, where Hizbollah guerrillas were battling an Israeli tank incursion in the south.

On her way to the region, Rice said she wanted to create conditions for a sustainable ceasefire in a war that has cost 373 dead in Lebanon and at least 37 Israeli lives in 13 days.

But White House spokesman Tony Snow questioned the viability of an immediate ceasefire.

"I think the notion that you have a ceasefire at this point is unenforceable and does not really get us to the point we need to be at," Snow said.

Oil hit a record $78.40 in New York earlier in July on fears the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas could spread to other parts of the Middle East, which produces about a third of the world's oil. Prices are still up about 21 percent this year.

Some oil analysts now view the chance of the conflict widening as less likely, making it less of a prop for prices.

"The markets are now viewing the Israeli/Hizbollah conflict as localized, and are not assigning it the same sense of urgency," Man Financial said in a report.

REFINERY, NIGERIA WOES

Oil also gained after traders said a crude distillation unit at Venezuela's Amuay refinery will be shut for five to seven months following a fire.

The plant is part of the giant 940,000 barrel per day (bpd) Amuay-Cardon complex, the world's biggest refining complex and a top supplier of U.S. gasoline imports.

Additional supply concerns came on news Exxom Mobil (NYSE:XOM - News) plans to shut two units at its 349,000 bpd Beaumont, Texas for three to four weeks of maintenance in August, traders said.

ConocoPhillips is seeking to set up temporary cooling towers at its Wood river refinery following damage caused by a severe storm last week.

A pipeline leak at the Shell-operated (London:RDSA.L - News) Nigerian Bonny oilfields has cut 180,000 barrels per day of crude output, company officials said on Monday, deepening supply losses from the OPEC nation.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center on Monday said a tropical disturbance could form in the Gulf of Mexico over the next day or two. U.S. crude hit then-record prices last summer after hurricanes damaged oil industry installations along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Oil dipped early on news Iraq had completed repairs to one of two sabotaged oil pipelines that export crude from its northern fields to Turkey and aims to restart the flow this week. The pipelines have been mostly shut due to sabotage since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

[chinaman711]

SU will report great earnings and long term looks good as they paln to double production. Just need oil to trade 75-80 to keep these stocks running. CVX should have a great qtr too and i would not be surprised to see more buyouts of oil companys.

[chinaman711]

SU what a day could get that 85 by wed if this keeps up. Storm coming too

[madcowdisease]

SU what a day could get that 85 by wed if this keeps up. Storm coming too

Obviously we are in accord that oil in the $75+ range is good for these oil co.s but anyone bidding up these stocks due to this joke of a storm in the Gulf is an idiot:

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/index.html?from=hurricane_welcome

[chinaman711]

Going up because they are going to report great earnings imo. Any stoms are just a bonus.

[Seamus]

From Cramer to explain Firday's market hurt!


Cramer's Blog: Options Pressure and the Indices
Originally published on 7/21/2006 at 8:59 AM

Expiration plays more havoc than ever, except people simply don't understand it. They don't understand it because they have never had to flatten positions out, they have never had to try to reconcile the stocks themselves with the indices.

Yesterday I commented that the Oil Service HOLDRs (OIH - commentary - Cramer's Take), when it was at $137, looked like it had to go to $135 because of the options pressure. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) went to $134.65 when I left last night, which is a rounding error to $135. It happened due to the fact that there were puts and calls that both needed to be sold while they had any value left because they expire today.

Think of it this way: If you see a call that has a couple of dollars' worth of value that could be worth nothing tomorrow, which is how the calls were positioned at $136 and change, you blow them out. That's something you understand, right? You don't chance it. You don't bet it stays there. You take the money and run.

The call buyer, in turn, has to sell the ETF itself against that call. With a couple of hours left, he has no desire to own it either, but he can hedge it by shorting the index against it.

So, let's go back. The ETF is at $136.70. The call is at $1.80. You sell the call to me. I immediately short the index at the same time. I am long the call at $1.80 and short the index at $136.70. That's a fabulous position, because if the ETF breaks below $135 everything is gravy on the short side.

Plus, I know there will be a lot of people just blowing the darned calls out without this level of sophistication, and that will simply put more downward pressure on the ETF. Nobody wants to hold a call that is diminishing that quickly. So the index and the ETF that tracks it will have momentum to the downside.

Ah ha! It overshoots, however, and goes to $134.30. What should I do there? I am short the index and long the call, remember. The smart bet would be to buy back the ETF for a nice gain ($136.70-$134.30=$2.40.) But when I do that, of course, I put upward pressure on the index.

Sure enough, when it hit that level, the ETF started going back to the $135 strike. But as it gets higher, what do I do? I blow out the call for a little change -- in this case 30 cents, as the index started to go back up.

So, now let's calculate. I lost $1.50 on the call (bought it for $1.80, sold it for $0.30=$1.50 loss). But I made $2.40 on the short index. So, my profit is 90 cents ($2.40 on the short minus $1.50 on the long).

