For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 6, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Oil & Gas sector, including CNOOC Ltd. (CEO), China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec (SNP), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors (NBR) and Patterson-UTI (PTEN).

A synopsis of today’s Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/26953/Oil+%26amp%3B+Gas+Industry.

The strengthening oil price environment should benefit producers, particularly those international players having attractive growth opportunities in their home markets. Two such standout names are China’s CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec (SNP), both of which remain well-placed to benefit from the country’s growing appetite for energy.

CNOOC enjoys a monopoly on exploration activities in China’s very prospective offshore region in addition to having a growing presence

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OUTLOOK The improving economic scene, both here in the U.S. as well as worldwide, is the main driver of the current oil rally that has seen the commodity settling around the $80 per barrel level. But high levels of product inventories (particularly gasoline), along with still higher supplies, will limit any sustained crude gains, in our view. But way too many factors weigh on oil prices, from OPEC decisions and geostrategic tensions to the value of the U.S. dollar and seasonal variables, to definitively size up each one of them for their respective impact on prices.  In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a less-than-anticipated increase in crude stockpiles, which rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ending October 23. However, current crude oil stocks, at 339.9 million barrels, still remain 9% above the year-earlier level as well as above the upper limit ...

Yesterday, independent energy exploration and production (E&P) company Cabot Oil and Gas (COG) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, mainly driven by increased gas production in its North region. Earnings per share, excluding non-recurring items, came in at 41 cents, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents.  However, on a year-over-year basis, Cabot’s adjusted earnings per share declined 29.3% (from 58 cents to 41 cents), while revenue was down 15.4% to $207.0 million. The decline from the year-ago quarter can be attributed to lower commodity price realizations.  Volume Growth Continues  Overall production volumes during the quarter were 25.5 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), up more than 5% from the previous-year period. Natural gas volumes were up 5.2% year-over-year to 24.2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and liquids volumes were up 11.6% to 231 thousand barrels (MBbl).  Strength in natural gas production was driven mainly by the North ...

Despite the low natural gas prices, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) intends to increase its natural gas production in North America. The company has marked its deepwater discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico as well as from giant shale formations in western Canada, the Rockies and the Gulf Coast for this production growth.  While the company declined to say how much the expected North American gas production to grow, it believes that long-term natural gas prices will recover. Royal Dutch Shell has a leading position in natural gas.  The company is the second largest natural gas producer in the world and has led its super major peers in monetizing its substantial worldwide equity natural gas resource base by investing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Gas-to-Liquids (GtL) technologies. Royal Dutch Shell has emerged as a clear leader in the fast-growing LNG business.  The group continues to ...

“Work eight hours and sleep eight hours and make sure that they are not the same hours.”

– T. Boone Pickens

Inflation can do tricky things to markets. It creates distortions. In those distortions, an intrepid investor can find some big moneymaking ideas. I think we’ve got one opening up in oil and gas, and it is not without precedent in financial markets. In fact, it’s starting to look a little like the tail end of the 1970s in some respects.

In the spring of 1969, the Dow Jones industrial average stood at 969. By 1982, the Dow hit 1,071. That’s thirteen years of going nowhere. (We’ve had 10 years or so of going nowhere, though the ride between the poles has been anything but boring).

The problem is inflation makes that performance

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The global markets are getting volatile. While Asian markets are dropping, a handful of American small caps are surging ahead. These three are leading the charge.

The American equities market is not letting some worries in Asia drive down its valuations. Although China’s Hang Seng was deep in the red again overnight, the folks on the Street have managed to pull all three major indices into positive territory today.

The big question we are waiting to get answered is if the 1,000 level will be a spot of resistance or support for the S&P 500.

For a handful of companies, the action on the broad market has no relevance. They are surging today whether their trading brethren come along for the ride or not.

One of the biggest movers so far this week has been American Axle (NYSE:AXL). For the second day in a row, the drivetrain manufacturer has watched its

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Yesterday, Williams Co.s (WMB) agreed to buy additional natural gas properties in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado from a private company for $258 million. The new acreage is located on the east of Williams’ existing assets in the region. The deal is expected to close towards the end of the third quarter.

The acquisition of 21,800 net acres includes 28 wells currently producing 24 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), as well as associated natural gas and water gathering facilities. Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams already holds about 190,000 acres in the Piceance Basin.

The latest acquisition may contain an estimated 795 billion cubic feet equivalent of net reserves (Bcfe), of which approximately 150 Bcfe are proved reserves. Williams plans to finance the $258 million transaction, along with $15 million in projected 2009 development costs and $50 million of the 2010 development costs, with available cash.

The additional

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China’s state-controlled petroleum refiner China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. – also known as Sinopec (SNP) – recently announced that it has finished construction of a pipeline in North China.

The crude oil pipeline connects the Hejian oil flow station in northern China's Hebei Province to the Shijiazhuang refinery in the province's capital city. It runs through a total length of 147.5 kilometers and will have a peak annual transportation capacity of 8 million tons.

The completion of the pipeline will not only ensure crude oil supply to Sinopec’s Shijiazhuang refinery but also improve the company's resource distribution in the North China area.

We view this operational achievement as a positive for Sinopec as this will help the company’s efforts in meeting the expanding demand from refineries in northern China.

However, rising costs and special levies on domestic crude oil sales – as well as downstream-centric assets – continue

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Yesterday, independent energy exploration and production (E&P) company Cabot Oil and Gas (COG) reported second-quarter results. Earnings per diluted share, excluding non-recurring items, came in at $0.38, outperforming our expectations of $0.35 and market expectations of $0.33. The Houston-based company’s better-than-expected profits were driven by increased production in its East and Gulf Coast regions.  However, on a year-over-year basis, Cabot’s adjusted earnings per share declined 46.5%, while revenue was down 17.7% to $204.8 million. The decline from the year-ago quarter can be attributed to lower commodity price realizations.  Overall production volumes during the quarter were 25.6 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), up more than 10% from the previous-year period. Natural gas volumes were up nearly 10% year-over-year to 24.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and oil volumes were up more than 4% to 198 thousand barrels (MBbl).  Strength in natural gas production was driven mainly by ...

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is a domestic oil and natural gas producer with leases currently in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative oil recovery technologies on previously abandoned wells in order to produce much-needed hydrocarbon energy.

Avalon believes that global conditions in the energy market present the company with an attractive investment opportunity for proven technologies which will expand oil production efficiency in already-established oil fields. There is definitely oil to be recovered – according to the Department of Energy there is the potential to recover over 43 billion barrels of additional oil from stranded oil reserves and mature oil wells in the United States.

Finding additional oil will be important in the upcoming years. Why? The same old story – supply and demand. The supply of oil is steadily declining while

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