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Gold/Mining/Energy : Big Dog's Boom Boom Room -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jim_p who wrote (3208)	7/29/2001 11:26:03 AM
From: jim_p	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 206096

Offshore rig utilization slides to 13-month low in Gulf of Mexico By the OGJ Online Staff HOUSTON, July 27 -- Total US drilling declined slightly, but the utilization rate among mobile offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico dropped for the sixth consecutive week to a 13-month low, industry analysts reported Friday. ODS-Petrodata Group, Houston, reported 2 more offshore rigs came off contracts in the gulf this week, pushing down the fleet utilization rate a full point to 83%, with 176 units contracted out of the 212 available. The gulf utilization rate has not been so low since June 2, 2000, officials said. The number of rigs under contract in European waters also increased by 2 to 100 this week, boosting utilization a full point to 97.1% in those waters where 103 units are available for work. Meanwhile, the global fleet of mobile offshore rigs increased by 1 with the reactivation of a previously retired drillship, said ODS-Petrodata officials. The result was a net decrease of 2 mobile offshore rigs this week, reducing worldwide utilization to 88.4% with 577 units now contracted out of 653 total. There were 1,266 rotary rigs drilling in the US and its waters this week, 12 fewer than the previous week, but up from 975 during the same period a year ago, said officials at Baker Hughes Inc. Canada's rig count plummeted to 287, down 56 from the previous week and down from 319 a year ago. The drop in US activity was among land rigs and inland waters. Baker Hughes said the number of offshore rigs actually in the process of drilling in the Gulf increased by 2 to 155. Of the total US rigs working, 1,050 were drilling for natural gas, down 8 from the previous week. Another 214 were drilling for oil, 4 fewer than the previous week; 2 were unclassified. Texas showed the biggest US loss, down 7 rotary rigs to 501 this week. New Mexico's rig count was down 5 to 78. Louisiana and Wyoming were unchanged for the week at 227 and 64 respectively. Oklahoma's rig count was up 4 at 155.

To: jim_p who wrote (3208)	7/29/2001 12:26:50 PM
From: Tommaso	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 206096

Jim, It may well be that measured against other commodities, oil will (at least for a few years) be plentiful enough to keep its price down. At this point, my main concern is not so much to gain huge profits as it is to make sure that the real value of my assets steadily increases or, at least, does not decline. When I look at what the Federal Reserve is doing to try to prevent an economic crisis, it makes me worry about keeping my assets in dollars. There has never, in peacetime, ever been such a huge expansion of the United States money supply as has been occurring in the last year. stls.frb.org Oil may keep the same value, or even decline, in terms of other things, but investments in energy can still serve as a hedge against severe inflation domestically and severe devaluation of the dollar internationally. I don't like gold very much as an inflation hedge because most gold never disappears once it's mined and refined, and because the mining methods get steadily cheaper. Real estate is not very liquid or fungible (I admit that I have not tried to undertand REITs, which are). I don't understand other commodities at all, but I think I sort of, sometimes, understand a little about energy. One thing I do know, is that people are willing to pay a great deal more for energy than they do, especially in North America. For all these reasons, I am unwilling to bet against energy, even when it seems temporarily overvalued and prefer to keep some assets invested in energy. America is as hooked on cheap oil as tens of millions of people got themselves hooked on cheap cigarettes years ago. Look at what people will pay for a pack of cigarettes now!

To: jim_p who wrote (3208)	7/29/2001 3:14:56 PM
From: Second_Titan	Respond to of 206096

Mexico Cutting production too? Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela Commit to Stable Oil Market By Alex Lawler Geneva, July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico agreed at a meeting in Geneva to take ``any measure needed'' to ensure a stable international oil market for producing and consuming nations. ``The ministers agreed to continue monitoring market fundamentals and adopt any measure needed, in a timely matter, to ensure a stable and adequately supplied oil market,'' a statement issued after the meeting said. Venezuelan Oil Minister Alvaro Silva met with Ali al-Naimi, oil minister for Saudi Arabia, and Ernesto Martens, his Mexican counterpart, in Geneva today as part of a campaign to persuade non- OPEC members to reduce production to boost oil prices. Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico, which is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, have consulted on oil policy since 1998, helping to lift prices from less than $10 a barrel in December of that year. They are among the top five suppliers to the U.S., the biggest oil consumer. OPEC last week agreed to cut daily supplies from Sept. 1 by a million barrels, or 4.1 percent, after its oil price benchmark fell 13 percent from June 1 to July 24 as inventories rose and an economic slowdown curbed demand. Mexico said earlier this week it would reduce its exports by 70,000 barrels a day next month as part of OPEC's decision. The ministers said OPEC's decision was timely, ``given the slowdown of the world economy and its effect on market fundamentals,'' the statement said. ``Over the past few months, demand has continued to fall while supply has been rising,'' the statement said. ``The market has shown signs of entering a new cycle of instability, which has warranted this timely action.'' Appeal for Support The ministers ``made an appeal to major oil producers to continue to cooperate in the effort to maintain the stability'' of oil prices, the statement said. Among other non-OPEC producers, Oman and Russia have offered vocal support for OPEC's cuts this year, though they haven't announced any specific measures of their own. Russia companies, such as its No. 2 producer AO Yukos Oil Co., have been busy increasing oil production this year. OPEC has already cut output twice this year. Mexico didn't participate, saying it was concerned higher oil prices would damage the global economy and lower demand for Mexican exports such as cars and computers. Oil accounts for less than 10 percent of Mexico's exports, though it can account for 90 percent of government income in OPEC countries.