The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 66 points to 11,954.94 (-0.55%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 33 points (-1.26%) to 2,579.27, and the S&P 500 fell -0.87% or nearly 11 points to 1,225.73.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) maintained ‘outperform’ but estimates cut at Credit Suisse and maintained ‘hold’ with a $24 price target at Canaccord Genuity. Other ratings actions today include Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU) started as ‘buy’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) started as ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) both started as ‘buy’ at Nomura.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is down more than -15.5% at $23.68 (more details here); FactSet Research Systems, Inc. (NYSE: FDS) is down more than -8% at $87.01; FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) is down more than -15% at $0.93; The Pantry Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY) is down more than -12% at $10.41, after posting a new 52-week low earlier today of $9.52; and Miller Energy Resources, Inc. (NYSE: MILL) is down nearly -11% at $2.90.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LiveDeal Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVE) is up more than 236%, at $4.88. The customer acquisition company issued 1.6 million shares of new stock, raising its capital by by $2 million and enabling it to meet Nasdaq listing requirements.

Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNO) is up more than 50%, at $27.78. The medical device maker agreed to be acquired by Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) for $28/share, a 52% premium to the stock’s Monday closing price. The deal is worth $325 million.

RADVision Ltd. (NASDAQ: RVSN) is up more than 14%, at $9.62. The communications equipment maker is said to be an acquisition target for Avaya at a price of around $200 million.

Endocyte Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) is down more than -65%, at $3.56, a new 52-week low. The pharmaceutical maker announced that trials of a new cancer drug have not shown that the drug helps patients live longer.

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) is down nearly -22%, at $16.16. The junior miner lost a court decision to Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) which essentially kills Ivanhoe’s poison pill plan. Rio owns 49% of Ivanhoe and can maintain that stake regardless of new share issuances until April 2013.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is down more than -11%, at $50.03. The coffee merchant has lost some market share for its single-cup coffee products, and prices are also falling.

Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST) is down nearly -13%, at $14.01. The oil & gas E&P company announced its outlook for 2012, and analysts were disappointed with the level of capital expenditures and cash flows.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, is giving a speech in the morning. Here are some other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 30-year Treasury bond auction

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Paul Ausick

That honor falls to smaller oil producers including Brigham Exploration Co. (NASDAQ: BEXP), Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Concho Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CXO), Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: KOG), Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST), Stone Energy Corp. (NYSE: SGY), Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL), Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: AXAS), Approach Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: AREX), and Triangle Petroleum Corp. (AMEX: TPLM). Among services companies RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES), which doesn’t currently have any presence in the Bakken, is looking to join the bigger players up in the north country. A midstream company that is expanding its presence in the Bakken is Tesoro Logistics LP (NYSE: TLLP), a recent spin-off from refiner Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO).

And last week, SemGroup Corp. (NYSE: SEMG) announced that it plans to create a new midstream company, Rose Rock Midstream LP, through a $181 million IPO. Rose Rock owns and operates a gathering, storage, transportation, and marketing business in the Bakken.

Current production from the Bakken shale is about 360,000 barrels/day and there are those who believe that figure will reach well over a million barrels/day in another five years. The US Geological Survey estimates about 4.4 billion potential barrels from the Bakken. Continental Resources’ chairman suggests that the real potential is about six times that.

Whatever the production, the problem remains how to get the oil to market. More pipelines are needed to get the oil to somewhere other than the market hub at Cushing, Oklahoma. The Bakken’s crude competes with the heavy crude coming from the Alberta oil sands for pipeline space and markets. Rail and truck transportation currently haul most of the Bakken’s crude.

A substantial portion of the Bakken’s production is transported by rail, which is far more expensive than pipeline transportation. But the high prices for crude are boosting rail transportation from the Bakken to the Gulf Coast to around 100,000 barrels/day this year. Some analysts think that number could triple by the end of 2012.

And there’s no end in sight for the transportation bottleneck. Proposed pipelines, like the Keystone XL, face opposition from environmental groups, and another proposal for a pipeline from Cushing to Houston died for lack of shipper interest.

The pipeline shortage can’t last. Moving crude by truck and rail is more expensive and far more likely to result in a massive spill than is pipeline transportation.

Transportation problems aside, the Bakken is booming now and is likely to continue growing for years.

Paul Ausick

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $51 at Argus.
American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Reinstated as Neutral with $32 target at Credit Suisse.
Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: AXAS) Maintained Buy with $6 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Maintained Buy but cut price target to $19 at Argus.
Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE: FST) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Fossil, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Wednesday).
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI) Maintained Buy as Value at Zacks.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $325 at BofA/ML.
Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) Cut estimates and Target at Canaccord Genuity; Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Reiterated Buy with $115 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Raven Industries (NASDAQ: RAVN) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Amerisafe, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSF) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $420 at Oppenheimer; Maintained Outperform; Zacks cautious on iPad3 launch.
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $96 at Argus.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy with $129 target at Deutsche Bank.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Reiterated Buy and $26 target at Argus; Cut estimates at BofA/ML.
Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE: FST) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Cut to Strong Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday).
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Maintained Buy but cut estimates at BofA/ML.
Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) rating cut to ‘B’ and outlook negative at Fitch.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Hold at Wunderlich.
SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) Added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. (NYSE: WEN) Raised to Hold at Argus.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST), Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), Loral Space & Communications Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: LORL), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) are all either planning spin-offs or are considering them.  There is also a winner so far in 2010 in The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) from General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP).  We have provided some basic information and color on each below.

1. AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), the parent of American Airlines, has wanted to unload American Eagle for years. What has prevented a deal has been the bad economy and high fuel prices.  It was back in the summer that AMR disclosed that it had revived plans that could ultimately lead to a sale, divestiture, or even a spin-off.  If the airline sector remains in favor this tranasaction could finally occur in 2011.  AMR shares are trading around $7.75 and the 52-week trading range is $5.86 to $10.50.  AMR peaked above $35.00 in early 2007.  If this will assist in its attempt to regain a former glory, they will likely jettison the regional unit.

2. ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), the international steel giant, has recently confirmed that the stainless steel business will be spun off to shareholders.  The plan is to distribute shares in the first quarter of 2011 at a ratio of one share of the stainless steel business for every twenty ArcelorMittal shares.  With shares around $37.00, its 52-week trading range is $26.28 to $49.41.

3. Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) has already spun off Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NYSE: MSG) in February 2010.  Now the Dolan family is looking at the same possibility for Rainbow Media.  In November, the Dolans announced that the board of directors gave authorization to explore a possible spin-off of Rainbow Media.  If this occurs, Rainbow Media would become a separate public company with its holdings being national programming, IFC, and Rainbow Network. Cablevision shares are very close to $35.00 and its 52-week trading range is $21.53 to $35.16.

Another deposit off to the northeast was known as the Haynesville shale, most of which is located in northwestern Louisiana with related deposits into southwestern Arkansas and east Texas. As exploration developed in the Haynesville shale, the estimated size of the resource was calculated at more than 250 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That’s more than enough to supply the entire US consumption of natural gas for 10 years at current rates. The Haynesville shale is believed to be the largest natural gas reservoir in North America.

Drilling began in the Haynesville shale in about 2008 and the area is now dotted with wells drilled by more than two dozen companies. The following list names the 15 largest publicly traded companies by their net acreage holdings in the Haynesville shale as reported on their 2009 annual reports. Net acreage is equal to wholly-owned leases plus participation shares in jointly held leases.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) – 514,425 net acres
EnCana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) – 429,000 net acres
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) – approximately 370,000 net acres
Petrohawk Energy Corp. (NYSE: HK) – 360,000 net acres
Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST) – 250,098 net acres
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) – 166,000 net acres
EXCO Resources Inc. (NYSE: XCO) – 155,945 net acres
Plains Exploration & Production Co. (NYSE: PXP) – 111,000 net acres
Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: GDP) – 84,859 net acres
Comstock Resources Inc. (NYSE: CRK) – 72,638 net acres
St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. (NYSE: SM) – approximately 41,000 acres
El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) – approximately 40,000 net acres
Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) – 24,200 net acres
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) – 5,852 net acres

Plains also owns 20% of Chesapeake’s interest in the Haynesville shale. Exxon got its share of the play with its purchase last year of XTO Energy.

Three pipeline companies also have extensive operations in the Haynesville play. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) owns a 50% share of a joint venture with PetroHawk, which owns and operates a pipeline and gathering system that will handle more than 800 million cubic feet/day by the end of 2010. Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) is completing the Tiger Pipeline, a 175-mile, 42-inch interstate pipeline that will interconnect with other interstate pipelines to haul the gas to the east and northeast US. DCP Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: DPM) owns and operates some 4,660 miles of gathering and transport pipeline in the Haynesville play.

Oil field services companies also participate by providing the high pressure pumping systems and fluids that break up the shales and allow the gas to flow to the surface. Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), and Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) are among the players here.

The fracturing techniques and the fluids used to force the cracking have come under some scrutiny. The services companies have long held that their fluid formulas are proprietary, and they have refused to give up the exact formulas for the fluids. Some localities and environmental groups are trying to force the companies to release the formulas in order to determine if the chemicals are making their way into local drinking water supplies.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has recently introduced a new mobile fracking solution in what appears to be a giant opportunity in what the company called “energy efficient, fully transportable, cost effective and that it will enable onsite frac water recycling.”

