Updates
April 13, 2014: I am getting caught up with old stories / old e-mail -- my internet and e-mail service was interrupted recently due to issues beyond my control. I don't watch television, and I didn't see a reason why WTI was up to $104. Perhaps this was the reason: OPEC cuts production in March. It's quite a story. Angola, down 167,000 bopd; Libya, down 100,000 bopd; Saudi Arabia, up 100,000 bopd. If the figures are accurate, it's almost a draw. Saudi fudges numbers, I assume, and the delta may have been even less, month-over-month. It still doesn't explain $104 WTI oil; Brent rose during the same time period. Bloomberg is reporting:
Angolan output dropped by 167,000 barrels a day to 1.52 million, the biggest decline for any member this month, the survey showed. Production tumbled because of maintenance at the Plutonio offshore field operated by BP Plc.
Libyan output dropped by 100,000 barrels a day to 250,000, the 10th decline in 12 months. The North African country’s production has fallen because of political protests and the seizure of ports by rebels. Libya pumped 1.59 million in January 2011 before the uprising that led to former leader Muammar Qaddafi’s ouster and death that year.
Original Post
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here. If you want investment advice: George Soros, Warren Buffett, Jim Cramer, Dennis Gartman.
But I digress. As I was saying, might this not be the perfect moment for oil and gas investors?
- the market swoons providing an opportunity for buying
- it looks like money is moving from biotech sector to other sectors, perhaps the energy sector
- WTI oil is now above $104
On a day that the market continues to swoon, COP and CVX are up strong (XOM is down, but not by much and trading near its 52-week high).
And for all those biotech investors:
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The ObamaCare Trainwreck
First, as a reminder, it was the Democratic senator from a neighboring state who was the biggest proponent of the Affordable Care Act who now calls it a "trainwreck."
The ridiculous goal of 7 million enrollees (remember, there were 30 - 40 million uninsured, according to Barry and Hillary) was scaled back to 6 million enrollees.
It looks like that even the "more believable" figure of 4 million is incorrect. My hunch is that when the 2 million number was given to Barack, that was the last straw: he fired the wicked witch of the west.
2 million.
And based on recent survey out of North Dakota is looks like only 50% of "enrollees" will actually pay their first premium. It will be worse in most other states.
One has to wonder if biotech was caught up in the "trainwreck."
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Now, Back to WTI -- Surging -- Over $104
First of all, the high price of oil is not necessarily good news for investors in oil and gas (that's counter-intuitive; I've discussed it before; not going to go over that again, at least for the time being).
Having said that, if WTI goes over $100, the best time for that to happen is after the North Dakota winter storms, and the spring flooding, so the $104 is coming at just about the right time for Bakken operators.
I don't get it, though, why oil is up almost 1% today, solidly above $104. What are the DrudgeReport headlines? Not one thing to suggest geo-political events -- sure, Putin is about to invade the Ukraine, but that's all about natural gas. The big story over at CNN.com is all about the "black box." The CNN folks certainly are not worried about the impending Ukrainian takeover.
As long as we're in a "Joan Jett" sort of mind, here's another, from 1984: