What about CNFU, they were the ones involved inthat oil steeling from Mexico earlier this year?

Drax you got a response from SEC (a standard letter), I didn't receive any response. Can you tell me who you made your complaint to, so that I can also make it to that same person.

Greg your right most are just sitting doing nothing, I believe they took this as a write off already with no where to get rid of stock. I have tried calling, with no response, sent email and complained to SEC (see earlier posting I did with SEC info). I haven't heard or seen any entry from TB or LARS recently, Have you?

Like you, I invested when stock was at .03 per share. These people took over the company a few months later and stock was sent steadly down ever since. As far as I can tell, from what I read from other peoples posting, they closed down some operating wells claiming the price of gas went down so much that it does not pay to produce, thereby bring the stock down some more. They exchanged their own debt for controlling intest in stock and does not appear to give a dam of other stock holders. They were clearly involved in that stolen oil from Mexico through their CNFU subsidiary (You know the one whos leader stated that they made over $300 Million dollars in revenues (last year), without showing how they made it prior to the announcement of their involvement in stolen oil). SEC Is investigating both Kamel and that other guy. However their investigation is mainly concerned with UPDV. I already complained to SEC on my behalf about their manipulation of HTOG stock, I think DRAX did also. The more stock holders of HTOG complain. the better chance we may be able to be freed from UPDV control.

Yea it may point that way, but does updv own any producing assets (not stock in HTOG or elsewhere, actual physical producing assets?).

I have another oil stock where SEC is involved. Below is the name, address and phone number of person with SEC. I would like to be included in your group!


Liora Sukhatme, Esq.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
3 World Financial Center, Suite 400
New York, NY 10281-1022
(212) 336-0136

Give us more detail of your group, can we join in? Who do you want us to write to (Name and Address)?

That's great. When you ask for information. Just what kind of info are you asking for. The only thing I really have is my buy order of this stock when it was at .03 a share. Every thing else is what I read!

Who has this info on the Five Star deal? Also what about the issuance of stock to Kamel in exchange for debt about 2 years ago.

How about that stolen oil from Mexico, earlier this year, Where CNFU (another UPDV Subsidiary) was involved?

If anyone has any of this info or anything else, lets get it to SEC. Lets show SEC that we sould be counted.

TB or Greg; I'm still not clear if PPTL is a Canadian Entity or A U.S. entity. I know in the past I state we have to ask Canadian Gov't to investigate because it's an entity located in Alberta, Canada. However every now and then I read that PPTL is a Nevada Entity, Texas Entity or even a Whyoming entity. So exactly which country is PPTL formed. If its the U.S., I will write a letter to SEC asking for them to look into the dealing of Bruce. I know that I'm invested in another OIL Company where the people in charge were arrested for stock fraud and are being investigated by SEC (See Below Link of Charges of SEC VS Kamal and Seiden). IF the SEC can investigae them, why not see if we can get them to put the fear of GOD into Bruce concerning PPTL, on lack of info).

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2009/lr21179.htm

George Canellos Attorney for Plaintiff SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION New York Regional Office 3 World Financial Center, Room 400 New York, NY 10281-1022
(212) 336-0174 (Stoelting)
Email stoeItingd@sec.gov

We all have to call the SEC and write letters of complaint. I know I and Drax already conplained. I will conplain again, because I never got a response. Come On all HTOG stock holders Kamal and Seiden are already under arrest and charges brought up by SEC for stock manupilation of UPDV stock, lets make sure that the SEC also includes HTOG stock. See the link below of SEC charges and below that who we can contack at SEC.


http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2009/comp21179.pdf



Liora Sukhatme, Esq.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
3 World Financial Center, Suite 400
New York, NY 10281-1022
(212) 336-0136

I know what you mean about expensive. I lived in a condo in Coney Island, Brooklyn, however NYC billed us real estate taxes as if we were part of Brighton Beach Brooklyn (Just 2 blocks away). The 2 buildings has 720 units, we each chiped in $20 a month for 5 years fighting the tax status and tax map. When we won and were to receive a tax refund of about $700 per unit, the lawyer took most of that away claiming contractual winnings obligations. However from that point on our real estate taxes were billed at the cheaper Coney Island rate. So if we can find a Lawyer, they may be expensive, but if we win, in the long run it will pay off!

Yea we have some, but my last phone conversation with Bruce (about a year ago), I got the impression he is more concerned about other projects he's got going on. I'm going to try and call him again. When I reach him, I will be asking some tough questions. I just hope he answeres them instead of doing an end run. I'll let you know what happens.

