Crude-oil futures rose to a two-week high of more than $55 a barrel Wednesday, reversing losses amid signs OPEC members are complying more with production cuts and as traders reassessed U.S. government inventory data.
Here is Wednesday’s roundup of oil and energy news:
* * *
CONOCOPHILLIPS PROFIT FALLS: ConocoPhillips, kicking off the fourth-quarter earnings season for major U.S. oil companies at a time of moderating energy prices, posted a 13% drop in profit, reflecting lower oil and gas sales revenue and narrower refining and marketing margins. The third-largest U.S. oil company by market capitalization reported net income of $3.2 billion for the fourth quarter, down from $3.68 billion a year earlier.
•Bush Promotes Alternative Fuels: President Bush, trying to generate traction from his State of the Union address, campaigned for an energy plan that targets Americans’ gas-guzzling habits. On a trip to Delaware, he warned that the nation’s reliance on oil poses a national security threat. The U.S. must come to rely on its own sources of fuels, not the oil-rich lands of those who pose dangers to the nation, he said.
•OPEC’s President Pushes Back: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, OPEC’s president sneered at all the talk these days about alternative energy, noting that hydrocarbons make up 90% of the world’s energy consumption, the Daily Davos reports.
•Hawaii’s Gas Pains: More than eight months after Hawaii suspended its first-in-the-nation cap on gas prices, the latest attempt to lower motorists’ bills is stuck in neutral.
•Worries for Poultry Producers: Mr. Bush’s plan to power up ethanol production is raising red flags among the nation’s poultry and meat producers, Washington Wire reports. They worry that rapidly rising ethanol production will further push up prices for corn, the main animal feed grain.
•The SPR-Iran Connection: MarketBeat casts a skeptical eye at market rumors that Mr. Bush’s plan to boost the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is in preparation for an attack on Iran.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
