pJan 5, 2009 (WALL STREET JOURNAL) -- As the U.S. seeks to stockpile oil, China has been doing the same, observers say, and is expected to quicken the pace -- a development that already may be helping to boost oil prices./ppOn Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy said that amid low oil prices, it aims to fill the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to capacity this year./ppThat news followed a rare public statement last week from China's top energy official, Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, in the People's Daily newspaper that China should take advantage of the falling global energy demand to increase its oil reserves. Mr Zhang said China will quot;encourage companies to utilize idle storage capacity to increase inventories.quot;/ppOil prices have been rising lately. On Friday, oil closed up 3.9% to $46.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange./ppThough China doesn't disclose its oil inventories ...

Geo-political tensions are mounting in the global energy game. And that could make investing in oil right now the trade of the year, says Manraaj Singh. Buying shares of oil majors is a good move now. But Manraaj says quality mid-sized oil companies are best placed to return big profits in the next oil bull run.

This from Fleet Street Invest:

Israeli tanks have just rolled into Gaza…Almost three thousand miles away, Nigerian separatist blew-up an oil pipeline over the weekend…Meanwhile, Russia is locked in a dispute over the price of gas with Ukraine. Today they stopped deliveries of natural gas to Ukraine, Turkey and Europe to force the Ukrainians to pay up…

While fears about political instability drive the price of oil back up again, the OPEC oil barons are tightening the screws on global oil supplies…Oil was trading at just $35 per barrel on Christmas Eve. It’s over $50 this

...

Oil prices had climbed 43 percent from a five-year low of $33.87 a barrel on fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could spread to the rest of oil-rich Middle East and affect supplies. Today, however, energy prices tumbled across the board after a government report showed U.S. oil reserves were much greater than expected.

According to the Energy Information Administration, inventories rose 6.7 million barrels, well past the 1.5 million-barrel build expected by analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Analyst Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates, said it was one of the more bearish EIA reports he’s seen in a while.

Commenting on the recent rally in oil prices, Ritterbusch said, “It didn’t have a lot of fundamental impetus behind it, and now we’re getting evidence that there’s a lot more crude and product supply out there than what we

...

Oil above $40 a barrel; geopolitical risk returns… Israeli air strikes go into third day… China to build up oil reserves while price is low

Oil prices rose above $40 a barrel on Monday, boosted by the weak dollar and Israeli attacks on Hamas that served as a reminder of tensions that could threaten Middle East crude oil supplies.

U.S. light, sweet crude was up $2.75 at $40.45 a barrel by 1335 GMT, below a session high of $42.20.

Oil is on track for a nearly 60 percent loss this year, the biggest annual fall since futures began trading 25 years ago.

London Brent crude rose $2.88 to $41.25 a barrel, after touching a session high of $43.18.

“Geopolitics had disappeared from the oil scene for the last couple of months but will regain some price premium with the latest Israeli

...

I'm appearing on Fox Business TV at 1:00 to 1:06 today on the Stuart Varney Show. Stuart's a good guy, so probably no chairs will be flung (ha-ha). Anyway, I'm going on to talk about oil prices.brbrIf you don't get Fox Business -- I don't get it on my darned cable -- here are the talking points I'm bringing for my interview ...brbrGoldman Sachs predicts oil prices will fall to $30 a barrel.brbrOPEC President Chakib Khelil said all the group’s members support an oil output cut at this week’s meeting, including the largest producer Saudi Arabia.brbrOPEC is about 75% compliant with the last round of production cuts (cutting production by 1.5 million barrels a day from Nov. 1) – that’s pretty good by their standards.brbrRussia, a non-OPEC producer, will likely cut production as well. OPEC is asking Russia to reduce oil output by 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a daybrbrWe are ...

“We’re going to see $200 oil at some point” Jim Rogers

Rogers buys oil last week as price drops Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:49pm EST

By Herbert Lash

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE4BA4HD20081211

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Renowned commodities investor Jim Rogers said on Thursday that he bought oil last week as crude prices collapsed to near four-year lows and that the world is running out of known oil reserves.

Rogers told the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York that he also closed his bets against the U.S. stock market in October, and plans to use the dollar’s rally as an opportunity to exit dollar-denominated assets.

Rogers, who spoke via a conference call from Miami, said he is the world’s worst market timer and a horrible short-term trader, but a sharp sell-off in oil prices suggested a bottom.

“Oil collapsed last week. Whenever you’ve had that sort of selling climax throughout any period

...

PIf you think there’s no money to be made in the markets think again!brbrTake oil companies. They're trading as if their oil reserves are worth as little as 15 cents on the dollar. Gold miners? They're an outright steal. One of my favorites with over 93 million ounces of gold, is valued at just 21 cents on the dollar!brbrIn fact, almost all natural resource companies are grossly undervalued -- including some of the largest in the world.brbrBut it's not just natural resource companies. Companies of all kinds all over the globe are trading as if their profits today and earnings tomorrow don’t even exist. Is that amazing, or what?brbrBottom line: There are bargains and profits galore in these markets.brbrTo read about some of the companies on my radar screen and how you can be sure you're positioned for the profit opportunities of a lifetime, go to my A title=Larry Edelson ...

While no one was looking the Bush Administration quietly changed regulations that would allow oil companies to extract shale from public lands. The U.S. Department of the Interior made both a land grab and a regulatory grab for enormous swaths of shale that have previously been off limits.

We believe this is another body blow to the ailing green industry, as Washington taps a source of energy with huge potential returns. Moreover, president-elect Obama has hedged his bets on oil shale - perhaps surprising many green advocates.

On October 27, 2008, Obama told supporters in Denver…

“When it comes to oil shale right now, I think we have to do more research and more science to discover whether or not the amount of oil that would be generated would justify what would inevitably be some disruption of the landscape here in Colorado…Colorado is blessed with a lot of natural resources.”

By opening up 1.9

...

Until 1990, gambling in Mississippi was not permitted. Now it is a major source of revenue for the state and an attractive tourist attraction. Following are some interesting facts about Mississippi:1. 25% of total employment is generated by the agriculture industry.2. Mississippi most important agricultural products are poultry and eggs, forestry, soybeans and corn.3. The state offers different business incentives to new businesses and businesses relocating to Mississippi. They include tax credits, and tax exemptions.4. The top manufactured products are processed foods, beverages, dairy and grain products.5. Between 2004 and 2005 Mississippi’s export increased by 26% to achieve a record $4 billion.6. Mississippi’s top export are chemical products.7. Manufacturing firms employ 172,000 workers in the state.8. Mississippi’s oil reserves rank it number 13 out of 50 states, with 167 million barrels of oil.9. Mississippi has the ...

American optimism at all-time low, 2009 recession imminent… Fannie and Freddie to the rescue? Chris Mayer with good news for oil investors. Another day, another double-digit decline… Russian market, currency plummeting. Pat Cox with a “huge” breakthrough medical tech about to become reality. Have we hit a nerve? The automaker debate rages on in The 5’s inbox

Oy. “The $700 billion financial bailout program,” the New York Times sums up Treasury Secretary Paulson’s speech this morning, “will not be used to buy troubled mortgage-backed assets, as originally intended. Instead, capital would be provided directly to nonbank companies, as well as banks and financial institutions, and that more would be done to prevent home foreclosures.”

Is it any wonder 83% of Americans think the U.S. is “headed in the wrong direction”?

...