And there was much rejoicing in the land.... Gas Prices

[Ruffdaddy]

Rig count in the 400s...

Looks like we Finally bottomed.

[Ch3rnobyl]

For the investors out there, do you see energy stocks worth putting money into for a short term gain? I don't do anything related to the stock market but I may buy some shares if it looks alright. I know Al talked about NOV a month or two back but what about more risky stocks like Whiting Petro (WLL). It's shown some movement up these last few days but I've read it's a very sketchy investment.

[Tremor14]

Thread's a wash. the only one with insider information got ran off.

[Ruffdaddy]

For the investors out there, do you see energy stocks worth putting money into for a short term gain? I don't do anything related to the stock market but I may buy some shares if it looks alright. I know Al talked about NOV a month or two back but what about more risky stocks like Whiting Petro (WLL). It's shown some movement up these last few days but I've read it's a very sketchy investment.

If you're not very familiar with the stock market...jumping into one of the most volatile industries at the moment isnt a good idea unless you just like gambling. NOV is on a slight recovery, but i would look at NOV as more of a long haul investment not as much a short term gain.

I dont know investing well enough to even think about quick gains, but i know enough to stay out of it and leave my gambling to the casinos. Maybe slow99 will give some real advice.

[Captain Crawfish]

If oil continues to fall to 16 or even lower like predicted a lot of people are gonna get a rude awakening. A birdie told me rates will rise in March lets see if he was right

[Ruffdaddy]

If oil continues to fall to 16 or even lower like predicted a lot of people are gonna get a rude awakening. A birdie told me rates will rise in March lets see if he was right

What will fall to 16? Are you saying $16/bbl?

[Captain Crawfish]

What will fall to 16? Are you saying $16/bbl?

That was a call from RBS Bank they forecasted weakness through 2016. Could be total BS but I guess time will tell. They also advised shifting to bonds to investors. This was around the first of the year. Deflation is coming according to market bears

[Ruffdaddy]

That was a call from RBS Bank they forecasted weakness through 2016. Could be total BS but I guess time will tell. They also advised shifting to bonds to investors. This was around the first of the year. Deflation is coming according to market bears

I guess you would have to define weakness.

I think just about everyone has written off 2016..at least with respect to a solid price recovery and increasing capex close to prior levels. I think $55 would be a good slightly optimistic price target if theres no major geopolitical event by year end.

Shale can be profitable at a pretty low cost so a recovery much above 65 will take a large supply cut elsewhere and an inventory drawdown to match.

[Broncojohnny]

The hedge funds are either short covering or buying into oil companies in the hope we have bottomed. I think the price of oil has bottomed, that is just a guess but remember it trades on sentiment more than fundamentals.

My NOV buy is definitely a long haul type of deal. I have no problem hanging on to it for ten years.

[Ruffdaddy]

The hedge funds are either short covering or buying into oil companies in the hope we have bottomed. I think the price of oil has bottomed, that is just a guess but remember it trades on sentiment more than fundamentals.

My NOV buy is definitely a long haul type of deal. I have no problem hanging on to it for ten years.

You are not kidding about sentiment. Its going up or down anytime a rigcount or inventory report is about to come out, and it doesnt always correlate with logic.

I had looked at SLB for a long haul, especially with them picking up Cameron (a rich history of formation evaluation married to a drilling equipment company...pore to pipeline is their claim now). But I still know so little about classical investing that I figure ill end up down regardless.

I imagine the acquisitions will start to get heavier now that theres a bottom in sight...but that may be flawed logic as well. Isnt is buy low sell high?

[Captain Crawfish]

Goldman says oil price movement up is a mirage. That is if you believe those muppets. Lets watch and see what happens

[Strychnine]

The Baker / Halliburton merger was called off today.

Halliburton, Baker Hughes Said to Call Off $28 Billion Deal

Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. are preparing to call off their $28 billion merger, which has met stiff antitrust resistance from regulators in the U.S. and Europe, a person familiar with the situation said.

The companies, the second- and third-largest oil-service firms, may announce as soon as Monday morning that they have terminated the combination, said the person, who asked not to be identified. The companies had set a deadline for the end of April to complete the deal or walk away. Halliburton will have to pay Baker Hughes a $3.5 billion termination fee.

Halliburton announced the Baker Hughes takeover in November 2014 in a bid to better compete against industry leader Schlumberger Ltd. The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in early April to stop the merger, saying it threatened to eliminate head-to-head competition in 23 products and services used in oil exploration. Shares of Halliburton and Baker Hughes have declined amid the worst oil slump in a generation, reducing the deal’s value from $34.6 billion when it was announced.



Analysts voiced further doubts on the deal getting done after Halliburton announced April 22 a delay in its first-quarter earnings release to May 3 from April 25.

"Because they delayed, this was expected," Rob Desai, an analyst at Edward Jones, who rates Halliburton shares a buy and Baker Hughes shares a hold and owns neither, said Sunday in a phone interview. "Clearly the way the DOJ and regulators have been going the last handful of years, it’s getting harder to do this type of horizontal combination."

A representative for Halliburton didn’t return a call for comment outside of regular business hours, while a representative for Baker Hughes declined to comment.

Halliburton sold $7.5 billion in notes in November, which built up its cash reserve to a record of more than $10 billion -- a stockpile that will help cover the $3.5 billion fee. It offered to sell additional assets in February in an effort to appease the antitrust concerns.

The price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, has fallen by more than half since the middle of 2014 to just above $45 a barrel. The industry has responded by slashing more than $100 billion in spending and eliminating more than 250,000 jobs in what Schlumberger has called the worst financial crisis in the industry’s history.

"We don’t buy the narrative that BHI will be a disaster if the merger with HAL doesn’t consummate," J. David Anderson, an analyst at Barclays Plc, wrote April 28 in a note to investors. Rather, a stand-alone Baker Hughes with $3.5 billion in cash from the breakup fee can help rebuild its BJ Services business, cut considerable costs and boast a strong technology portfolio that could draw new suitors, he wrote.

[Snatch Napkin]

Not even half of the Halliburton equipment that is being stacked at the Duncan yard.

[zachary]

Wow, so semi serious question here. How in th ehell do they keep track of all the stacked equipment? What about maintenance? Surely they dont just let them all sit there for a year and a half? Full fleet of mechanics maintaining them? I would think it would take a CREW of people just to monitor, check them all in, security, etc...

[Strychnine]

Wow, so semi serious question here. How in th ehell do they keep track of all the stacked equipment? What about maintenance? Surely they dont just let them all sit there for a year and a half? Full fleet of mechanics maintaining them? I would think it would take a CREW of people just to monitor, check them all in, security, etc...

That will be one of the keys to capturing business on the rebound. If you want to bounce back quickly then stacking equipment is not free.