Now, you can only imagine. When I did this stuff I would do it thousands of times on a Friday. I regarded it as free money. It would happen like this every Friday of expiration. I would simply look for situations where the index was close to a strike, the calls were relatively flat and I could go to work.

Sometimes I would even oversell the index, shorting it on a 3-to-2 basis, say, to lean on it a little to make it all come my way because the big profit can only come from driving it below the strike. If it doesn't go below the strike, then there's nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Now, all of this is not occurring in a vacuum. There are guys who get long the index when I short it. But they can't risk the pain of getting killed, either. So what do they do? They short the underlying stocks against the index. So anyone who buys my ETF is a short-seller of common. He's long the ETF at $136.70, where I sold it to him. He is in a very precarious situation because he has unlimited downside. (His pain isn't stopped out at the strike, he can lose a lot more.) So what does he do? He really blasts out his short, so he is not caught. He hits every one of the big names in the index hard to be sure he is hedged.

That's the downward pressure you saw Thursday in Halliburton (HAL - commentary - Cramer's Take), Baker Hughes (BHI - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Schlumberger (SLB - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Nabors (NBR - commentary - Cramer's Take). It was hideous and sudden and gut-wrenching, but in the end it was really just the hedging of the guy who bought my ETF and was therefore long all of these and didn't want the risk.

I know this stuff is complicated. But when I say that an index is manipulated down because of the pinning, just imagine this process happening all over the place with every ETF that has options. Many people who are long calls and short the index need the indices down to make things work. They have the firepower and the protection, so they do it.

Now even if a group was fundamentally strong this could happen. But there's panic in this patch, so it abets this process. I would go after indices that looked like they were rolling over when I did this stuff. It helped the momentum.

Let me give you another secret. I made fortunes every expiration doing this stuff. When I say that I see it happening, you have to believe that I could not have been the only guy doing it.

Yesterday, some wise-guy emailer told me I didn't know what I was talking about and how I was just making it up, that the pinning doesn't exist, that the index won't go down because of it.

I laughed to myself and said, "No wonder I made so much money doing it." Nobody even understands or believes it. That's why I was always able to make money. If the secret had been out, I couldn't have! There would be too many players!

Now the secret's out.

Be my guest.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Halliburton and Nabors Industries.

[Seamus]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Nabors Industries Ltd. on Monday said its second-quarter profit surged 77% on demand for its rigs and also forecast strong growth ahead for all the oil services company's divisions over the next couple of years.
Shares of Hamilton, Bermuda-based Nabors jumped 4.3% to close the regular session at $30.65 before adding another 3.3% in after-hours trade following the report.
The company reported net income of $233.4 million, or 77 cents a share, up from $131.8 million, or 41 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year. Excluding a one-time tax charge, the company would have earned 82 cents a share.
Quarterly revenue rose to $1.14 billion from $786.1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected a per-share profit of 72 cents with revenue of $1.09 billion.
"Regardless of the near-term North American natural gas outlook, we still expect significantly higher year-over-year quarterly results throughout the balance of the year and next year for all of our major businesses," said Chairman and CEO Gene Isenberg.

:D

[chinaman711]

HES reports wed. and the big oil companys are reporting huge profits again.



AP
BP PLC Reports 2Q Net Profit of $7.3B
Tuesday July 25, 6:34 am ET
By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Writer
BP PLC Reports 2nd Quarter Net Profit of $7.3 Billion (euro5.7 Billion)


LONDON (AP) -- Oil company BP PLC reported Tuesday that net profit rose 30 percent in the second quarter, as soaring world oil prices counterbalanced lower oil and gas output. Chief Executive John Browne also announced that he would step down at the end of 2008.
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BP, one of the world's largest oil companies, posted a net profit of US$7.3 billion (euro5.7 billion) for the three months ending June 30, up from US$5.6 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 24 percent to US$73.5 billion (euro58 billion) from US$59.3 billion.

Clean replacement cost net profit -- which excludes exceptional items and the impact of changes in crude inventories -- came to US$6.1 billion (euro4.8 billion) for the second quarter, up 5 percent. That topped the US$5.98 billion (euro4.73 billion) expected by analysts.

Profits were boosted by rising oil prices, with the average price of a barrel of Brent, a key U.K. North Sea crude benchmark, rising 35 percent to US$69.50 (euro55) in the second quarter.

Browne, whose future has been the subject of intense speculation, announced that he would step down at the end of 2008 -- not, as many had believed, when he turns 60 in February of that year.

"I will be retiring from BP, though may I say not from work, in 2008," Browne told a news conference at the company's headquarters. "I will leave BP at the end of 2008."

Browne, widely credited with improving BP's fortunes at a time of uncertainty for the industry, said strong oil prices were likely to continue. He said the results "reflected good overall operating performance and continuing strong upstream and refining margins."

"The near-term global outlook appears resilient," he said.

