The refining slump was offset by higher production combined with average selling prices for oil, which rose 43 percent in the quarter compared to a year earlier Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie called Total's performance "among the most resilient of the major oils" Like rivals BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell, Total's business of exploring for and producing oil benefited from an increase in crude prices at the end of 2009 But weak demand for gasoline, heating oil and other products severely depressed profits at the company's refineries "The earnings were more or less in line with expectations, just a bit above consensus," said Aymeric de Villaret, an oil sector analyst at investment bank Societe Generale in Paris 
Share:  The refining slump was offset by higher production combined with average selling prices for oil, which rose 43 percent in the quarter compared to a year earlier Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie called <span class="company">Total</span>'s performance "among the most resilient of the major oils" Like rivals BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell, <span class="company">Total</span>'s business of exploring for and producing oil benefited from an increase in crude prices at the end of 2009 But weak demand for gasoline, heating oil and other products severely depressed profits at the company's refineries<span class="sent"> "The earnings were more or less in line with expectations, just a bit above consensus," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span>, an oil sector analyst at investment bank Societe Generale in Paris</span>...Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie called <span class="company">Total</span>'s performance "among the most resilient of the major oils" Like rivals BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell, <span class="company">Total</span>'s business of exploring for and producing oil benefited from an increase in crude prices at the end of 2009 But weak demand for gasoline, heating oil and other products severely depressed profits at the company's refineries<span class="sent"> "The earnings were more or less in line with expectations, just a bit above consensus," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span>, an oil sector analyst at investment bank Societe Generale in Paris</span> "It has held up bett Tweet this 

Total has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China "This is clearly in line with Total's strategy to get into US shale gas," said Aymeric de Villaret, an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris "The price looks reasonable" Total rose 18 percent to 45795 euros in Paris 
Share:  <span class="company">Total</span> has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China<span class="sent"> "This is clearly in line with <span class="company">Total</span>'s strategy to get into US shale gas," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span>, an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris</span> "The price looks reasonable" <span class="company">Total</span> rose 18 percent to 45795 euros in Paris...<span class="company">Total</span> has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China<span class="sent"> "This is clearly in line with <span class="company">Total</span>'s strategy to get into US shale gas," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span>, an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris</span> "The price looks reasonable" <span class="company">Total</span> rose 18 percent to 45795 euros in Paris Chesapeake jumped $221, or 85 percent, to $2809 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading Tweet this 

Total has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China "This is clearly in line with Total's strategy to get into US shale gas," said Aymeric de Villaret , an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris "The price looks reasonable" Total rose 14 percent to 4565 euros at 3:28 pm in Paris 
Share:  <span class="company">Total</span> has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China<span class="sent"> "This is clearly in line with <span class="company">Total</span>'s strategy to get into US shale gas," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> , an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris</span> "The price looks reasonable" <span class="company">Total</span> rose 14 percent to 4565 euros at 3:28 pm in Paris...<span class="company">Total</span> has so called unconventional gas projects in South America, Africa and China<span class="sent"> "This is clearly in line with <span class="company">Total</span>'s strategy to get into US shale gas," said <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> , an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris</span> "The price looks reasonable" <span class="company">Total</span> rose 14 percent to 4565 euros at 3:28 pm in Paris Chesapeake climbed $115, or 44 percent, to $2703 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading Tweet this 

Given that, and the lackluster outlook for natural gas, she expects Exxon to continue to trade down on the deal. Analysts marked up Exxon shares as follows: Neil McMahon with Sanford Bernstein lowered his target on Exxon to $76 from $78 while maintaining a "Market Perform" rating on the shares; Pavel Molchanov with Raymond James lowered his price target to $80 from $85 while maintaining a "Ouperform" rating on Exxon; Jason Gammel with Macquerie Securities raised his price target to $93 from $90 while maintaining a neutral rating on the shares; Aymeric de Villaret with Societe Generale raised his price target to $84 from $74 and raised the stock to "Buy" from "Hold"; Brian Youngberg of Edward Jones cut his rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy"; Jacques Rousseau of Soleil Securities cut his target price to $85 from $89 while maintaining a "Buy" rating on thr shares. 
Share:  Given that, and the lackluster outlook for natural gas, she expects <span class="company">Exxon</span> to continue to trade down on the deal. <span class="sent"> Analysts marked up </span><span class="company">Exxon</span> shares as follows: Neil McMahon with Sanford Bernstein lowered his target on <span class="company">Exxon</span> to $76 from $78 while maintaining a "Market Perform" rating on the shares; Pavel Molchanov with Raymond James lowered his price target to $80 from $85 while maintaining a "Ouperform" rating on <span class="company">Exxon</span>; Jason Gammel with Macquerie Securities raised his price target to $93 from $90 while maintaining a neutral rating on the shares; <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> with Societe Generale raised his price target to $84 from $74 and raised the stock to "Buy" from "Hold"; Brian Youngberg of Edward Jones cut his rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy"; Jacques Rousseau of Soleil Securities cut his target price to $85 from $89 while maintaining a "Buy" rating on thr shares. Tweet this 

XTO has been one of the best performing stocks in the S&P 500 Selling at the Bottom? John Freeman, Raymond James: From XTO's perspective, the sale could be seen as a short term bearish call on natural gas prices. Instead of trying to wait for a bounce in natural gas prices and E&P stocks, management was willing to sell out following a ~10% pullback since October and at a price well below the highs seen in mid 2008.….espite our concerns over natural gas prices for the next three to five years, the long term potential/need for the resource is attractive. Improvements on the demand side should eventually take advantage of the abundant supplies of natural gas being found in the domestic shale plays. A Fair Price: Aymeric de Villaret, Societe Generale: As for the price paid, compared to similar previous deals in unconventional natural gas, we believe it is relatively cheap.  
Share:  <span class="company">XTO</span> has been one of the best performing stocks in the S&P 500 Selling at the Bottom? John Freeman, Raymond James: From <span class="company">XTO</span>'s perspective, the sale could be seen as a short term bearish call on natural gas prices. Instead of trying to wait for a bounce in natural gas prices and E&P stocks, management was willing to sell out following a ~10% pullback since October and at a price well below the highs seen in mid 2008.….espite our concerns over natural gas prices for the next three to five years, the long term potential/need for the resource is attractive. Improvements on the demand side should eventually take advantage of the abundant supplies of natural gas being found in the domestic shale plays. <span class="sent"> A Fair Price: <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span>, Societe Generale: As for the price paid, compared to similar previous deals in unconventional natural gas, we believe it is relatively cheap. </span> Tweet this 

It's also expanded into unconventional projects, such as extracting crude from the oil rich sands of northern Canada. Caution Urged It could be years before any oil is pumped given the challenges posed by BP's latest discovery, Stephen Schork , president of the Schork Group, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday. Tiber lies in a geological formation known as the lower Tertiary, a layer of rocks created 24 million to 65 million years ago. "It is a huge discovery, but there is a long time to go," Aymeric de Villaret , a Paris based analyst at Societe Generale, said in a phone interview. Tiber was drilled 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Houston in 4,132 feet (1,259 meters) of water, reaching almost 31,000 feet beneath the seafloor. 
Share:  It's also expanded into unconventional projects, such as extracting crude from the oil rich sands of northern Canada. Caution Urged It could be years before any oil is pumped given the challenges posed by <span class="company">BP</span>'s latest discovery, Stephen Schork , president of the Schork Group, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday. Tiber lies in a geological formation known as the lower Tertiary, a layer of rocks created 24 million to 65 million years ago. <span class="sent"> "It is a huge discovery, but there is a long time to go," <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> , a Paris based analyst at Societe Generale, said in a phone interview. </span> Tiber was drilled 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Houston in 4,132 feet (1,259 meters) of water, reaching almost 31,000 feet beneath the seafloor. Tweet this 

Chevron shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks, as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. But Societe Generale analyst Aymeric de Villaret said Chevron should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins.  
Share:  <span class="company">Chevron</span> shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks, as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. <span class="sent"> But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="company">Chevron</span> shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks, as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. <span class="sent"> But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span> SocGen started its coverage of <span class="company">Chevron</span> with a "buy" rating, while the brokerage put a Tweet this 

But Societe Generale analyst Aymeric de Villaret said Chevron should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins.  
Share:  <span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span> SocGen started its coverage of <span class="company">Chevron</span> with a "buy" rating, while the brokerage put a "hold" on Exxon and a "sell" on ConocoPhillips. A study by financial consultant Deloitte released on Thursday, found that U.S refiners faced a shakeout due to pending environmental regulations that could shrink national refining capacity. <span class="company">Chevron</span> is already facing resistance in its efforts to upgrade its San Francisco Bay refinery at Richmond, and plans to appeal a California judge's ruling that halted a $1 billion project to build a hydrogen plant there. Tweet this 

But Societe Generale analyst Aymeric de Villaret said Chevron should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins.  
Share:  <span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span> SocGen started its coverage of <span class="company">Chevron</span> with a "buy" rating, while the brokerage put a "hold" on Exxon and a "sell" on ConocoPhillips. A study by financial consultant Deloitte released on Thursday, found that U.S refiners faced a shakeout due to pending environmental regulations that could shrink national refining capacity. <span class="company">Chevron</span> is already facing resistance in its efforts to upgrade its San Francisco Bay refinery at Richmond, and plans to appeal a California judge's ruling that halted a $1 billion project to build a hydrogen plant there. Tweet this 

Chevron shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks , as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. But Societe Generale analyst Aymeric de Villaret said Chevron should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins.  
Share:  <span class="company">Chevron</span> shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks , as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. <span class="sent"> But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="company">Chevron</span> shares are now down 16 percent in 2009, versus just an 8 percent drop for the Chicago Board Options Exchange index of oil stocks , as companies with refining operations have been hit harder than production focused rivals. <span class="sent"> But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span>...<span class="sent">But Societe Generale analyst <span class="analyst">Aymeric de Villaret</span> said <span class="company">Chevron</span> should post some of the strongest production growth among the big energy companies and its least exposure to refining would minimize the impact of lower margins. </span> SocGen started its coverage of <span class="compan Tweet this