Nexen Inc. (NXY) reported third-quarter recurring earnings of 21 cents (23 Canadian cents) per share, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents and lasts year’s earnings of $1.62 (C$1.68).

Production during the quarter, before royalties, averaged 214 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), or 184 MBOE/d net of royalties, comprising 83% crude oil and 15% natural gas. Production before royalties was down 14% year over year, mainly due to turnarounds and maintenance activities at a number of fields. On a net-of-royalty basis, production was down slightly by 12% year over year to 184 MBOE/d.

While the quarter’s productions were hampered by the scheduled turnarounds on a number of the company’s fields, current production (275 MBOE/d) is increasing with the ramp-up of production at Ettrick, Longhorn and Long Lake. Management hinted that the fourth quarter production will be higher than the reported quarter level.

Nexen’s average oil price realization during

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DrStockPick.com Watch List!

My Picks for Tuesday November 10, 2009 are:

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GSS, Golden Star Resources, Ltd.

GSS holds a 90% equity interest in Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, which respectively own the Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa open-pit gold mines through subsidiaries in Ghana. In addition, GSS has an 81% interest in the currently inactive Prestea Underground mine in Ghana, as well as gold exploration interests elsewhere in Ghana, in other parts of West Africa and in the Guiana Shield of South America.

** GSS reported another record quarter in terms of gold sales, revenues and operating cash flow. GSS

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Pride International Inc. (PDE) reported its third quarter results of 48 cents per share, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents and the year-earlier earnings of 82 cents. Before adjusting one-time items, the earnings were 45 cents.  While the earnings came in above expectations, they were significantly lower from the year-earlier level mainly due to lower utilization. The company’s deepwater and midwater fleets were experiencing lower utilization rates due to out-of-service time.  Revenue from Pride’s eight-rig Deepwater fleet was $191.8 million, down approximately 32% sequentially. Deepwater operating earnings also decreased nearly 43% sequentially to $71.8 million. The sequential decrease in revenue was primarily due to lower utilization level. Average dayrate for the Deepwater fleet was $343,200 during the quarter, compared to $338,500 in the last quarter. Utilization of the Deepwater fleet was 76%, compared to 95% in the last quarter and 98% in the ...

Lion Energy Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas reserves in Central and East Africa. The company today made a joint announcement with Southern Star Energy Inc. (SSEY.OB), a U.S.- based oil and gas exploration company, and Gold Star Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GXX), a Canadian resource exploration company focused on the strategic acquisition and advancement of prospective oil and gas projects in West Africa, stating that the three companies have signed a non-binding letter of intent to create a mid-sized, “well-capitalized” company with domestic and international exploration operations.

The proposed combination of the three companies will result in one company backed by an experienced management team and board of directors, which will ultimately benefit shareholders as the company takes advantage of growth opportunities.

“The collaboration of Lion, Southern and Gold Star combines an excellent portfolio of diverse African exploratory opportunities

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Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 for the third quarter, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents. However, earnings was substantially lower than $2.08 recorded during the corresponding period of last year. The better-than-expected results in the quarter were driven by increased sales volumes and reduced costs compared to the second quarter and the year-ago period.   Consolidated sales volumes improved 3% to 20 million BOE, i.e., 217 thousand BOE per day, primarily driven by increased volumes in the United States and West Africa. Volumes rose in the U.S. supported by ongoing development activity at Wattenberg, the return to full production of Ticonderoga, and the impact of the Raton gas project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Reduced facility maintenance downtime helped increase natural gas volumes in West Africa. However, volumes declined in North Sea due to the Dumbarton performance. Daily ...

Oilfield service provider Acergy S.A. (ACGY)  yesterday announced the receipt of a $500 million contract from the Nigerian subsidiary of Chevron Corp. (CVX). As per the deal, Acergy will support Chevron Nigeria Ltd’s gas development program in Escravos, offshore Nigeria, in water depths of up to 40 meters.    The contract, encompassing engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation, installation, tie-in and commissioning, calls for Acergy to obtain and install over 130 kilometers of pipelines, to fabricate and install 15 risers and 3 subsea tie-ins, and to install over 40 crossings. Acergy is due to commence engineering work immediately, while offshore installation is likely to begin during the fourth quarter of 2010.   The London-based seabed-to-surface service provider described the award as recognition of its strong local engineering and project management skills in Nigeria. Acergy further said that the contract award will re-enforce its strong presence in the upgrade ...

Early today, Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter 2009 recurring earnings of 13 cents per diluted share, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents and year-ago earnings of 55 cents. The year-over-year decrease primarily reflects the sharp drop in North American revenue on the back of 52% lower rig count. We have adjusted the reported earnings of 11 cents per share for one-time charges (mainly expenses associated with Weatherford’s withdrawal from some countries and severance costs related to restructuring activities) of 2 cents per share. Total revenue declined more than 15% year-over-year to $2.15 billion. Of this, North America, Middle East/North Africa/Asia, Latin America and Europe/West Africa/CIS segments accounted for 29%, 28%, 24% and 19%, respectively. North American revenue decreased 47% year-over-year to $620 million on the back of a 52% lower rig count. This segment posted an operating income of $33 ...

Earlier today, London-based oilfield contractor Acergy S.A. (ACGY) reported significantly better-than-expected third-quarter (ending August 31, 2009) results on the back of solid margins, strong operational performance, and good project execution skills. Earnings per share from continuing operations came in at 29 cents, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 16 cents. Compared with the corresponding quarter of 2008, Acergy’s earnings per share was down 44.2%, reflecting the still tentative operating environment due to the commodity price and credit market overhang. In particular, business conditions remain challenging for the company’s relatively high-margin Sub-sea construction, Umbilicals, Risers, and Flowlines (SURF) activities, as macroeconomic concerns force the clients to delay their awards. Revenue & Operating Performance Revenue for the quarter fell 12.7% year-over-year to $558.3 million, primarily due to lower exploration and production activity levels in the North Sea and Brazil, partially offset by strong contributions from West ...

One Natural Gas Company Worth Looking Into… Now And Later

Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

These days, the US natural gas market finds itself weighted down by doom and gloom.

With North America choking on the stuff and underground storage of natural gas potentially approaching 4 trillion cubic feet, pundits keep saying that the market will see prices plunge to $2 per million BTU, where it will stay for years.

To contrarian investors such as myself, that type of talk couldn’t sound any more sweet…

Despite the gloom, we can still see a few glimmers of light in the natural gas market, such as drilling grinding to a multi-year low, barely a year after reaching its all-time high. Or the fact that some producers have voluntarily reduced output, deeming the present value of gas in the ground superior to current prices.

One way or another,

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Offshore Nambia is quickly becoming one of the world’s greatest frontier oil provinces.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a few major companies took out oil exploration concessions there from the government of South Africa. In 1974, Shell (NYSE: RDS.A / RDS.B) discovered a gas field off the southwest coast with the Kudu project. Early estimates were 1 trillion cubic feet of reserves, but current estimates range up to 10 trillion. Kudu was big, but nobody much cared about natural gas back then. Gas was too cheap, and southern Africa was too far away.

There was hardly any development around Kudu for the next 20 years. South Africa was under international sanctions due to its apartheid regime, so oil companies and other outside investment stayed away. Almost nothing happened with energy development until Namibia became independent in 1990.

By the early 1990s, the gas field at Kudu intrigued foreign oil companies.

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