[chinaman711]

12:59 am ET
Oil Prices Continue Rise After Jumping on News of U.S. Refinery Troubles


SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices continued to rise midmorning Tuesday, a day after jumping to $75 a barrel on news of refinery snags in the United States.
Light sweet crude for September delivery was up 19 cents to $75.24 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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On Monday, prices had fallen on traders' growing belief that the violence in Lebanon and Israel was unlikely to spread across the oil-producing region. But reports of refinery snags from Texas to California reignited concerns about fuel supplies during the busy summer driving season.

In other Nymex trading Tuesday, natural gas futures rose by 6.5 cents to $6.67 per 1,000 cubic feet and heating oil futures gained 1.01 cent to at $1.9807 a gallon. Gasoline futures rose by just over a penny to $2.326 a gallon.

While the fighting between Israel and militants in Lebanon hasn't spread -- a key reason why oil has declined from highs above $78 -- traders believe the potential remains and are still closely watching the Middle East.

The fighting that broke out between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon on July 12 lifted crude futures to a record $78.40 two days later on fears that the violence would escalate into a regional war and disrupt supplies, particularly from Iran, OPEC's No. 2 supplier and a backer of Hezbollah. The violence has killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Beirut to launch diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the violence, even as Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Lebanon.

In the United States, Valero Energy Corp. said output at its Memphis, Tenn., refinery would be reduced by 25,000 barrels per day as it makes some repairs anticipated to take nine days.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that two Louisiana refineries experienced brief power outages but that production was unaffected. The cause was believed to be a lightning strike. A similar incident occurred at a Texas refinery, but it was not immediately known if output was affected.

Last week, Valero Energy Corp. shut down a unit at its St. Charles, La., refinery for 20 days for repairs. The company anticipates a total loss of 1.3 million barrels of gasoline production over the repair period.

[chinaman711]

Ensco Intl second-quarter earns $104.7 mln vs $67.7 mln

PrintDisable live quotesRSSDigg itDel.icio.usBy Michael Baron
Last Update: 8:50 AM ET Jul 25, 2006


NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ensco International Inc. (ESV : ENSCO International Incorporated
News , chart, profile, more
Last: 39.27+1.70+4.52%

4:15am 07/25/2006

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39.27, +1.70, +4.5%) Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings of $104.7 million, or $1.27 a share, up from a year-ago profit of $67.7 million, or 45 cents a share. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $478.8 million from $246.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of $1.23 a share in the June period. The Dallas provider of contract drilling services said the average day rate for its operating jackup fleet jumped 75% to $114,300 in the latest quarter from $65,400 a year ago. Looking ahead, Ensco said it expects sequential improvement in quarterly results for the balance of 2006 and into 2007. The stock closed Monday at $39.27, up 4.5%

[chinaman711]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If you get queasy at the rising price of gasoline, tune in Thursday when the world's largest company lets the world know just how much it has pocketed in the second quarter 2006.

Exxon Mobil (Charts) has been smashing corporate profit records on the back of soaring oil prices. In the fourth quarter 2005 the company reported quarterly profits of $10.7 billion, the highest ever for a U.S. company, on $88.3 billion in revenue, or $1.72 a share.

Special Reportfull coverage

BP sets quarterly profit record
Oil holds above $75 on Mideast fears
Big Oil's pain
OPEC 'uncomfortable' with oil prices

Oil-o-rama
Crude: Looking at $100

While a broader conflict with Iran isn't likely soon, one more big event could push crude prices into the triple digits. (more)
Big oil dominates
One look at the largest corporations in the world and a single conclusion jumps out: Natural resources are driving the global economy as never before. (more)
PO'd at the pump
Some small business owners are turning their frustration over high oil and gas prices into big bucks. (more)
Big Oil's pain
While record prices have produced record profits, they have also helped make crude a lot more expensive to pump. (more)


That record was mostly due to the price of crude, which soared 40 percent between the close of the fourth quarter 2004 and the end of the fourth quarter 2005.

Since then, oil prices have gone no where but up. Crude has gained 31 percent from the close of the second quarter 2005 to the end of the second quarter 2006, and has gone from trading in the low $60s during the fourth quarter of 2005 to the low $70s in the second quarter 2006.

But the costs of getting oil out of the ground have also increased, and analysts aren't looking for Exxon to set any new profit records when it reports Thursday.

The company is expected to post a profit of $9.92 billion or $1.64 per share for their fiscal second quarter, according to First Call.

Rising oil lifts all boats
Speaking about the overall industry, one analyst said oil going from $60 to $70 over the last two quarters will no doubt be good for profits.

"That's a big bump," said Steve Enger, an analyst at the investment bank Petrie Parkman & Co. "I wouldn't be surprised if the companies as a group hit new records."

Enger said investors will be paying particular attention to where oil companies are spending their money.

Enger says big oil companies like Exxon have preached fiscal restraint for so long - preferring to send extra cash back to their shareholders in the form of dividends or share buybacks - that increased spending for exploration or production, not tied to inflation, could make investors nervous.

Enger says that oil companies are performing a balancing act, weighing customer demand for lower oil prices through increased production and investor's thirst for profits.

