The new gathering system will serve the Keathley Canyon area and serve producers Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Eni SpA (NYSE: E), Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR), and Plains Exploration & Production Co. (NYSE: PXP). Keathley Canyon was the site of the first major oil discovery in the US Gulf once drilling was reopened following the Macondo well explosion in April 2010 that killed 11 workers on a rig operated by BP plc (NYSE: BP). Exxon, which made the discovery, has estimated the resource at 700 million barrels.

The joint venture, called the Southeast Keathley Canyon Pipeline Co. LLC (SEKCO), plans to build an 18-inch pipeline to transport 115,000 barrels/day of crude to a floating production platform and connect to Enterprise’s Poseidon pipeline system to move the oil onshore. The southeast portion of Keathley Canyon is estimated to hold about 300 million barrels of reserves.

In related transactions, Genesis is acquiring a 28% stake in the Poseidon pipeline system from Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), as well as a 29% stake in the Odyssey pipeline system which is majority owned and operated by Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) and a 23% stake in the Eugene Island pipeline system owned by a group including Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Genesis is paying about $206 million for these three acquisitions, which includes about $26 million for the value of the crude already in the pipelines. The company used its revolving credit facility to finance the purchases.

The SEKCO pipeline system is expected to be in service by mid-2014.

Paul Ausick

The fortunes of any oil & gas producer depends on the price of the commodity, and crude prices in the US have been rising, while natural gas prices have been no better than flat for the year. And while crude prices could rise to an average of more than $105/barrel in 2012, natural gas prices are not expected to rise much next year as abundant supplies are likely to increase even more.

We’ve looked at several oil & gas companies, including the three US-based supermajors and a number of independents with market caps above $10 billion: Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Range Resources Inc. (NYSE: RRC), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD); Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY). We’ve looked at the past year’s stock price performance and compared that with median target prices as reported by Thomson Reuters in an effort to find the stocks we think will be top performers in 2012.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has a median price target of $92 and a current price of around $84.62, for a potential upside of 8.7%. That’s the lowest potential gain of any of the stocks in this survey, but combined with a share price gain of about 15% in the past 12 months and a dividend yield of 2.3%, Exxon’s upside is stronger than the simple calculation. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $67.03-$88.23, so the stock is trading within about 5% of its 52-week high. Crude oil price hikes provide substantial benefits to Exxon’s shares, and those price hikes could add $10-$20/barrel to the company’s revenues in the coming year.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) has a median price target of $122.50 and a current price of around $106.76, for a potential upside of 14.7%. Of the three supermajors, Chevron’s potential gain is the largest, it’s share price gain of nearly 16.5% in the past year is the largest, and its dividend yield of 3% is second in among the three giants. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $86.68-$110.01. Chevron has been the strongest bet among the three US supermajors this past year, and there’s little reason to expect that to change in 2012. A new 52-week high is close, and current events in the Middle East could push shares to a new high before the new year.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) has a median price target of $82 and a current price around $72.24, for a potential upside of about 13.5%. Conoco trails the other two supermajors in share price gain for the past 12 months, posting a rise of just 6.35%. The company’s dividend yield is highest of the supers, at 3.7%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $58.65-$81.80. Conoco just sold assets in the North Sea for $330 million as it continues to try to bring its debt back under control. Of the three supermajors, this is the least likely to achieve its potential upside.

Range Resources Inc. (NYSE: RRC) has a median price target of $77.50 and a current price around $61.55, for a potential upside of 26%. But Range’s share price has jumped more than 36% in the past year, but the company pays a paltry dividend yield of just 0.3%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $44.20-$77.24. With a market cap of right around $10 billion, Range is often mentioned as a takeover target from one of the supers or another mining company that wants to diversify into energy. Range holds about 800,000 leased acres in the Marcellus shale play, which is located close to the massive northeast US market.

Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) has a median price target of $28 and a current price around $23, for a potential upside of about 22%. The refiner’s share price has gained more than 25% this year, but the company pays no dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $17.43-$29.61. Unlike the other major US refiner, Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), Tesoro has made no major acquisitions recently, apparently satisfied to play the hand it’s got. That’s probably smart, considering Valero shares got whacked in the past 12 months, down more than -9%. But as the Brent/WTI differential closes, no refining stock is a good bet for 2012, regardless of the potential upside calculation.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) has a median price target of $115 and a current price around $75.75, for a potential upside of 31.4%. The company’s shares gained a meager 2.2% in the past 12 months and the dividend yield is just 0.1%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $58.63-$106.07. Like Range Resources, Pioneer carries a market cap of right around $10 billion. Most of the company’s assets are in Texas, and most are oil. Either as a takeover target or as a liquids producer, Pioneer is a solid play.

Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC) has a median target price of $100 and a current price of $75.75, for a potential upside of 32%. The share price gained more than 9% in the past year and the company pays a dividend yield of just 0.5%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $57.11-$85.50. Until fairly recently, Anadarko’s assets have been exclusively onshore in the US, but its acquisition of Kerr-McGee gave it a position in the Gulf of Mexico and the company has also acquired assets offshore of Africa. The potential upside here, combined with the company’s share price performance last year, make Anadarko a solid prospect for gains in 2012.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) has a median target price of $35.50 and a current price around $22.87, for a potential upside of 55%. Shares have lost more than -11% in the past 12 months and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.5%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $22-$35.95. Chesapeake’s shares are near the 52-week low today following a report from Reuters on how the company used shell companies to secure leases to drilling rights in Michigan and potential lawsuits springing from the practice. On the other side, at least one analyst thinks Chesapeake offers a “compelling risk/reward” opportunity. That awe-inspiring upside potential is probably out of reach though. Chesapeake holds a lot of debt, and any hiccup in the financial markets could raise havoc with the company.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) has a median price target of $134 and a current price of $88.63, for a potential upside of 51.2%. The company’s share price has fallen more than -25% in the past year and it pays a dividend yield of 0.7%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $73.04-$134.13. Several directors and company officers have been buying shares in the past month or so. Just under half of the company’s liquids production comes from its US assets, so the rising prices for WTI are positives for Apache. The large potential upside is probably not going to be closed, but the company’s shares could easily improve by 25% in 2012.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) has a median price target of $117.50 and a current price around $93.69, for a potential upside of 25.4%. The company’s share price has fallen more than -4% in the past 12 months and it pays a dividend yield of 2%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $66.36-$117.89. Oxy’s assets include liquids-rich fields in southern California, where pricing for crude and liquids is higher than anywhere else in the country. Other assets in Texas and elsewhere onshore in the US will drive revenue and profit at Oxy this year, and the stock’s potential upside is not an impossible goal.

Overall, among these oil & gas stocks, Chevron would be the pick among the supermajors, and either Range Resources or Pioneer among the independents, primarily on the possibility of a takeover. Refiners face a tough 2012 and Conoco’s decision to split off its refining into a separate company won’t help matters.

Paul Ausick

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) reports that it found new deposits, based on its assessment of its Horizontal Niobrara and Codell drilling program in the Wattenberg field (Wattenberg HZ) of northeastern Colorado. The firm said, “Based upon the early results of Anadarko’s program in the Wattenberg field, we are confident the liquids-rich Horizontal Niobrara and Codell opportunity provides a net resource potential of 500 million to 1.5 billion BOE (barrels of oil equivalent); and it’s located right in the heart of one of our existing core areas.” The discovery is among the largest in recent history.

The Anadarko find can be added to the 700 million barrels of deposits discovered off the Louisiana coast by Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) this past summer. “This is one of the largest discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade,” the company said. Several other discoveries in the Gulf have demonstrated that the fields there will yield more oil than expected. The Obama administration said it will open more areas offshore to exploration. It has done so based on the expectation that this will lead to the discovery of more large deposits.

The most impressive addition to the amount of oil and natural gas is the promise of shale oil deposits. It is estimated that the four largest shale fields in the world are in the U.S.: the Green River Formation, the Phosphoria Formation, the Eastern Devonian and the Heath Formation. It is impossible to predict exactly has much these fields will yield. The technology to make the production of shale oil economically feasible has only been put in place recently. The age of the success of shale has just begun.

