The American Petroleum Institute is taking issue with the president's State of the Union demand to end subsidies and tax breaks for oil producers. While Obama didn't say just which subsidies he'd cut, the industry isn't waiting for specifics to defend itself.
As rapid economic growth and a population boom take place in the developing world, oil will play an increasingly vital role, no matter what its drawbacks. That puts the likes of Schlumberger, Weatherford and Baker Hughes in a sweet spot.
In Friday's legal news, two more people pleaded guilty in a bid-rigging scheme that involved deals with some 160 U.S. municipalities; California public schools are being sued for charging fees for various school essentials; and Alaska is suing the U.S. government for 'banning' offshore drilling.
The news of a fire on Vermillion, a Mariner Energy-owned oil-rig platform in the Gulf, drew instant comparisons with the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in April and caused the huge BP oil spill. But stark differences exist between the two incidents.
A bill that passed the House of Representatives on Friday would, among other things, eliminate the $75 million cap on liabilities related to oil spills. The overhaul of the nation's offshore drilling regulations would require oil companies to pay the full cost involved with any spills.
Does BP's selling of several legacy assets mean the beginning of the end for the oil giant? No, says one observer. It frees up cash for oil-spill cleanup and gives Apache assets not connected to the politically toxic world of offshore drilling.
The Obama administration issued a revised moratorium on offshore drilling Monday that's no longer based on drilling depth. The new edict supersedes a previous ban that called for a blanket offshore deepwater drilling moratorium.
Noble is looking to strike it rich with a $2.16 billion acquisition of FDR Holdings, also known as Frontier Drilling. Noble, an offshore drilling contractor, is seeking to expand its footprint in the mid- and deepwater drilling zones.
Two days after rescinding an Obama administration moratorium on new deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a district court judge again rebuffs the government's attempts to ban drilling.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who overturned the Obama administration's temporary ban on deep-water offshore oil drilling, has investments in oil industry companies including Ocean Energy, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy and Halliburton.
The embattled CEO stuck to his script Thursday, expressing contrition and offering empathy. But when lawmakers pressed Hayward for details and explanations, he wouldn't go beyond: "I think it's too early to reach conclusions."
Most of the analysts who follow BP still urge investors to buy its stock, and none recommend selling -- 12 rate it a buy, and five recommend holding. Will a federal criminal probe change their minds?
Escalating his administration's response to the disastrous Gulf oil spill, President Barack Obama plans to announce Thursday that a moratorium on new deepwater oil drilling permits will be continued for six months while a presidential commission investigates, a White House aide said.
Regardless of the environmental and political fallout from BP's Deepwater Horizon drill-rig disaster, the larger context remains straightforward: The U.S., and the world, increasingly depends on oil and gas produced by deepwater offshore wells.
At the rapid rate oil is leaking after the Deepwater Horizon rig accident, the spill will top the Exxon Valdez disaster in two months. With the slick approaching the coast, Gulf fishing businesses fear the worst.
The explosion in the Gulf that left 11 workers missing could prove very costly for the two companies involved. Their stock prices have already fallen, and the first lawsuit from the family of a missing worker has been filed. Then there's the environmental cost.
Noble provides offshore contract drilling services to oil and gas companies around the world, and it has plenty of upside in the energy sector as economic growth recovers. Now trading around $42, several analysts figure it can rise to the $50s.
