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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gregor who wrote (31714)	11/11/1998 4:48:00 PM
From: SJS	Respond to of 95453

Hi folks, hope your all doing well... ________ Mobil, Unocal to Trim Spending, Reflecting Sagging Oil Prices November 11, 1998 NEW YORK -- Two more oil companies announced plans to trim capital spending in 1999 amid sagging oil prices Mobil Corp. said the pace of investment and exploration spending will be slowing down while Unocal Corp. expects to reduce capital expenditures by 30% to 40% next year from 1998 levels. Plagued by a decline in global demand, crude oil has been selling for $13 to $16 a barrel since the spring, below its typical price range of $17 to $20 a barrel. Things aren't expected to get much better next year. The International Energy Agency revised downward its forecast for the growth in world oil demand for the fourth quarter of 1998 and for all of 1999, suggesting that crude-oil prices should remain low at least through the end of next year. Mobil said its spending this year will total about $5.8 billion and next year it will be less than that, declining to specify a specific number. Mobil said that since 1996, industry factors have depressed earnings by nearly $1 billion. In response, the company said it is taking initiatives to reduce pretax costs by about $500 million over the next few years. While Mobil hinted at job cutbacks, it said a major restructuring isn't expected. The company also said that it isn't "assuming any large alliances, although we wouldn't preclude a deal." Joint ventures, particularly among downstream, or refining and marketing operations, are one way oil companies have been trying to cut costs. Meanwhile, Unocal expects to spend between $1 billion and $1.2 billion in 1999, compared with an estimated $1.65 billion for 1998. The reduction in capital spending will come from deferring company-wide expenditures on lower-return projects and suspending activities in noncore areas. Also, Unocal won't match the level of spending for some projects, such as the Gulf of Mexico OCS lease sales. The company also said it is targeting cash expense reductions of $150 million, of which about $100 million has already been identified. For next year, Unocal expects its net world-wide oil and gas production to rise by 3% to about 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, from an estimated 485,000 barrels in 1998. The increased production will come mainly from new projects in Bangladesh and Myanmar, Unocal noted. Copyright © 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: gregor who wrote (31714)	11/11/1998 7:09:00 PM
From: marc chatman	Respond to of 95453

I see the bounce, but it's on the intra-day chart. The momentum now appears to be down for the short term. If it gets a spike on Iran news, great, but we may not see a shift in sentiment until the Fed meeting or the OPEC conference. I hope you are nimble with those options. Good luck -- I really do hate to see longs on this thread burned in OS. (Disclaimer: having been burned myself, I may be overly conservative.)