Companies that plan on increasing production could do it by buying a smaller firm rather than drilling more themselves. Generally, smaller companies have been spending more on exploration to boost production.

"[Big oil] obviously has a ton of cash," said Neal Dingmann, a senior energy analyst at Pritchard Capital, an energy investment boutique. "I think you could see a major or two step in and make a play for these [smaller] guys."

Ducking the record
For it's part, Exxon may be relieved that people are focusing on something other than record profits.

While investors may have loved it, the company caught considerable flack from the general public for its record fourth quarter 2005, which came soon after gasoline prices hit an all time record at the pump.

Compounding matters, the Exxon gave its outgoing CEO Lee Raymond a retirement package worth nearly $400 million around the same time .

The combination of events led to a public outcry calling for restrictions to CEO pay and from lawmakers who wanted to institute a windfall profits tax on the oil industry.

Among the other majors, BP (Charts) kicked off the earnings week Tuesday, reporting a record replacement cost net profit of $6.1 billion for the second quarter.

Next up is ConocoPhillips (Charts), set to report Wednesday before the bell.

Analysts are looking for a profit of $4.5 billion or $2.81 a share, a 27 percent increase, according to First Call.

Chevron (Charts), the countries second largest oil company, is set to report before the bell Friday.

Analysts are looking for $4.9 billion in profit, or $2.21 per share, a 26 percent increase, according to First Call.

[chinaman711]

Works to Restart Refinery
Tuesday July 25, 1:34 pm ET
ConocoPhillips Says Its Biggest Refinery, Idled by Storm Last Week, Could Restart Next Week


ROXANA, Ill. (AP) -- ConocoPhillips expects its biggest refinery to remain idled into next week as crews continue scrambling to restart the site hit by storms last week, raising concerns that the shutdown might squeeze gasoline supplies in the Illinois suburbs east of St. Louis.
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The Wood River refinery, out of commission since storms July 19, makes the kind of reformulated gasoline approved for St. Clair and Madison counties and parts of Jersey and Monroe counties, said David Sykuta of the Illinois/Missouri Petroleum Council, a trade group.

The system is very tight, Sykuta said, with almost no tolerance for disruption, since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated "boutique fuels" for specific markets to lessen air pollution. Each fuel comes from a specific refinery.

Sykuta said Monday he worries a shortage of gasoline made at the refinery might develop if the state EPA doesn't grant -- and the federal EPA doesn't allow -- a 15-day waiver that would permit a different gasoline to be sold in those Illinois counties across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

"We've not had a problem so far because many people haven't had power," said Sykuta, the group's executive director. "Once everyone gets their electricity back on, more people will be moving around. That will create a demand for more gas."

A spokeswoman for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the waiver is expected to be granted by Wednesday, if details are worked out.

At Blagojevich's urging, the Illinois EPA approved the operation of two temporary cooling towers at the refinery to replace those that high winds damaged in the storm.

In neighboring Missouri, Sykuta said, shortages have not developed because gasoline made especially for that market comes through pipelines from Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

In a statement Monday, Houston-based ConocoPhillips said crews at the refinery about 20 miles northeast of St. Louis have been working around the clock to get the site back on line and were beginning the restart process.

"If all goes well, we hope to have all operating units back online sometime next week," the company said, adding that it "will do everything possible to meet all supply obligations of refined products from Wood River."

The company, among the nation's biggest oil and gas companies, said the shutdown was done safely and had "no known community impacts." None of the workers at the site, among ConocoPhillips' dozen U.S. refineries, were injured.

The Wood River site can process 306,000 barrels of crude oil per day, receiving the fuel by pipeline from various places including the Gulf of Mexico, Canada and domestic sources, according to the company's Web site.

It's not clear whether the site was operating at full capacity when the shutdown happened.

Refined products are shipped to Midwest customers by pipeline, truck barge and rail car from the refinery, which also produces road asphalt, the company's Web site shows.

[chinaman711]

bizjournals.com
XTO 2Q profit up
Tuesday July 25, 2:07 pm ET


Higher production and energy prices fueled XTO Energy Inc.'s second-quarter profit, which more than doubled compared to the same period of the prior year.
The Fort Worth-based oil and gas producer reported earnings of $597 million, or $1.62 a share, compared to second-quarter 2005 earnings of $220 million, or 60 cents a share.

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Excluding a $292 million, after-tax gain and a $26 million income tax expense, XTO (NYSE: XTO - News) said it would have earned $320 million, or 87 cents a share.

Revenue rose 42 percent to $1.07 billion from $749 million a year ago.

XTO said it set quarterly records of its oil and gas production. Second-quarter 2006 production was 1.516 billion cubic feet equivalent a day -- a 16 percent increase from 2005's second-quarter production levels of 1.303 billion cubic feet equivalent a day.

In addition, the average realized gas price for the second quarter rose 15 percent compared with the same quarter of 2005. Natural gas liquids prices rose 27 percent and the average oil price rose 44 percent.