Haynesville and other natural gas regions have been highlighted in many documentaries and many articles of late.  Some are favorable, some are very critical.  T. Boone Pickens and others are also touting natural gas as the bridge fuel that can get America off of foreign energy dependence.  This is work in progress with an unfinished outcome.  There are billions upon billions of dollars at stake.

Paul Ausick

The amount of spillage caused by offshore platforms in 2007 totaled 109 barrels in a total of 18 different incidents. The Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) and under contract to BP plc (NYSE:BP), is estimated to be pumping crude into the Gulf at the rate of 5,000 b/d. Unless the flow is staunched soon, this incident will surpass the blow-out offshore of Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, which pumped more than 100,000 barrels into the water.

The oil industry has gotten better at preventing and stopping leaks, but a disaster of the kind that BP is battling now is unprecedented. Trying to stop the leaks is essentially a trial-and-error process that is based on experience gained at shallower depths plugging far smaller leaks. The 1979 blow-out of the Ixtoc 1 Gulf platform operated by Mexico’s Pemex pumped about 3.3 million barrels of oil into the Gulf at a rate estimated at 10,000-30,000 b/d.

This photo shows the oil slick and the Ixtoc 1 platform.

Every US major oil company owns rights to drill in the Gulf of Mexico and in other major offshore fields around the world. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX), and ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE:COP) all have large investments in the Gulf of Mexico and continue to seek new leases as they become available. And while drilling in the Gulf is safer than it’s ever been, the risk of a disaster like the Deepwater Horizon blowout is always present.

But what about companies that don’t drill offshore? Are they safer for workers and the environment and for investment?

The largest publicly traded US company that holds no exposure to offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY). Oxy Pete, as it’s called, owns and operates leases in North and South America and the Middle East and North Africa. The company does some offshore development in Qatar and Libya in cooperation with national oil companies, but all work in the Americas is onshore. Oxy’s market cap is about $65.5 billion and its forward PE ratio is 10.97, significantly under its current trailing PE of 18.97.

Another large US company that is actively divesting its Gulf of Mexico assets is Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN). Devon has sold assets to Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) and others as it has essentially sold off all its deepwater Gulf and international assets to re-focus on developing its onshore properties. As the company chairman/CEO put it recently, Devon is positioned “to deliver low-risk, profitable, organic production growth on a sustainable basis.” Devon’s market cap is about $30 billion, and its forward PE is 10.40, very close to its current trailing PE of 11.02.

A third company with limited offshore work is Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU). Suncor is based in Canada and holds more than 23 billion barrels of reserves in the Canadian oil sands of Alberta. The company does hold about 4 billion barrels of reserves of the northeastern coast of Canada, but these are not in deepwater and they have been producing for many years in most cases. Suncor’s market cap is about $50 billion, its forward PE is 11.54, and its current trailing PE is 22.11.

A smaller cap company with no exposure to offshore risk is Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE:FST). In many ways, Forest executed the strategy now being followed by Devon, divesting itself of its Gulf of Mexico and Alaska assets to become solely an onshore producer. Forest Oil has a market cap of about $3 billion, a forward PE ratio of 11.27, and a current trailing PE ratio of 7.98.

Finally, an interesting mid-cap E&P company is Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX), which expects to get 11% of its total 2010 from the Gulf of Mexico. About 5% of the company’s total reserves are in the Gulf, and Newfield focuses on deepwater plays. The company expects to drill 3-5 new wells a year for several years and to grow its Gulf production by 60% during 2010, mainly through two new wells that are coming on-line later this year. Newfield, unlike Devon and Forest, is not only staying in the Gulf, but is looking to expand its deepwater development. Newfield’s market cap is $7.35 billion, its forward PE ratio is 11.22, and its trailing PE is 18.19.

Most offshore spills are relatively small and most are the result of some issue with transportation, either by tanker or pipeline. A disaster like the one facing BP now is potentially catastrophic because the leak can continue unabated for months until the flow is stopped. The 1979 Ixtoc 1 blow-out took nearly a year to cap.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, there have been 17 blow-outs in US waters since 1964, all but one (Santa Barbara) in the Gulf of Mexico. About 149,000 barrels spilled into the Gulf as a result of those 16 blow-outs. Since 1969, the total amount of oil spillage into the Gulf from platforms is about 176,000 barrels. The API estimates that between 560,000 and 1.4 million barrels of oil enter the Gulf every year through natural seeps.