The U.S. probably will never be totally energy independent, maybe never even close. The success of solar, wind and geothermal alternatives has been limited. That could change and alter the balance of energy creation in America. In the meantime, more and more oil is being discovered.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Angela Merkel says Europe may face its greatest crisis since World War II. (Reuters)

Italy’s Monti will discuss what cuts the nation faces when he meets with other senior party officials. (Reuters)

The IMF says there is a danger of asset bubbles in China. (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) ships its Kindle Fire early as more competition enters the market. (Reuters)

Congress reaches a compromise to keep the federal government operating until mid-December. (Reuters)

Warren Buffett puts $10.7 billion into IBM (NYSE: IBM) shares. (WSJ)

UBS (NYSE: UBS) names its interim CEO to the position permanently. (WSJ)

Burberry profits rise on demand for luxury goods. (WSJ)

Parts shortages due to floods in Asia and lower demand for mainstream PCs challenge Dell (NASDAQ: DELL). (WSJ)

Italy’s UniCredit posts a large loss. (WSJ)

The Federal Housing Administration’s cash reserves reach dangerous lows. (WSJ)

TransCanada (NYSE: TRP) says it may have a deal with Nebraska to move the route of its Keystone XL pipeline, which would allow the project to go forward. (WSJ)

Companies find it is more difficult to recruit e-commerce executives to run complex internet platforms. (WSJ)

Anadarko (NYSE: APC) raises estimates of production from its Colorado oil fields. (WSJ)

Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) drops sales estimates as it closes stores. (WSJ)

The new head of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), recruited from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), says he will “reimagine” the chain’s stores. (WSJ)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will get less budget money than it requested, which will make it more difficult to implement Dodd-Frank regulations. (WSJ)

China’s demand for copper falls. (WSJ)

Many partners at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will retire this year. (WSJ)

Data for the third quarter show unexpected economic expansion in Germany and France. (FT)

The yields of Spain’s and Italy’s bonds rise sharply. (FT)

The IMF warns that China’s banks may face trouble if they do not set more flexible exchange rates. (FT)

Volkswagen nears a deal to buy Porsche. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The “units” have been extremely popular with income-oriented investors as investors look for high cash flow back into their accounts and while still looking for upside participation from the markets.  This morning came a report from Zacks naming Enterprise as the “Bull of the Day” when it raised its rating to Outperform from Neutral. More important than the Zacks upgrade is that it has a $54.00 price target objective and that appears to be a “street high” target.

As far as how this compares to analyst calls elsewhere: BofA/Merrill Lynch has a “Buy” rating with a $50.00 target, Morningstar has a “Hold” rating, and S&P has a “Buy” rating.  Thomson Reuters has a $48.40 consensus price target, almost 10% above the $44.13 close on Wednesday.

Here are ten things we have considered…

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) recently announced that it reached an agreement to supply Enterprise with ethane for its proposed pipeline that connects the Marcellus Shale with the Gulf Coast.

The integration of Duncan Energy Partners LP should be beneficial for the partnership and unit holders.  The partnership with Enbridge Energy Partners LP (NYSE: EEP) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) for building a pipeline called the Texas Express should address transport constraints in place today on the Gulf Coast NGL market.

It is a heavy-weight in the sector with its $37 billion market cap.  The JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (NYSE: AMJ) lists that Enterprise is the largest single holding in its underlying index with a weighting of almost 15.8%. Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company (NYSE:KYN), a closed-end MLP fund, also has Enterprise as its highest weighting at 9.4% in its latest report.

Besides being a leader above many peers, its projects tend to generate stable cash flow and they tend to add to the value in the company’s existing portfolio.

The company’s opportunity in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville Acadian Expansion should be great long-term catalysts.  Here is its existing pipeline and facilities system-wide map.

The company increased its quarterly distribution for the umpteenth time in a row and its dividend equivalent is currently over 5.5%. 

Distributable cash flow was $856 million with a coverage ratio of 1.7, and the $341 million in retained cash flow has seemingly lowered its financing needs.

The most recent earnings report was a record for the third quarter in part due to growth in the shale regions and high demand for NGLs in the petrochemical sector.  Earnings per unit were $0.55 (above a $0.50 target from Zacks) and up over 200% from a year earlier.
Revenues was up 40% from a year earlier.

Operating income in the NGL pipeline & services unit was up over 37% and gross operating income in its nat-gas processing segment rose 55%.  Its gross operating income from onshore crude pipelines and services were up over 90% from a year earlier.

The area of contraction was the Offshore Pipelines & Services on the gross operating income, which came down to $53.9 million versus $68.3 million a year earlier, on what was called lower Gulf of Mexico exploration and development on federal regulations.

