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 ...

TransMontaigne Partners LP (...

Global Partners LP (...

Tesoro Corp. (TSO) shipped its first barrels of crude oil through a reversed Panama pipeline, which runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific Basin. Owned by Petroterminal de Panama (PTP), a cooperative venture between the Government of the Republic of Panama and private industry, the 81-mile pipeline formerly flowed from the Pacific to the Atlantic.   At the time of signing the agreement to use the PTP pipeline in December 2008, Tesoro said that it will ship 107,000 barrels per day (Bbl/d) of crude through the pipeline under a seven-year agreement.   Reversal of the pipeline establishes a new conduit for crude oil transportation and will help Tesoro to economically deliver a broader range of crude oils produced in Africa, the Atlantic region of South America and the North Sea, through Panama, to the company's five Pacific Rim refineries (two in California and one each in Washington, Hawaii ...

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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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. ...

Global Partners LP (...

San Antonio, Texas-based Tesoro Corporation (TSO) is an independent refiner and marketer of refined petroleum products in the western U.S. The company operates in two segments: Refining (accounted for 85% of the company s total 2007 operating income) and Retail (15%).We are maintaining our Buy recommendation for Tesoro shares ahead of the company's 4th-quarter 2008 results. Given our continued positive view of the group's underlying fundamentals, we believe there is potential for significant upside for this well positioned refining name.We particularly like Tesoro for its West-Coast leverage and strong balance sheet with the ability to fund capex with operating cash flows. We have lowered our 2009 estimate ($1.40 vs. $1.52) to reflect the still challenging refining margin environment and introduced our 2010 estimate at $1.75.Read the full analyst report on TSO ...

OSG America L.P.'s (...