Proactiveinvestors recommends
Pdf

Hurricane Ida pushes crude oil futures higher

9th Nov 2009, 2:44 pm Hurricane Ida pushes crude oil futures higher

With last Friday’s non-farm payroll report revealing the worst US unemployment landscape for 26 years,  and no signs of any meaningful drawdown to historically high oil and gasoline inventories, some oil bulls appear to have resorted to rain-dancing over the weekend. Crude oil price has advanced over $1/barrel this morning as hurricane Ida begins to approach the Gulf of Mexico.


With the key oil producing US Gulf Coast under Hurricane alert many of the world’s major producers, including British Petroleum (LSE: BP) , ExxonMobile (NYSE: XON), Chevron (NYSE: CBX) and Anadarko (NYSE: APC) have begun securing off-shore rigs and coastal refinery facilities in preparation for the storm. Across many operations non-essential workers are being evacuated and some production has been temporarily curtailed. Key decision makers will be keeping a keen eye on meteorological forecasting over the coming hours as they try to walk a tight-rope between cost management and safety concerns.


In the commodity market crude oil futures have risen steadily through most of the European session, futures last stood just below $79 per barrel, recovering somewhat from Friday’s fall which was impacted by poor US employment data.


Oil and Gas producers in London followed the crude oil price higher, Oil and gas stocks were in buying mode this morning as oil prices increased. Petrofac (LSE: PFC) and Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) led the second in the FTSE 100, advancing 3%. Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) followed with a 2.5% gain.


Supermajors BP and Shell (LSE: RDSB) both added 1.8%, while BG Group (LSE: BG) improved 1.5%.
Midcaps also rose with Heritage Oil (LSE: HOIL) and Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) tacking on 2% and 1.5% respectively, while Dragon Oil (LSE: DGO) was flat.


Juniors also traded well in the morning. Atlantic Canada operating oil and gas group Enegi Oil (AIM: ENEG) was in the lead with a gain of over 9%. US focused junior Empyrean Energy (AIM: EME), North America focused oil & gas junior Pantheon Resources (AIM: PANR) and North Sea explorers Xcite Energy (AIM & TSX: XEL) followed with gains of over 5%.


Peru, Colombia and Cuba operating oil and gas explorer and producer Gold Oil (LSE: GOO) climbed 4.5%.
North American based explorer Nighthawk Energy (AIM: HAWK) and Ukraine focused gas producer Regal Petroleum (AIM: RPT) both gained 3%.

No investment advice

The Company is a publisher and is not registered with or authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable or advisable for any specific person. You further understand that none of the information providers or their affiliates will advise you personally concerning the nature, potential, advisability, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy, or other matter.

You understand that the Site may contain opinions from time to time with regard to securities mentioned in other products, including company related products, and that those opinions may be different from those obtained by using another product related to the Company. You understand and agree that contributors may write about securities in which they or their firms have a position, and that they may trade such securities for their own account. In cases where the position is held at the time of publication and such position is known to the Company, appropriate disclosure is made. However, you understand and agree that at the time of any transaction that you make, one or more contributors may have a position in the securities written about. You understand that price and other data is supplied by sources believed to be reliable, that the calculations herein are made using such data, and that neither such data nor such calculations are guaranteed by these sources, the Company, the information providers or any other person or entity, and may not be complete or accurate.

From time to time, reference may be made in our marketing materials to prior articles and opinions we have published. These references may be selective, may reference only a portion of an article or recommendation, and are likely not to be current. As markets change continuously, previously published information and data may not be current and should not be relied upon.