[aiki14]

Even at an all time high CVX trades at the lowest multiple in the industry. Still a bargain by the standards of the trade. P/e of 8.2 Thats amazing. If they upside (and they might) look out. If their P/E was sector avg (10.73 according to todays WSJ) the share price would be $87.66. If their P/E was the same as XOM (11.13) the share price would be $90.93. If their P/E was the same as GOOG (57.37) my aug 70 calls would be worth a google. It's fun to dream but a realistic P/E of 10 would be $81.70 (assuming no change friday) would be nice.

[chinaman711]

Your aug 70 calls are looking real good at .50--hope to see 70 soon BP wow-BP Profits Surge to Record $7.3 Billion
Tuesday July 25, 5:41 pm ET
By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Writer
BP Profits Surge to Record $7.3 Billion on High Oil, Gas Prices


LONDON (AP) -- Soaring oil and gasoline prices propelled BP PLC to a $7.3 billion second-quarter profit, a 30 percent increase from last year despite reduced output and rising costs.
BP's record performance exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who anticipate second-quarter profits from the world's six largest publicly traded oil companies to surpass $36 billion. The next major integrated oil company to release quarterly results is ConocoPhillips, on Wednesday.

ADVERTISEMENT


Chief Executive John Browne, who announced Tuesday that he would step down at the end of 2008, said higher tax rates cut into the company's profitability.

BP has recently been plagued by operational problems across the U.S. -- from hurricane damage to a refinery explosion -- and it vowed to spend an additional $1 billion over the next four years to upgrade safety at its facilities.

BP's U.S.-traded shares fell 23 cents to close at $69.51 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The impact of damaged platforms following last year's big Gulf of Mexico hurricane season showed in the slowing of oil and natural-gas production in the quarter to 4.018 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, compared with 4.112 million in the same period last year.

BP's refining business suffered lower throughput. Its massive Texas City, Texas, refinery operated at sharply reduced rates because of damage following a deadly March 2005 explosion, as well as from last summer's hurricanes.

And in a sign that operational difficulties weren't over, BP said its Thunder Horse oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico would begin production early next year, instead of the second half of this year. The platform, the largest in the Gulf, was left listing after Hurricane Dennis passed through in July 2004.

Yet in spite of operational snags, BP's revenue surged 24 percent to $73.5 billion as its global sale price for crude oil averaged $65.96 a barrel, compared with $47.79 a year earlier.

Clean replacement cost net profit -- which excludes exceptional items and the impact of changes in crude inventories -- came to $6.1 billion for the second quarter, up 5 percent. That topped the $5.98 billion expected by analysts.

Browne, widely credited with improving BP's fortunes at a time of uncertainty for the industry, said strong oil prices were likely to continue. "The near-term global outlook appears resilient," he said.

BP said the second quarter included a charge of $500 million to settle claims arising from the Texas City, Texas, refinery explosion in which 15 workers died in March 2005. BP had already set aside $700 million provision for compensation related to the incident.

The company said it would add $1 billion to the $6 billion already earmarked over the next four years to upgrade all aspects of safety at its U.S. refineries and to repair and replace pipelines in Alaska.

In March, BP was blamed for the rupture of a pipeline it operates in Alaska, leading to an extension of a criminal investigation into BP's management of its Alaskan operations.

The company also said it called in external auditors to review compliance systems at its U.S. trading business. Last month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil complaint, alleging BP traders illegally manipulated part of the U.S. propane market in early 2004.

Browne, whose future has been the subject of intense speculation, announced that he would step down at the end of 2008 -- not, as many had believed, when he turns 60 in February of that year.

"I will be retiring from BP, though may I say not from work, in 2008," Browne told a news conference at the company's headquarters. "I will leave BP at the end of 2008."
-

[chinaman711]

HES misses by 2 cents still a great qtr might be a trade. RES beats by $0.02 (RES) 22.20 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 43.3% year/year to $146.1 mln vs the $148 mln consensus.

7:41AM Hess misses by $0.02 (HES) 53.32 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.79 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.81.
2 cents

[chinaman711]

SU gets a 10 rating-------------------------------------------------SUNCOR ENERGY INC: Stock Rating SummarySUNCOR ENERGY INC, a large-cap growth company in the energy sector, is expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with less than average risk.

10 is the best possible rating.


Quick SummaryDetails

ProEarnings growth in the past year has accelerated moderately compared to earnings growth in the past three years. PositiveThe StockScouter measure of relative price change and consistency is very high. Very positiveThe price-to-sales multiple is significantly higher than the average for all stocks in the StockScouter universe. Very positive for a medium- to large-sized company like SUConShares are being heavily sold by financial institutions. Neutral for a large company like SU

[chinaman711]

CVX gets a 9 rating-------------------------------------------------------Chevron Corporation: Stock Rating SummaryChevron Corporation, a large-cap value company in the energy sector, is expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with very low risk.

10 is the best possible rating.