Hey Drax, thanks for all your info, you seem to know everything thats going on here. Is there by any chance any class action law suit against management? If SEC isn't going to help stock holders before all those leases expire, and mgt isn't going to help the true stock holders, then only a class action law suit can help us. Maybe you might know an investment lawyer who would take the case pro bono.

The question with this is, will be be trading one bad egg for another?

your lips to gods ears

yea: Maybe your right.

Not sure: But I think he means is a reverse stock split, for every 5 shares you currently have, it will become one share.

Thats possible. However just the fact that it is known that we have NG (even if its non producing)can cause additional investment in the company. Below is another article on NG, which state the are only 1/2 the amount of rigs looking for NG as there was a year ago.

Natural-Gas Market Finds Fix for Low Prices That May Stick
by Myra P. Saefong
Friday, September 18, 2009
provided by


The natural-gas market has been struggling to lift itself back above prices traders hadn't seen in more than seven years, but the strategy among drillers to cut back on exploration and postpone new projects is finally starting to show signs of success as demand for the commodity begins to improve.

Natural-gas prices were poised to end this week with a hefty gain, up almost 17% as of Thursday in New York, when they closed at $3.46 per million British thermal units. Front-month futures prices have rallied 38% from the low near $2.50 reached earlier this month, a level not seen since early 2002.

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"Low prices are curing low prices," said Ben Smith, president of First Enercast Financial, an information vendor serving energy markets.

An oversupply of natural gas in the U.S. has been the key reason for weak prices and the market may soon see a record level in U.S. storage.

U.S. supplies, at their current rate of increase, are "nearly certain" to exceed the all-time high of 3.7 trillion cubic feet seen in late October 2007, analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a research note issued last week. The Energy Information Administration expects inventories to reach 3.84 trillion around Oct. 31.

Working gas in storage was pegged at 3.46 billion cubic feet as of Sept. 11, according to the EIA.

"New, quick-draining shale plays have kept the supply of natural gas strong so far this year," said Smith, referring to natural gas produced from shale, a geologic formation.

"Everyone is blaming fundamentals [for the low prices] and point to the large storage overhang, but the fundamentals have increasingly been more bullish in recent months," said Smith.

"The natural-gas market has been working all year to correct itself by reducing rig count and shelving projects," he said.

Pat on the Back

The hard work has hardly gone unnoticed in recent weeks.

Today, there are half the rigs searching for natural gas in the U.S. than there were last year, said Smith.

"The lower rate of exploration will eventually lead to lower U.S. production capacity," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics, who expects supply and demand to come into balance sometime in the first half of 2010.

As of Sept. 11, the number of oil and natural-gas rigs running in the U.S. was at 999, down 1,032 from a year earlier, according to Baker Hughes (BHI). At the international level, the rig count as of August 2009 was 947, down 140 from a year ago.

Most of this drop was in the Barnett shale and other shale areas, according to Charles Perry, president of energy consulting firm Perry Management. The Barnett Shale in North Texas is the most developed shale formation.

'The natural-gas market has been working all year to correct itself by reducing rig count and shelving projects.'


Ben Smith, First Enercast Financial



"Drilling and completion of wells in shale are extremely expensive, and when prices drop drastically, much of the shale drilling is no longer economical," said Perry.

"On the other hand, since shale well production declines rapidly, and we are not drilling any replacement wells, this will hasten the time when we will loose excess supply," he said.

In the meantime, industrial demand has picked up since bottoming this past May, according to Smith.

"Industrial demand figures continue to improve -- not surprising given the cheap cost of natural gas along with economic stimulus aimed at spurring manufacturing," he said, pointing out that gas-flow scheduling into U.S. industrial facilities logged its 14th weekly increase in 15 weeks.

In a monthly report, the EIA said industrial natural-gas consumption declined by 12% in the first 6 months of 2009 compared with the same time a year ago. It expects year-over-year consumption decline to continue through the second half of this year, but also said the "trend will be less pronounced" and natural gas use in the electric sector will climb by 4.3%, year-over-year, during the second half of this year.

Natural gas' low price makes the fuel more economical to burn than coal, explained Smith.

And "now that [natural gas] storage is nearing capacity, curtailments are really kicking in," he said.

He estimates that the production cuts have managed to take over 2 billion cubic feet per day off the market and that could quickly grow to over 4 billion per day by next month.

In that case, "thanks to these production deferrals, the oversupply situation we have been in this year is over," he said.