There are many other things to consider for Enterprise (and other MLPs) for longer term income-oriented investors.  Investors in MLPs in general have to consider the tax ramifications as many quarterly payouts have to be considered “yield equivalent” rather than true income because a large portion of the payouts in the MLP sector are treated as return of capital with a variable portion often treated as income.  Barron’s noted it in the “Top MLPs for Investors” but we would note that Seeking Alpha recently raised a flag of caution on the group and on Enterprise itself.  We like to feature both good and bad when possible.

JON C. OGG

A couple of developments could be responsible for the company’s casual attitude to the loss of the Pan American sale. First, its two partners in the Macondo well, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) and Japan’s MOEX, have kicked in $4 billion and $1 billion, respectively, to the reserve fund BP has set up to pay claims resulting for the explosion that killed 11 workers and dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Anadarko also relinquished its 25% stake in the well.

BP still has claims outstanding against Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) and Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), demanding a minimum of $40 billion from Transocean and an unspecified amount from Halliburton. BP is also seeking compensation from Cameron International Corp. (NYSE: CAM), makers of the blowout preventer that failed.

A recent federal investigation may have strengthened BP’s position in relation to both these outstanding lawsuits, so much so that Anadarko was willing to pay now in exchange for getting immunity from further payments. BP has got to be counting on at least some payments coming from Transocean and Halliburton to help ease the total $42 billion the company has so far committed to the clean-up and claims funds.

BP has so far gotten off pretty lightly in claims payments, having paid out just over $7 billion of the $20 billion it put into the claims fund back in 2010. That could lead the company to believe that it may get off the hook for as little as half the full amount. Coupled with the encouraging (for BP) report from the latest federal investigation, the $42 billion commitment may cost BP far less.

So why increase asset sales? Here’s what BP said in a statement over the weekend: “BP’s current divestment programme is focused on the sale of non-strategic assets and not driven by a requirement to raise cash. As such, BP does not currently plan to divest additional assets to offset proceeds which would have been received from the [Pan American] transaction.”

The company thinks it sees an upper limit to its liability for the Macondo disaster that is smaller than it originally planned for and believes that now is the time to return to more normal operations. The company has received permission for new drilling in the Gulf and is restarting its other operations there as well. BP also has $18 billion in cash that is not committed to the Gulf clean-up and claims funds.

BP may be right about its chances, but taking its fights with Transocean and Halliburton to court is at least as risky for BP as it is for the others. If BP is found to have been grossly negligent, its fines could jump three-fold. Even if it is ajudged innocent of gross negligence, the company remains on the hook for nearly $16 billion.

BP’s charm offensive dealing with the effects of the spill has had its intended effect on US regulators. The company’s production restart and new drilling permit are the evidence of that. The second part of its charm offensive is now going to be directed at investors through re-instated dividends and asset sales that will boost profits.

The Pan American sale could still happen, but not because BP needs the cash. If the deal happens now, it will accrue to the benefit of shareholders. That’s a pretty slick transition. And it only took BP a year to make it happen. Look for Bob Dudley to get a nice bonus in his next pay review.

Paul Ausick

At the same time that it released earnings, Chesapeake said that it was in the process of selling about $3.4 billion in assets. There are two pieces to the sales. First, an unnamed major international energy company is expected to pay $2.14 billion for a 25% interest in 650,000 net acres Chesapeake controls in the Utica shale play. The company also plans to sell preferred shares worth $500 million in a new subsidiary to a privately held energy company and another $750 million in preferred shares of the same subsidiary to other investors. Chesapeake, as is its common practice, will use proceeds from the sale to support its drilling operations in the Utica shale play.

There are several interesting tidbits in the company’s report. Liquids, including oil and natural gas liquids, now accounts for 17% of total production, up from 10% in the same period a year ago. As a percentage of realized revenue, liquids account for 31% of total revenue, and as a percentage of revenue, liquids contribute 40% of unhedged revenue. The average realized price for barrel of liquids was $63.03 in the third quarter, up from $59.81 a year ago.

Natural gas accounts for 83% of production, down from 90% a year ago; 69% of total revenue; and 60% of unhedged revenue. The company’s average realized price for a thousand cubic feet of natural gas was $4.82, compared with $5.20 a year ago, and $5.19 in the second quarter of this year. Natural gas production was essentially flat, at 254 billion cubic feet in the quarter, compared with 253 billion cubic feet in the same period last year. Sequentially, natural gas production rose by 20 billion cubic feet.

