Tesco Corporation and Schlumberger announced Monday they have signed a definitive agreement for Schlumberger to acquire Tesco's CASING DRILLING™ division for $45 million in cash.That's about it. The biggest thing that caught my eye: I don't know how important Tesco Drilling is for Schlumberger but it cost them about 1 percent of their cash on hand. One percent of the one dollar I have in my billfold is one penny.
Imagine building one new Mall of America every month. That's the pace of development going on in the booming Bakken region that is quickly transforming western North Dakota into an economic powerhouse. Minnesota companies are taking notice and sending employees, cash and goods, or buying companies with hopes of getting a slice of the Bakken. Many Minnesota firms already are there. Some have big stakes in the oil business, such as Wayzata-based Northern Oil & Gas Inc., which controls about 170,000 mineral acres in the Bakken, and Wayzata-based Black Ridge Oil & Gas Inc., a Minnetonka company that controls 20,000 acres of oil territory. -- Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal, subscription required.
Getting online while traveling has never been easier. Getting online for free is still hit-or-miss.Considering one is "held captive" at airports, I find it amazing any airport offers free wi-fi. I was always impressed that SAT (San Antonio) was one of the first to offer free wi-fi; that was no doubt due to the fact that ATT was headquartered in San Antonio at that time (has since moved).
Travelers run into a patchwork of free vs. paid access as they trek from airports to planes to hotels. Speed also varies widely, from fast enough to stream a movie to just enough to send and receive email.
The good news: Free internet at airports is becoming more common. San Francisco, Dallas, and Minneapolis are adding free options after previously charging around $8 for access. Phoenix's international airport has long offered complimentary access.
Still, plenty of airports require travelers to whip out a credit card to get online, including the big ones in New York and Los Angeles. The agency that runs New York's three airports says it has no plans to offer free Wi-Fi. The exception is JFK's terminal 5, where JetBlue offers it.
U.S. imports of what environmentalists are calling "dirty oil" are set to triple over the next decade, raising concerns over the environmental impact of extracting it and whether pipelines can safely transport this Canadian oil.So, from Canada's oil sands region: 500,000 bbls/day; Venezuela, 900,000 bopd. The YouTube video "If I Wanted America To Fail" has gone viral. Tex Ritter had it right -- see video at bottom of the blog.
The United States currently imports over half a million barrels a day of bitumen from Canada's oil sands region, according to the Sierra Club. That number, Sierra Club says is set to grow to over 1.5 million barrels by 2020. That represents nearly 10% of the country's current consumption.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's overall Canadian oil production numbers are in-line with the Sierra Club's projected pace.
Pipeline operator Energy Transfer Partners LP said it will buy Sunoco Inc for $5.3 billion in stock and cash to get into the more lucrative crude oil transportation business as natural gas prices stay weak.M&A activities provide a nice check on the real value of some of these energy companies. Last week a similar announcement affecting a Bakken operator indicated a 25% premium (+/-, I forget the company, and I forget the exact premium). I just remember the premium.
Oil and gas production from shale formations in the United States has surged over the past two years, creating a scramble to build infrastructure to get supplies to refining hubs.
Sunoco shareholders will receive $25 in cash and 0.5245 Energy Transfer units, or $50.13, for every share they own.
The offer represents a 22.5 percent premium over Friday's close.
Enbridge's dividend yield is above average, offering a 2.9% annual payout at recent price levels - for inclusion in our Dividend Growth portfolio we prefer yields above 3%, but if we like the future growth potential of a company's payout, we may make exceptions.This is not an investment site; this is not a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell. It is simply a story about the Bakken that caught my attention. Enbridge is one of my favorite companies on many levels. I have driven by their operations in the Williston area on numerous occasions and have always enjoyed watching what they were doing.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's International Energy Outlook 2011 reports that Mexico has the third largest oil reserves in the Latin America, behind Venezuela and Brazil. With 10.4 billion barrels the country boasts roughly half the reserves of the U.S.Some estimate the Bakken Pool has 24 billion barrels.
According to research published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, fracking has well below a 1 percent chance of causing unintended cracks in the ground beyond 600 meters. The research was led by the U.K.'s Durham University and used data from hundreds of both natural fractures and fracking operations in Europe and the U.S.
When the oil boom hit North Dakota, Randy Ramsey traded his professional attire for coveralls and a blue-collar job.Link sent to me by a reader. Thank you.
He hasn’t regretted the switch.
“I was a white-collar guy. I did sales. I never pictured myself going to work in the oil fields,” said Randy, 36, a former Spokane resident. “I still have my white shirts and ties in my closet, but I never wear them.” Both he and his wife, Dolly, expect to earn six-figure salaries working in the oil industry this year. They’re saving their money, with the goal of retiring in 10 years.