Wrench in the Works

But there are a few things that could ruin the market's will to climb, including the buildup in spare output capacity and a lack of production disruptions from the current Atlantic hurricane season.

"There is a tremendous backlog of spare production capacity sitting idle and waiting for higher prices," said Smith.

"So we can anticipate any significant price recovery will be quickly met with additional supply," he said, expecting that to keep a lid on prices for at least six months.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic hurricane season ends on Nov. 30 and has so far proven to be a non-event, said Beth Sewell, a managing partner at Quantum Power & Gas Services.

Adding to the potential for lower prices, the EIA recently increased the level of "full" for U.S. storage by almost 3 trillion cubic feet "as a result of several new projects that are functional now," she said.

"We're on track to fill it to the new level, which should keep a damper on prices this winter even if we have a colder-than-normal winter," she said.

So it's not hard to figure out that a few more things need to happen for natural gas to continue higher. In fact, two things will have to happen to light a fire under natural gas, said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at Telvent/DTN, a provider of market analysis.

"As of now, the only support that is coming into the market is from light noncommercial (speculative) short-covering and that isn't going to get it done," he said, adding that the market would also need to see some sort of disruption in supplies, which can come in the form of a hurricane threat in the U.S. Gulf region.

Lack of Reaction

But surprisingly, the market isn't fazed by news this week of Australian government approval for a major natural-gas project, with many experts not expecting any detrimental impact on natural gas -- certainly not immediately, but maybe not even in the longer-term.

This week, Chevron (CVX) said it's received final approval from the Western Australian government for the massive Gorgon natural-gas project, which would be Australia's largest-ever resource venture.

"The Gorgon project will take quite awhile to develop," said Sewell. "Perhaps by the time it is online, the world economy will absorb it and Asia is a huge consumer of LNG (liquefied natural gas)."

The project will also take so long to develop that it will mostly replace other production that is depleting, said Perry. It'll "be at least 6 years, and more likely 10 years, before you will see substantial production from Gorgon."

The project intends to tap into 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and Chevron expects it to begin yielding gas in 2014. Ministers in Australia said they expect project construction to begin by next Easter.

"Gorgon is big, but we don't have to worry about it until 2014," said Smith.

And given the global abundance of natural gas, the commodity has "tremendous potential to be a major energy source for years to come," he said. "Once a fully international market for LNG is established, I envision a long period of stable prices."

Myra P. Saefong is MarketWatch's assistant global markets editor, based in Tokyo.

Copyrighted, MarketWatch. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of MarketWatch content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of MarketWatch. MarketWatch shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.ADVERTISEMENT

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I think the reason the volume is going up is because price of NG has been going up for 4 days in a row now. It seem like that the 2nd artice I posted a couple of weeks ago is coming true (Then again were going into the Fall soon to be followed by winter), could be just spec.

What will happen to the shareholders if SEC stop trading of all three companies? What will happen to the land assets?

I'm not informed as you are, I read and make my own interpretations. I fI think is something to be shared, I'll share it. Since you seemed more informed, how about giving us the low down on how all this fits in (in lay mans term. Please).

Isn't there anyone, besides the SEC, can help us. Maybe a lawyer to start a class action case against MGT, on a probono basis?

Yea: I did notice that and also a name of another OTC Company as well to try and get us to invest in that company as well.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

Here something for you to look at from a posting in UPDV.

Dear UPDA Shareholders -



While we greatly appreciate the confidence that you have shown in your attempts to appoint us to the Board of Directors of Universal Property Development and Acquisition Corporation, we regret to inform you that the current management of UPDA has refused to acknowledge that appointment, claiming that they have amended the By Laws of the company in order to limit the rights of the shareholders to make such appointment. While we strenuously disagree with their contentions and doubt their authenticity, we have been advised by our attorneys that we cannot enforce our appointment to the Board without the institution of legal action that would be time consuming and extraordinarily expensive for both us and the company. As such, we have no alternative but to report to you that we will not be accepting your appointment of us to the Board of Directors and we will, rather, restrict our efforts to the ongoing development of Exterra Energy, Inc. (OTC BB: EENI).



Although we will not be taking our seats on the Board of UPDA, we remain sympathetic to the plight in which you, the shareholders of UPDA, presently find yourselves. In our investigation of the companies affiliated with UPDA including Continental Fuels, Heartland Oil and Gas and Geer Tank Trucks, we were most frustrated to discover that they were subject to numerous lawsuits and we were informed by the attorney that represents them and claims to sit on their boards that the companies and the current management are also subject to criminal investigation and have already had assets seized by Federal Law Enforcement Authorities. Mr. Saunooke also informed us that they (he and Mr. Brink as the alleged members of the Board of Directors of UPDA), had stripped UPDA of all of its assets, transferring them to Continental Fuels in a transaction that, in our opinion, appears questionable at best.



