Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW), which makes products for motion and flow control applications, reported second-quarter results late yesterday. Earnings per share came in at 54 cents per share, edging past the consensus estimate by a penny. The Parsippany, NJ-based company caters to defense, commercial aerospace, power generation, oil and gas and general industrial markets through manufacturing facilities spread across the U.S., Canada and Europe. Curtiss-Wright stated that sales dipped 1.3% year over year to $447.4 million, missing the consensus forecast by 1.5%. Sales from Flow Control, contributing 54.1% of total quarterly revenue, expanded 2.2% to $242.4 million primarily driven by the acquisition of EST Group Inc. and Nu-Torque. Motion Control segment recorded a growth of 6.5% year over year to $155.7 million on higher organic sales especially in defense markets related to platforms such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, F-22, JSF, Global Hawk and various military helicopter ...

On July 27, China’s state-controlled oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp. Ltd., also known as CNOOC Ltd. (CEO), announced the discovery of a new oil and gas find in Jinzhou, in East China’s Bohai Bay.

Drilled to a total depth of 3,720 meters, the discovery well JZ 20-2N-1 was tested to flow at an average rate of 1,900 barrels of oil and 3,450 thousand cubic feet of natural gas per day. The company added that it is currently appraising the oilfield to determine the scale of reserves and its commercial viability.

The latest discovery further demonstrates CNOOC’s effective and well-rewarded exploration activities in the hydrocarbon-rich Bohai Bay. Since 2008, the company has made several notable oil and gas discoveries in the area.

Considering that approximately 42% of CNOOC’s total year-end 2008 proved reserves were located in the Bohai Bay, we believe that the JZ 20-2N-1 discovery, if

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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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Receiving praise is always a good thing. Feelings of accomplishment, camaraderie between your co-workers and a general sense pride in your work are expressed by those involved. Pride in your work stands out the most we believe, and that’s just it. When one truly “believes” in something, they dedicate time, money, the possibility of time away from family and friends. It goes beyond thinking whether it can work, the determination and sheer will to accomplish takes over.

In the oil and gas market, it is difficult when to honor praise to the manufacturers. The market is so volatile that one day things are looking great, the next day, not so great. Sustainability and longevity are words used by those in every business, but in oil and gas it is different. In order to receive praise, meaningful praise, the oil company has to step out into the open, be recognized for

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PetroChina OKed to Buy Osaka Refinery Stake Earlier today, PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR), the largest integrated oil company in China, gained approval from the country’s top economic policy planner -- the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) -- to invest in Nippon Oil Corporation’s Osaka refinery. NDRC said on its website that the agency had given the green light to the Chinese state-controlled energy giant's oil trading subsidiary PetroChina International to acquire a stake in the 115,000-barrels-per-day (Bbl/d) refinery in western Japan. Nippon Oil and PetroChina’s parent China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) finalized the deal earlier in the year to convert the Japanese refiner's wholly owned Osaka refinery into a 51:49 export-oriented joint venture, mainly targeting oil demand in China. The Osaka deal – which will be PetroChina's second overseas refinery transaction – would allow the company to take charge of all crude supply ...

Sinopec–BASF JV Expansion Approved Earlier today, China ’s state-controlled petroleum refiner China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation – also known as Sinopec (SNP) – announced that the Chinese Government has approved the feasibility study report on the expansion of its joint venture with German chemical giant BASF AG. The companies will increase investment in their joint chemical site in China’s Nanjing city by 56% to $1.4 billion. The spending, which was earlier pegged at $900 million, was boosted because of higher costs, appreciating currency and adjustments to the capacity of the project. The project will use sophisticated technology to produce downstream specialty chemicals serving the construction, electronics, pharmaceutical, automotive and chemical engineering sectors. In particular, it will expand an existing steam cracker's annual capacity by 23% to 740,000 metric tons. Additionally, the joint venture will build ten new petrochemical plants and expand three existing ones. ...

Today before the bell, ERF Wireless, Inc. and Schlumberger announced that they have signed an exclusive agreement for delivery of wireless broadband services throughout North America. As terms of the agreement, Schlumberger will exclusively resell wireless broadband and WiMAX terrestrial communications products and services from ERF Wireless in the North American oil and gas market.

“This joint contract with ERF Wireless provides Schlumberger with the ability to deliver cost effective ubiquitous communications to the oil and gas industry in the ERF Wireless coverage areas,” stated Slavo Pastor, vice president, Schlumberger Information Solutions, North America. “This will increase real-time activities and collaboration between remote sites and office-based asset teams.”

John Nagel, CEO of the ERF Wireless Oil and Gas Services subsidiary, commented, “The new Schlumberger and ERF Wireless broadband service empowers energy companies to execute on their digital oilfield initiatives. We’re proud to be working with Schlumberger to increase productivity, safety

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The financial crisis is forcing energy companies to reduce their projected spending plans, with Gazprom Neft suggesting a drop of 10-20%, but state nuclear corporation Rosatom has just been granted a six-year, $83 billion finance program by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Gazprom is planning a long-term program of oil production outside of Russia. Gazprom and Italy’s Eni are set to finalize an agreement on joint entry into the Libyan oil and gas market. Gazprom says its Sakhalin natural gas pipeline could be ready as early as 2011. Closer cooperation between OPEC and Russia ‘could see a bigger political risk premium priced into oil’.

Finding a nugget in the rough when it comes to energy companies is no small feat. The companies are either too small to be considered hugely profitable for some time to come or they have gotten too big to find substantial value/profit potential. Every once in a while, however, a company can be found with assets and potential that has yet to be tapped on a value scale. Finding a company such as this is not an easy task, but a profitable one if found.

Holloman Energy Group Inc., a multi-segment energy company, works to explore, develop and build energy resource properties primarily in Australia. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Although many might consider the company as an oil and gas concern, it has a wide spectrum of energy operations in Australia. Its oil and gas property lease holdings total well over 1.2 million acres while its mineral leases

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