Oil production in the deep waters of the Gulf is a high-risk, high-reward business. Only the largest companies can afford to take those risks, and that’s probably a good thing. BP is better positioned than all but a small handful of other companies both to try stopping the flow from the Macondo well and to pay for all the clean-up work that needs to be done.

That’s not to say that Devon and the others are avoiding offshore drilling because they’re scared of the consequences. But it’s possible to make a nice profit with minimum risk, and keep your feet dry at the same time. Many feel that the price of crude will only continue to rise, so working where it’s reasonably safe and dry will turn up good profits over time without having to lose sleep over an offshore disaster. It’s almost like taking a value investing approach to exploration & production.

Paul Ausick

Sponsor: 5 best investments for 2010 – The next nine months represent a bold new era for investors.

Alliance Resource (ARLP) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
BJ Services (BJS) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Checkpoint Software (CHKP) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
El Paso (EP) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Forest Oil (FST) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Infosys Tech (INFY) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Cut to Market Perfoirm at JMP Securities.
Starent Networks (STAR) Cut to Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.

JON C. OGG

A firm called United Energy now has a $120 target near-term for oil, and recently and at the end of February we saw Deutsche Bank ponder the thought of a $150/barrel price for oil.  Now we have Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) joining the fray with a call that at least ponders (not predicting) prices far north of its last $135 super-spike call that had been raised from $100/barrel.  Goldman Sachs isn’t really predicting $200 oil, but they are discussing the possibility of such.  One thing it has done is raised the lower-end floor of its 2008 to 2012 band to $60.00 per barrel.  It even noted that average selling prices were going to remain high: 

• Average $95/barrel in 2008,
• Average $105/barrel in 2009,
• and Average $110/barrel in 2010.

Keep in mind this call was very much of a hedged call today that is more of a possibility and conceptual call, so don’t go out thinking that this was a do or die prediction.  Goldman Sachs did issue some favorite stocks in the oil patch as well, and it is keeping its predictions high for the sector and the commodities in there as well.  This would allow for more of these to oils to hike their dividends.  but we would note that less than a month ago we saw Goldman Sachs cut its coal targets.

It added Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) and Encore Acquisition (NYSE: EAC) to its America’s Buy List, but it simultaneously removed Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) and Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK) from the list with neutral ratings.  Most refiner estimates were lowered as a result and is neutral on integrated oils in hopes of a pullback. It still has an attractive coverage view for these.  El Paso (NYSE: EP) was also raised to Buy in the coverage today to the Americas Buy List.

With oil north of $105 today, T. Boone Pickens is feeling major pain IF he is still short like he recently noted.  He’s been right the whole way up calling for $80 before he’s 80 and then calling for $100 in different calls in 2007.  Pleas keep in mind that Goldman Sachs has been making more positive calls in the group since mid to late-February so considering all of these as fresh calls is not really the case.  But a mere notion of $200/barrel is something that has many traders talking, and traders are using technical patterns and fear more and more right now.

Traders have been using oil and gold to hide out in to avoid the weakness in the U.S. Dollar.  If we see prices go that high, the United States will have to change the name of the currency to the US Peso.  We’ve already seen how OPEC is blaming the U.S. for current prices.  This would do wonders for Jim Cramer’s latest natural gas pick.

True die hard contrarians would be clamoring for this as an opportunity to sell, but being vocal about that right now would be no different than painting targets on their bodies head to toe.  In fact, finding any that are calling for the party to be over in oil is rather difficult.

Jon C. Ogg
March 7, 2008

• 2008 $80.00/$8.50
• 2009 $90.00/$10.00
• 2010 $80.00/$8.50
• 2011 $75.00/$7.50

Oil Services estimates raised 6% in 2008 and 16% 2009.  Estimates unchanged for offshore drillers due to high contract coverage in deepwater markets and increasing uncontracted supply in the shallow water market.  Increased price targets by 7% on average for oil service stocks and by 5% on average for deepwater levered drillers.

Even after Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) was raised to Buy last week, Goldman Sachs is adding it to the CONVICTION BUY LIST, replaces Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE:FST) on the list.

Quicksilver Resources (NYSE:KWK) continued as Buy/Attractive as performed well since announcing asset sales last week.

QuickSilver Gas Services L.P. (KGS) started as Buy with a $27 target over 12 months.

Other estimates increased (partial list): El Paso (EP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Frontier Oil (FTO), Hess (HES), Marathon Oil (MRO), Murphy Oil (MUR), Newfield Exploration (NFX), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Petro-Canada (PCZ), Suncor Energy (SU), Sunoco (SUN), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Chevron (CVX), Apache (APA).

Jon C. Ogg
September 17, 2007