Quick SummaryDetails

ProThe price-to-earnings multiple is lower than average for all stocks in the StockScouter universe. PositivePrevious day's closing price for CVX was slightly above its 50-day moving average. PositiveShares are under heavy accumulation by financial institutions. Positive for large companies like CVXConOne or more analysts has modestly decreased quarterly earnings estimates for CVX. Negative

[chinaman711]

Release Source: ConocoPhillips


ConocoPhillips Reports Second-Quarter Net Income of $5.2 Billion or $3.09 Per Diluted Share
Wednesday July 26, 8:30 am ET
Effectively Reinvested 97 Percent of Net Income Year-to-Date


HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2006--ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News):
Earnings at a glance

Second Quarter Six Months
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2006 2005 2006 2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income
from
continuing
operations $5,186 3,131 $8,477 6,054
million million million million
Income
(loss)
from
discontinued
operations $ - 7 $ - (4)
Net income $5,186 3,138 $8,477 6,050
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Diluted
income per
share
Income from
continuing
operations $ 3.09 2.21 $ 5.49 4.26
Net income $ 3.09 2.21 $ 5.49 4.26
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenues(a) $ 47.1 41.8 $ 94.1 79.4
billion billion billion billion
----------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Effective April 1, 2006, revenues no longer include the sales
portion of buy/sell contracts, reflecting the adoption of EITF No.
04-13, "Accounting for Purchases and Sales of Inventory with the Same
Counterparty."

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News) today reported second-quarter net income of $5,186 million, or $3.09 per share, compared to $3,138 million, or $2.21 per share, for the same quarter in 2005. Revenues were $47.1 billion, versus $41.8 billion a year ago. Year-to-date excluding the first-quarter acquisition of Burlington Resources, the company reinvested 97 percent of its net income into the growth and development of oil and gas resources and its global refining business.

"We delivered solid results in the second quarter and are pleased with the progress made integrating the Burlington Resources operations with ConocoPhillips' global portfolio," said Jim Mulva, chairman and chief executive officer. "However, we experienced unplanned downtime in both our upstream and downstream businesses, which impacted our operating performance.

"With respect to our upstream operating performance, we produced 2.54 million BOE per day, including an estimated 0.40 million BOE per day from our LUKOIL Investment segment. In our downstream business, the worldwide refining crude oil capacity utilization rate of 91 percent reflects the impact of an extended full plant turnaround at the Trainer, Pa., refinery and other unplanned downtime.

"We ended the quarter with debt of $29.5 billion and a debt-to-capital ratio of 27 percent. During the quarter, we generated $4.8 billion in cash from operations; funded $3.6 billion in capital projects, investments and loans to affiliates; paid $0.6 billion in dividends; reduced debt by $2.7 billion; and repurchased $0.4 billion of ConocoPhillips common stock."

For the first six months of 2006, net income was $8,477 million, or $5.49 per share, versus $6,050 million, or $4.26 per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenues were $94.1 billion, versus $79.4 billion a year ago.

[aiki14]

Bid ask on CVX went to 67.08 - 67.33 after COP announced.

[chinaman711]

Need this market to come back and cvx would go right to 68 imo. Bought the dip again today on su when it went under 80 just a trade

[chinaman711]

CVX resistance at 68 and it could get there if this market turns around. Looking good at 67.40 and look for cvx to test 67.60 again imo

[chinaman711]

Added to su looks like it may be the next 1 to run into earnings. SU down .40 looking good here

[chinaman711]

Hope someone else caught the trade this morning on HES a nice double on the aug calls. Sold 1/2 let the rest ride till friday.------------------------


Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,095 Re: Oil earnings plays for this week

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HES misses by 2 cents still a great qtr might be a trade. RES beats by $0.02 (RES) 22.20 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 43.3% year/year to $146.1 mln vs the $148 mln consensus.

7:41AM Hess misses by $0.02 (HES) 53.32 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.79 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.81.
2 cents

[chinaman711]

CVX sold 1/2 my calls when cvx hit 68 : )

[chinaman711]

HES wow what a comeback from this morning. Sold to early could have got a 3 bagger on a day trade damn. Oh well still have 1/2 my calls as it was a great day in the oil patch today.

[chinaman711]

Need cramer to mention cvx at 3:30 on cnbc to get it back to 68.

[chinaman711]

Chevron Announces Quarterly Dividend
Wednesday July 26, 4:30 pm ET


SAN RAMON, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Chevron Corporation on July 26, 2006 declared a quarterly dividend of 52 cents per share. The dividend is payable September 11, 2006, to stockholders of record as of August 18, 2006. Chevron has an unbroken record of annual dividend payment increases of 19 consecutive years.

[NATHAN LLOYD]

Do you see SU's saucer from July 5th through 26th?

It also has a cup and handle from June 2nd through today.

[madcowdisease]

Something to consider:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StreetPatrol/WhatsWrongWithOilStocks.aspx

Offers both sides of the argument but sides with the later.


Lastly, Nathan, that's a dubious looking cup and handle imo. I'm no technician so I could be wrong but I have seen more stringent examples.