Finally, Mr. Saunooke refused even to provide us with any documentation relative to his claims so we cannot even report to you that we are certain that any of his claims are true. It was our sincere hope and belief that we may have been able to rescue the companies from their catastrophic circumstances but given the refusal of Tim Brink, the CEO of the companies, and Robert Saunooke, his attorney, to recognize our appointment, we have no alternative but to withdraw from the situation.



Should you decide that further action is warranted, please be advised that we are prepared to cooperate with you and we will provide you with any information that is available to us. We certainly wish you and the companies the best of luck and we deeply regret that Mr. Brink and Mr. Saunooke refused to allow us to utilize our resources to assist them.

I.m with you on this. But I would also like to see penalties issued to these people, sizures of all of their stock they own on HTOG, given back to us long term holders with an order keeping us away from any of them (and UPDV). Then I would like to see all of our wells reopened (They closed some stating the price of NG is too low).

I called the SEC person fromlast posting and asked that they also look into Kamal and possible manipulation of stock here as well. I'm asking everyone to also call and complain and send email as well concerning HTOG.

Thank You

SEC response to Complaint on Kamal


Dear Mr. Rudy,



Thank you for your email.



On August 14, 2009, the Commission filed an amended complaint naming Kamal Abdallah as a defendant in an action that was initially filed on July 21, 2009. The amended complaint alleges that Abdallah conspired to manipulate the prices of UPDV. You can view the amended complaint and the SEC release summarizing its contents at http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2009/lr21179.htm.



We understand your concerns as a shareholder of UPDV, and we are taking your complaint seriously. We cannot, however, provide you with any information outside of the allegations detailed in the amended complaint referenced above. Please understand that the SEC conducts its investigations on a confidential basis both to preserve the integrity of the investigation and to protect the reputations of companies and individuals if we find no wrongdoing or decide that we cannot bring a successful action against them. It is therefore SEC policy not to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation unless, and until, it becomes a matter of public record as the result of a court action or administrative proceeding. Accordingly, we will also not be able to provide you with updates on the status of any pending SEC investigation.



Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Thanks again!



-Liora

____________________________________
Liora Sukhatme, Esq.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
3 World Financial Center, Suite 400
New York, NY 10281-1022
(212) 336-0136

Ditto

Here another interesting artice on Natural Gas, almost the reverse of the first artice.

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AdvertisementsSwing Trading Report - September 4 < John Licata: Nat Gas to Heat Up, Crude to Climb Back Toward Triple Digits < The Road to Eldorado < US gold rises toward $1,000/oz in flight to quality < Natural Gas Weekly Update < Oil steady at $68 on mixed economic outlook < Technical Oil Mid-day Report (2009-09-03) < Bonds Lower, Silver Higher, Dollar Lower < Silver Technical Precious Metals Mid-day Report (2009-09-03) < Gold Technical Precious Metals Mid-day Report (2009-09-03)
OilIBT Commodities > News > Oil John Licata: Nat Gas to Heat Up, Crude to Climb Back Toward Triple DigitsThe Energy ReportFont Scale: 03 September 2009 @ 03:50 pm ET Print E-Mail
John Licata Looks for Natural Gas to Heat Up, Crude to Climb Back Toward Triple Digits
Source: The Energy Report 09/03/2009

http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na_u/1073

Just back in his Wall Street digs from Spanish site visits to check out some "just absolutely mind-boggling" solar and wind projects, Blue Phoenix Chief Investment Strategist John Licata sat down for another exclusive interview with The Energy Report. Well regarded for his insights and forecasts across the commodity spectrum, John talks about some excellent investment opportunities in both natural gas and oil. And while acknowledging that he's probably in "a dark room alone on this one," he also sees reason to be bullish about the refining space.

The Energy Report: You weren't too bullish on seeing a recovery in 2009 when we caught up with you in April. We've seen some good Q2 reporting from a variety of companies and some encouraging economic data. The government is starting to claim we're in recovery. What's your take on this?

John Licata: I do think we've seen some better domestic economic data, but it's premature to think we're totally out of the woods. In terms of corporate earnings, a lot of company profits might have surprised to the upside, but they're still down 50% to 70% from quarters before or the prior year.

I've been on plenty of energy companies' earnings calls over the last month or so and many companies have been trying to compare Q1 and Q2. You're still not seeing dramatic differences to the upside. Quite frankly, some companies are still living within cash flow and I think that's one of the reasons why we could have a problem with supply and demand imbalances as we come to the end of 2009 and enter 2010.

Unemployment is likely to keep rising. Although the last numbers were much better than anticipated, I don't think we've seen the green light that will cause people to start hiring again. We could hit 10% unemployment by the end of the year, and that's going to be a precursor to some weaker retail heading into the holiday season. Net-net, you probably could put the word 'inconsistent' toward most of the economic data coming out of the U.S.

The industrial numbers that came out of China a few weeks ago were actually below expectations as well. While everyone wants to be bullish and the data is somewhat better than many expected, it's still not great. So I think to claim victory right now is definitely premature.

TER: You mentioned a supply-demand imbalance. What do you see on that front?

JL: Companies are not putting money back into infrastructure. For that reason, once demand actually starts to increase, supply levels will be shockingly different from what people might expect. We might have plenty of oil and natural gas right now, but once demand picks up, I really think we will see major spikes in both natural gas and oil prices.

TER: Are you differentiating between the BRIC countries and North America in that regard?

JL: I'm not just looking at the BRIC countries as the barometer for the economic pulse. I don't even think China is the saving grace for commodities. But I do think what is going to be indicative for a recovery is to see demand pick up, to start seeing jobs pick up again, more consistently; not just one month out of six. We need to see consistent job growth.

If we start seeing supplies from the energy side actually start to dwindle, that will help. It would be great if the number continues to build in the Cushing, Oklahoma hub. Then the price of oil, I think, will come down, especially if the products start to come up with builds rather than draws. I just don't expect that to happen any time soon.

TER: When do you think demand might pick up?

JL: Q3, perhaps Q4, is when we probably can start seeing demand start picking up and I think that's when we're going to start to see overall a global economic recovery. I'm skeptical that it can happen before Q4.

TER: Is that worldwide demand pickup you're anticipating?

JL: I'm referring to North America.

TER: Can demand pick up before unemployment abates?

JL: It can happen before, but I think demand and employment will increase in tandem. When you're looking at the energy sector, I think weather will have a lot to do with it as well. El Niño is a dominant factor, so it does not look like we're going to have a very cold winter, which is a great thing for the U.S. economy. But if people are unemployed, even if we get a cold winter, they're going to use more products.

TER: But how would having a mild winter be great for the U.S. economy?

JL: If we have warmer winter and we're not going to be using as much distillate-heating oil-that overbuild in supply should do a great job in containing those prices. Obviously, in an above-average hurricane season or cold winter, the American consumer can suffer because they have to spend what money they have to heat their homes as opposed to buying retail goods. When an El Niño takes effect, the heating bill should be cheaper.

TER: Crude oil prices have increased 40% or 50% since April. Against the backdrop of a mild winter and a fairly mild hurricane season, what do you foresee for oil or natural gas?

JL: As for the price of oil, one of the near-term catalysts will be the OPEC meeting in Vienna on September 9. We've heard commentary from OPEC members that they aren't going to cut any supplies. They seem comfortable with $70 per barrel. Interesting enough, just from historical standards, OPEC members tend to cheat to the upside, such as when Iran produces more than what its top is supposed to be.

As you point out, we've seen a very big move since April, and I think right now a lot of people feel comfortable in that $70 zone. We could pull back a little bit and perhaps trade to the mid $60s for a while, but I still think we can move above $80 by year end. And keep an eye on the fact that because of the Japanese general election last week, where the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition, the new government may not be opposed to a stronger Yen-something that could be supportive for crude this fall.

In terms of natural gas, granted there is a glut, but natural gas prices typically trade around less than 13 times the differential of crude oil. Right now we're trading at around 23 times. Historically speaking, when that differential is greater than 13, the price of natural gas can skyrocket within six months. In 2003 the U.S. was thought to have plentiful natural gas resources, but the price of gas more than doubled within a year. It's my belief that lightning is going to strike twice.

TER: You say the ratio should settle at about 13. What's to say that crude won't be going down rather than natural gas going up?

JL: I don't think crude is going to come down. This is my own theory. Crude has a limited downside. Honestly, I also think that the price of the dollar is going to be very instrumental in this. The Fed won't be touching interest rates domestically for the rest of the year, which will be a catalyst for the Euro to potentially trade to $1.50 by year end. If that's the case, crude oil's going a lot higher. Also as mentioned earlier, we think the Japanese yen is about to strengthen vs. the USD and crude is priced in dollars so that would be supportive of crude oil.

TER: Aside from the historical patterns, what makes you think natural gas prices will increase closer to the ratio?

JL: I've been on plenty of conference calls with natural gas companies in the last few weeks and everyone keeps saying the same thing: the rig count has bottomed and prices will show a dramatic difference to the upside by the end of the year. Natural gas is cleaner than both crude oil and coal and it could potentially be used as an automotive fuel in the future. You can't tell me that the global economy is in recovery mode and crude is at 10-month highs, copper at 11-month highs and natural gas, which is used mainly for industrial purposes, is at 7-year lows. I believe investors have been spooked by upcoming CFTC position limits and much uncertainty regarding the viability of the UNG ETF to play natural gas and this has credited an amazing long opportunity in natural gas. To think that some hedge funds have not been blown up with natural gas below $3 seems foolish-this may have caused further selling pressure that could soon be reversed in a big way.

TER: Some analysts say that with so many incredible finds and such vast improvements in production technology, we'll really have more natural gas than we need. Wouldn't that tilt the supply-demand balance to the point of keeping natural gas prices lower?

JL: I agree that there have been some exceptional finds, not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but in Haynesville and Marcellus and Bakken as well. That said, it will take years for that natural gas to come to the marketplace. So yes, we might have a lot in the ground, but I don't think it's going to come out for a very long time.

There are other factors to consider as well. The fear that the U.S. is going to import more liquefied natural gas has definitely hurt the price of natural gas. I think that fear is exaggerated and that LNG will be shipped more to Europe than to the U.S. If that's the case, there's one major overhang that's going to disappear. This LNG factor has been a major reason why natural gas has been weighed down and we're trading below $4. If that factor goes away and people realize that these major finds of natural gas are still many years away from the marketplace, that's going to be a major boost in natural gas prices. And don't forget that many exploration and production companies have cut budgets back and pushed projects back, not only to 2010, but even to 2012.

TER: All things considered, then, what's the best way to play natural gas?

JL: When I was on the Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) earnings call a couple of weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the rise in oil prices has offset weak natural gas prices. That made me think that if natural gas prices rise the way I expect they can, Devon Energy can have substantially surprising earnings. So that's a really good play; I like Devon as a large-cap play in this space.

I still like companies like Berry Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) and Bill Barrett Corp. (NYSE:BBG), which we talked about in April, and those are names that I would look to concentrate. I'd probably add a company like St. Mary Land & Exploration Company (NYSE:SM), too. I actually think that money can come out of the oil market and go into natural gas plays.

TER: So even though Berry's and Bill Barrett's share prices have appreciated substantially since spring, you still consider them good opportunities?

JL: Yes, I do. Berry, for instance, has done a great job of raising financing in a pretty dismal marketplace, which goes to show that what they have in their portfolio is quite attractive. So yes, I think they will be rewarded further with natural gas prices moving higher.

TER: Will the big natural gas plays will be in North America versus Europe, considering the issues with Russia?

JL: As an analyst, I happen to like North America just because I see much more upside potential domestically than I do abroad. But while I'm preferential to domestic markets, it doesn't mean that companies abroad won't bring positive results to a portfolio if you add names such as Gazprom (MICEX/RTS/LSE/FRK:GAZP) in Russia and StatoilHyrdo (NYSE:STO) in Norway, which have been very successful on the natural gas side as well.

TER: Are any refineries still in play for you?

JL: I'm probably in a dark room alone on this one, but I still like the refining space. Although some margins have come down in the U.S., I do think that we can see consolidation in this group. Holly Corp. (NYSE:HOC) recently made an amazing acquisition in the Tulsa refinery they purchased from Sunoco Inc. (NYSE:SUN). That's going to help them diversify their own portfolio and I think that company has a lot of upside potential.

I look at some of other names in the space, such as like Alon USA Energy Inc. (NYSE:ALJ). With their exposure to asphalt, I find them extremely intriguing, especially when the United States is looking to put stimulus package money to work and to help build new roads and bridges. Than can only going to help Alon over the next couple of quarters.

I also am a fan of bellwethers like Sunoco and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO). I mean VLO pays over a 3% dividend. Keep in mind a lot of companies have been trying to sell off refinery assets, including Valero. There's probably north of 10 refinery assets for sale right now but not many buyers have stepped up to the plate yet. I think that's going to change. We could see more consolidation in a group despite VLO saying they were holding off on acquisitions. I think prices are starting to get very appealing, which will make smaller plays more attractive to companies like Valero, Sunoco, maybe Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO). Plus, it's cheaper to expand capacity by acquiring it. I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see some foreign names, perhaps Total SA. (NYSE:TOT) or Petroplus, look to accumulate some U.S. refinery assets such as Frontier Oil Corporation (NYSE:FTO) or CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVI).