Like every other natural gas producer, Chesapeake relies on its liquids production to maintain revenues and profits with natural gas prices below $5/thousand  cubic feet. And greater volumes of natural gas coming into production are not likely to boost the price.

Chesapeake’s business depends on being the first to stake a claim in new shale play, to buy up as many acres as it can, and then to parcel off the assets for cash and a stake in production. CEO Aubrey McClendon calls this the “asset harvest.” As long as the company can keep discovering new deposits it doesn’t have to worry too much about low natural gas prices because it collects a decent sized portion of its original investment up front and leaves its partners to worry about the rise and fall in commodity prices.

If or when the going gets tough, the company can dump its all its assets in a particular play and go hunting and gathering elsewhere, as it did when it sold all its remaining stake in the Fayetteville shale to BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) for about $4.75 billion. The company had sold a 25% stake in the Fayetteville to BP plc (NYSE: BP) for $1.9 billion in 2008.

In January, the company announced a plan to reduce its long-term debt by 25% and increase production by 25% by the end of 2012. At the time, long-term debt stood at $12.64 billion. At the end of the third quarter, long-term debt stood at $11.8 billion. That’s about a 7% reduction so far, with five quarters still to go.

Following a burst of enthusiasm in after-hours trading last night and pre-market trading this morning, Chesapeake shares are down more than -7% in the first hour of trading this morning, at $26.90, in a 52-week range of $21.11-$35.95.

Paul Ausick

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised target to $30 from $28 at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Hold at Canaccord.
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Neutral at Lazard.
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) named Growth & Income stock of the day at Zacks.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

Concern about China growth and the EU disaster push global stocks lower. (Reuters)

Federal Reserve officials argue about the future rate of inflation. (Reuters)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) earnings send its stock lower. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may beat earnings forecasts by double digits. (Reuters)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) hurt by cancellations of 787 Dreamliner orders. (Reuters)

The government may settle some mortgage claims with big banks in a deal that would see more underwater mortgages refinanced, which would help housing. (WSJ)

Hedges that involved MBIA (NYSE: MBI) hurt Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) balance sheet. (WSJ)

Angela Merkel of Germany smothers hopes of a quick and comprehensive resolution of EU financial problems. (WSJ)

ITC says Apple’s iPhone does not violate HTC patents. (WSJ)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) cuts some advertising prices by 5% to 15%. (WSJ)

Portugal announces plans for significant government expense cuts to bring down its deficit over the next two years. (WSJ)

Anadarko (NYSE: APC) to pay BP (NYSE: BP) $4 billion to settle claims from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (WSJ)

Apple sells four million iPhone 4S models in the first three days it is available. (WSJ)

Wall St. still wonders what Apple will do with its $70 billion plus in cash. (WSJ)

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn attacks business practices at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR). (WSJ)

Banks begin to make more loans. (NYT)

Global climate change allows cargo ships to use an Arctic passage to cut their times to certain ports. (NYT)

The Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) deal to buy El Paso (NYSE: EP) may have antitrust implications. (NYT)

Bank results raise the question of whether mortgage delinquencies have worsened. (FT)

France may lose its Aaa rating, based on comments by Moody’s. (Bloomberg)

Car sales in Europe rise as Volkswagen and BMW post strong results. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

BP established the fund to cover costs of the disaster. Many of the expected claims came from individuals who live in the Gulf of Mexico region and thousands of businesses as well. The BP board established the facility because of pressure from the Obama administration. The pool was to be funded by a total payment of $20 billion over three and a half years. Now, just 14 months after its establishment, BP’s obligation are fulfilled.

Famous attorney Ken Feinberg, who runs the Independent Claims Facility (now called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility), said in August that $5 billion had been paid out in the first year of the fund’s existence. Feinberg said 97% of the 949,892 claims made to the fund had been processed. That means the likelihood that the entire $20 billion will be used is very low.

BP’s financial prospects were questioned as the fund was established. Liability concerns of all kinds about the explosion and leak prompted BP to sell off billions of dollars in assets. There were even rumors that BP would have to file for bankruptcy to offset the costs of Deepwater Horizon. The assessment of the damage to BP was premature and overblown.

BP could get the majority of its $20 billion back, particularly now that Anadarko has made an indirect contribution to the fund. The large oil company will have made an escape from Deepwater that no one expected.

Douglas A. McIntyre