[chinaman711]

AP
Shell 2Q Profits Up 40 Pct. to $7.32B
Thursday July 27, 5:32 am ET
By Toby Sterling, Associated Press Writer
Shell Reports 2Q Profit of $7.32 Billion, Up 40 Percent on Higher Oil Prices


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's second-largest oil company, reported a 40 percent increase in second-quarter earnings Thursday as high oil prices offset production difficulties in Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico.
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Net profit rose to $7.32 billion from $5.24 billion a year earlier. Sales rose less than 1 percent to $83.1 billion from $82.6 billion.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said in a statement the earnings were "underpinned by overall good operational performance and not simply high energy prices."

Still, the main reason for the increase was higher oil prices, with earnings at Shell's oil exploration and production arm leaping to $4.0 billion from $2.75 billion, despite an 8 percent drop in production to 3.25 million barrels a day.

Prices for benchmark North Sea Brent crude averaged $69.51 a barrel in the quarter, compared with $51.65 a barrel a year earlier.

That was in line with other major oil companies reporting results this week. BP PLC said its second-quarter profits rose 30 percent to $7.3 billion, while ConocoPhillips saw a 65 percent increase to $5.18 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is due to report later Thursday.

Shell said that excluding the damage caused by militant attacks on its operations in Nigeria and the fallout from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico, production would have been flat.

Shell is missing around 180,000 barrels per day in Nigeria because of recent attacks, and said Thursday it couldn't confidently predict when production will resume.

Van der Veer said that despite a pipeline rupture this week, possibly due to an attack by militants, the company has no intention of scaling back operations in the West African nation. "We are not afraid to invest in Nigeria," he said.

The Niger Delta region has been the scene of frequent disputes for years between oil companies and communities that demand a greater share of the wealth of Africa's largest crude producer. At least 31 expatriate workers have been held hostage by a variety of militant groups so far this year.

Shell's results Thursday beat earnings estimates compiled by Dow Jones, which had predicted a 17 percent rise in earnings, helped by strong refining margins. Shares rose 1.9 percent to euro27.89 ($35.22) in Amsterdam trading.

At Shell's second-biggest division, which refines oil and sells it to consumers at the pump, profits increased 13 percent to $3.02 billion.

"Higher earnings due to stronger refining margins particularly in the United States, and increased trading profits from a positive trading environment were partially offset by the impact of lower retail marketing margins and reduced refinery utilization mainly in Europe," Shell said

[chinaman711]

Exxon Mobil second-quarter earns $10.36 bln vs $7.64 bln

PrintDisable live quotesRSSDigg itDel.icio.usBy Michael Baron
Last Update: 8:17 AM ET Jul 27, 2006


NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM : exxon mobil corp com
News , chart, profile, more
Last: 66.60+0.86+1.31%

4:15am 07/27/2006

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66.60, +0.86, +1.3%) Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $10.36 billion, or $1.72 a share, up from a year-ago profit of $7.64 billion, or $1.20 a share. Excluding items, the Dow component earned $7.84 billion, or $1.23 a share, in the year-ago period. Exxon attributed the improved profit in the latest quarter to the impact of its continuing share purchase program, better refining margins and higher crude oil and natural gas realizations. The company said upstream earnings totaled $7.13 billion for the quarter, while downstream earnings reached $2.49 billion. Total revenue for the three-month period rose to $99.03 billion from $88.57 billion in the same period a year ago. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of $1.64 a share in the June period. The stock closed Wednesday at $66.60, up 1.3%.

[chinaman711]

CVX 68.20 in pre market looking good so far. Should be another good day in the oil patch as xom gets there 10 billion dollar qtr. Look for vlo to start running into earnings too. HES downgraded hmmmmm must be time to buy again.

[chinaman711]

SU 82 in pre market looking good and i sure hope this is a start into a new all time high like CVX. Good luck

[chinaman711]

CVX resistance 68.68 and SU is 83.23 vlo 68.54

[aiki14]

I had sell orders on some CVX aug 70 calls at a .90 and I was asleep when the market opened, I'm glad cause it looks like it traded to .95 right then. I have 45 left to sell, I dialed them in at 1.15 for tomorrow, they were .25 4 days ago. If the chart guru says this is gonna drop to some previous support level tomorrow I'm gonna stick my fibonaci in the blender :lol:

[chinaman711]

CVX down 2 plus in pre market as they missed their earnings est. Might be a buy the dip if they have a good cc at 11am. HES missed this week too and it went down to 48 then came right back to go green before falling again. Oil down too is not going to help. Good luck

[chinaman711]

CVX coming back a little in pre market now 66----------------------------


Chevron Misses Target

By TSC Staff
7/28/2006 9:09 AM EDT






1. Cramer Video: What to Do Now
2. Tech Bear Smells Fear
3. Cramer Video: Market's Misunderstood Stories
4. A Look at Recent Stock Splits
5. Brown Drops a Bombshell





Earnings rose 18% in Chevron's (CVX - commentary - Cramer's Take) second quarter, missing estimates.

Chevron earned $4.4 billion, or $1.97 a share, in the quarter, compared with $3.7 billion, or $1.76 a share, a year ago. Excluding a charge, earnings were $2.10 a share in the latest quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were forecasting earnings of $2.21 a share in the quarter.

Sales were $52 billion in the quarter, up from $47 billion a year ago.

Sales rose due to higher prices for crude oil and refined products and the inclusion of revenue related to the former Unocal operations that Chevron acquired in August 2005. An accounting change governing certain purchase and sales contracts partially offset those gains.

The company generated $3.27 billion of upstream exploration and production revenue in the quarter, up from $2.77 billion a year ago. It had $998 million of refining and marketing revenue in the latest quarter, up from $976 million.

Chevron had worldwide production of 2,669,000 barrels a day in the second quarter, up 10% from a year ago. The company got $60 a barrel, on average, for oil and equivalents in the period, up $16. Average natural gas prices fell 7% to $5.90 per thousand cubic feet.

Chevron closed at $67.73 on Thursday. In premarket trading Friday, the stock lost $1.93, or 2.9%, to $65.80.

[chinaman711]

Keep an eye on MRO earnings out tomorrow and VLO could have a run ino earnings too. Marathon Oil Corporation Earnings Conference Call (Q2 2006)
Scheduled to start Tue, Aug 1, 2006, 1:00 pm Eastern
Check back at the scheduled start time for
the audio link to appear in this spot.
Add This Event To Your Yahoo! Calendar

[chinaman711]

SU reports thur this 1 looks the best imo.

[chinaman711]

VLO nice earnings report-------------


AP
Valero Energy, Marathon 2Q Profits Surge
Tuesday August 1, 6:41 pm ET
By Elizabeth White, Associated Press Writer
Valero Energy, Marathon Post Surge in 2Q Profits


SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Valero Energy Corp. more than doubled its second quarter profit, benefiting from sky-high pump prices and its expertise at turning lower quality crude oil into gasoline and diesel.
ADVERTISEMENT


It was the best quarterly profit ever for Valero, the nation's largest independent refiner, and executives said Tuesday they expected even higher returns during the July-September period.

Marathon Oil Corp. on Tuesday also credited soaring fuel prices as a major factor behind the doubling of its second quarter net profit.

"The world economy has continued to grow despite the higher commodity prices," Valero's chief executive, Bill Klesse, noted during a conference call with analysts.

Last week, five of the world's largest oil companies -- BP PLC, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC -- said their combined income in the second quarter was $34.6 billion, up 36 percent from a year earlier.

San Antonio-based Valero said its net income grew to $1.9 billion, or $2.98 per share, for the three months ended June 30. That compared with profit of $843 million, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier.

The results beat Wall Street analysts' expectations for profit of $2.95 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Operating revenue climbed to $26.78 billion from $18.03 billion last year, while operating income for the company's refining segment totaled $3 billion, more than twice the $1.4 billion posted last year.

The company reported a 50 percent jump in average profit for each barrel of crude oil it refined, and its refinery throughput rose by a third due the effects of its September 2005 acquisition of Premcor Inc.

Valero also benefited at a time of sky-high crude prices because its refineries have been designed to distill lower quality oil that sells at a significant discount.

Valero's results were partially offset by unplanned outages, including a fire in May at the St. Charles refinery in Louisiana and a power failure at a refinery in Aruba, which reduced operating income by roughly $275 million, or 29 cents per share.

Klesse said in a statement that he expected the global supply-demand balance for transportation fuels to remain tight because of "slower than anticipated growth in global refining capacity" and stringent environmental rules. And as a result, third-quarter earnings will "substantially higher" than the $2.44 per share that analysts are forecasting.

Its shares fell 40 cents, to close at $67.03 on the New York Stock Exchange, near the upper end of their 52-week range of $41.48 to $70.75.

Roger Read, an analyst for Natexis Bleichroeder Inc., said Valero will be challenged to top its second-quarter results in the third quarter because demand for gasoline usually peaks in the summer months.

Valero's scheduled maintenance is light for the rest of the year, so the "best is yet to come," said Fadel Gheit, an analyst for Oppenheimer & Co.

"Everybody is looking at Valero's schedule," he said. "If they take a refinery down for any period of time, they will have an impact on gasoline supply."

Houston-based Marathon reported that its net income surged to $1.75 billion, or $4.80 per share, from $673 million, or $1.92 per share, a year ago.

Excluding a gain on the sale of its Russian oil exploration business in the recent quarter, losses on certain gas contracts and one-time tax benefits, earnings were $4.16 per share compared with $2.16 per share a year ago.

Analysts, who exclude such one-time amounts in their calculations, had expected $3.57 per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue totaled $18.29 billion, up from $16.02 billion a year ago.

Shares of Marathon fell 10 cents to close at $90.54 on the NYSE after hitting a 52-week high of $93.28 earlier in the session.