Net-net, I still like the refining sector. It's been very out of favor but especially if you're looking to play an economic rebound, which I think would only foster demand for products such as jet fuel and heating oil. This could be why heat cracks are already trading near par with gas cracks-a possible precursor to better than expected refinery margins for Q3. I think if you're patient you could do very well over time.

TER: What do you mean by "over time"?

JL: These refinery stocks actually could be much higher within 12 months. I think we've already seen the worst in the space. Many people have already factored in a weak U.S. driving season and the fact that some traveling might be lower than original expectations. In terms of some of the refineries' asset plays, those that can produce diverse fuels will do very well. Something that might come back to help the refineries, in the long run anyway, is if new cap and trade legislation imposes more stringent carbon emissions on these refineries. Whether the refineries pass the costs of that action on to consumers or produce less, it will result in higher heating oil prices for the American consumer. Valero is already leading the way with this, cutting back their output, which is something that's ultimately going to make any surprise colder winter very expensive for all of us.

So while this legislation might be great for the environment, I don't think the timing is prudent and, at the end of the day, it will give refineries a better advantage than many people might give them credit for.

TER: Might the cap and trade be voted down because it's not the right time?

JL: I think it will go through but in an adjusted form. I just think that it's the wrong time to do it. There hasn't been a refinery built in the United States in over 30 years and there's a reason for that. It costs a lot to produce a greenfield refinery. To do it now when budgets are already strained, I just think it's the wrong time.

TER: In our previous conversation, you compared the investment opportunities in oil, natural gas and gold to one another. At this point, which of these three sectors do you think offer the greatest return?

JL: Because of the upside that I think could happen over the next 12 months, I would rate natural gas first, gold second and oil third.

TER: When you rate natural gas above gold, does that imply more risk in natural gas?

JL: Yes. Supply and demand is going to come to a head, which I think will come in late Q3 or Q4. I think there is more risk getting into a natural gas space, especially with a lot of new CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) regulations coming up in November to reduce speculation in the market. So that's a risk that might be associated with natural gas, especially as we approach November.

TER: And oil?

JL: For right now, I'm conservatively optimistic. Although short term we might have a pullback of five or six points, I'm still bullish on the price of oil. I think oil will trade north of $80 by year end. I am looking for the USD to further weaken vs. the JPY and EUR and that could be very supportive for oil prices this fall.

TER: So you're not expecting any big jump?

JL: The only way I think we'd see a "major" jump is if we have some disruption to supplies, whether that comes in the form of a hurricane or some violent action either in South Africa or the Middle East. I think the real push in oil prices will come in late 2010.

TER: And what do you see as the drivers?

JL: Outside of the currency drivers mentioned earlier, a lot of exploration and production companies (E&P) are not producing as much as once thought. Even bellwethers, such as Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), just announced that Q2 output dropped to the lowest levels since 1999 when Exxon bought Mobil. If the big boys aren't spending, eventually-when that demand starts to pick up later this year-that supply might be in a major imbalance. That's scary. It's scary to think that Exxon has a war chest of money and yet their output is down so dramatically.

TER: Was that output reduction by choice or because their particular properties are yielding less?

JL: It's both. What boggles my mind is that I think what will build investor confidence is if we start to see a major deal in the space, if you see an Exxon acquire the assets to recover some of that lost production. Even though their second half of the year they admit that they are going to ramp up production for new projects that are coming online in Qatar and Angola, which will be very helpful. I'm just making a reference that, wow, in Q2 it was so bad. Output was not that low from 1999 when Exxon actually bought Mobil. So, to put things in perspective, I just really think that it may be cheaper to consolidate than to go out and go produce assets yourself.

TER: Do you think we're going to be facing the downside of the peak oil before long?

JL: I think we'll again see triple-digit oil within the next two years. I've read all the theories on peak oil and they're fascinating; I think they're very credible when you consider a country like Mexico has said that in 2010 their production is going to drop off from, I believe, 2.6 to 2.5 million barrels a day. Their Cantarell Field in the Gulf of Mexico is drying up and that's one of the largest fields in the world. That should raise some eyebrows; maybe we don't have so much oil in the future.

