PetroChina Misses Analyst Estimates, Shell Profits Plummet

"PetroChina First Quarter Net Falls, Trailing Analyst Estimates"
PetroChina Co., the world’s second largest company by market value, posted a profit that trailed analysts’ estimates for the first quarter of what will be its “most challenging” year.

Net income declined 35 percent to 18.96 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) from 29.3 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing based company said in a statement to the Shanghai exchange yesterday. That’s worse than a median estimate of 19.5 billion yuan in a Bloomberg survey of three analysts.

China’s economy grew at its weakest pace in nearly a decade in the first quarter, and PetroChina faces “huge difficulties” in 2009 as the global financial crisis reduces demand for oil products, it said last month. Asia’s biggest crude producer said it will cut costs and reduce risk in the second quarter, and China passed a $585 billion stimulus package to revive growth.....Complete Story

"Florida House Members Mull Offshore Drilling Bill"
A bill that would allow oil drilling off Florida's coast is ready for a vote in the state House of Representatives.

Today legislators questioned Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, for more than an hour, voicing concern about the bill that would allow the governor and Cabinet to approve drilling leases between 3 and 10.5 miles off the state's coast. They expressed worries that drilling could hurt the tourism industry, the seafood industry, and the environment.

Van Zant assured members that drilling technology has advanced to the point that there is minimal risk. He said opening the coast to oil and natural gas exploration could create thousands of jobs.....Complete Story

"Shell, BP Profits May Drop Most In Five Years On Oil"
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, Europe’s largest oil companies, may post the biggest drop in quarterly earnings in at least five years after the recession dragged down crude prices.

U.S. oil futures averaged $43.31 a barrel in the quarter, 56 percent lower than a year earlier, after plunging from a record $147.27 reached in July. The companies responded by shelving projects and demanding price cuts from suppliers. BP may scale back its joint Sunrise oil-sands project in Alberta to cut expenses, while Shell has said industry costs could fall as much as 50 percent.

“We are going to see a very substantial drop in income and there’s very little they can do about costs in the short-term,” said Colin Morton, who helps manage about $2 billion, including BP and Shell stock, at Rensburg Fund Management in Leeds, England. “It’s going to be quite a tough period.”.....Your keyword


-