Just because we hear about gigantic finds such as Petrobras (NYSE:PZE) found Tupi Field off the coast of Brazil doesn't mean that they're going to be so successful in getting that oil out of the ground. A lot of major wells in the world are not as productive as they once were and when it comes to demand increasing because the overall economic health around the world is picking up, we could be in trouble in terms of supplies. That relates to energy and it's also going to relate to the metals.

TER: Any last comments before we meet again?

JL: Only that while it's a difficult marketplace and I do expect tight markets around the world to continue, some of the plays we've talked about have the makings of a pretty successful portfolio.

DISCLOSURE: John Licata
I personally and/or my family own the following companies mentioned in this interview: VLO
I personally and/or my family am paid by the following companies mentioned in this interview: None

After studying economics and graduating from Saint Peter's College in New Jersey (where he received the Wall Street Journal Award for economic excellence), John J. Licata set his sights on Wall Street. During his career, John has held both trading and research positions on the NYMEX, Dow Jones, Smith Barney and Brokerage America. Early in 2006, he founded Blue Phoenix, Inc. an independent energy/metals research and consulting firm based in New York City. John, the company's Chief Investment Strategist, has appeared regularly in the media (CNBC, Bloomberg TV/Radio, Business News Network (BNN), Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun, Los Angeles Times, etc.) over the years for his insights/forecasts in the commodity spectrum.

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I just came accross this natural gas article. It may explain why were not putting up more gas wells from the gas operations area. See below:



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As Oil Explodes, Why Natural Gas Prices Stay Low
By Ari J. Officer Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009
A drilling rig stands over a natural gas well on the Roan Plateau in Colorado
David Zalubowski / AP
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If Best Buy had a big sale on Blu-ray discs, would you go out and buy a Blu-ray player? The energy markets are kind of like that — natural gas is really cheap, for now, but does that mean we should build infrastructure for a natural-gas-fueled economy?

More Related
Falling Oil Prices Push Energy Companies to Retreat
Palin’s Blown Opportunity on Energy Independence
The Next Energy Crisis?

Bargains last only so long, even in this recession. Sorry, T. Boone Pickens.

To delve deeper, let's examine why gas prices have deflated so much: natural gas prices and oil prices are no longer bedfellows in our present economy. As crude oil has skyrocketed from about $30 per bbl. in December 2008 to more than $70, natural gas has plummeted from nearly $6 per million BTU to under $3, recently hitting a seven-year low. To put these numbers in perspective, this makes oil more than four times as expensive as natural gas to produce the same amount of energy, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration (EIA).
(Read "Clean Energy: U.S. Lags in Research and Development.")

Long story short, this year we are going to have more natural gas than we need — or potentially even store.

That's no reason to party. Here's why: unlike the global crude-oil market, the market for natural gas is incredibly localized. The U.S. produces nearly 90% of what it consumes, and the rest is imported from Canada or from overseas — the latter amounting to only about 2.5% of U.S. consumption. Thus, a glut of domestic gas doesn't really affect imports.

Nor can we quickly expand gas consumption. At this stage, anyone who can use natural gas instead of crude oil is already burning gas, as the price goes lower still. There is really only one other form of energy that natural gas will replace — coal. Yes, in some geographic areas, it is currently cheaper to use natural gas than coal. Shocking, right?

So demand for gas, despite its low price, stays relatively low. Then layer on the effects of the recession: gas-intensive industrial production is down 12.8% since this time last year, according to Barclays Capital bank estimates. On top of that, there's weather: this has been a cool summer in much of the U.S., so less natural gas has been burned for electricity to power air-conditioning than in recent years.
(Read "America's Untapped Energy Resource: Boosting Efficiency.")

On the supply side, gas output from drilling has been much greater than anticipated, leading to a surplus that has deflated prices. This in turn has made many drilling operations unprofitable. The number of natural gas rigs operating in the U.S. has fallen well over 50% in the past year, according to EIA data. Because a given well's output decreases over time, producers need to drill new wells continually to keep up production. Thus, the falling rig count raises concern about the longer-term-supply outlook.

For now, though, there is abundant gas and limited capacity for storage. The U.S. is on track to store 3.8 to 4.0 trillion cu. ft. this year. The contiguous U.S. has never put more than 3.6 trillion cu. ft. of gas in storage.

Take no comfort in that excess. Unlike crude, natural gas cannot be stored just anywhere we want; we also cannot transport it very easily. Gas is typically stored in underground reservoirs. The pressure of the gas and the type of reservoir can make injection and extraction cycles difficult and lengthy processes. Until traders see extra storage realized, the natural gas market will be priced in steep contango, meaning prices of natural gas for future delivery will hang far above the current price. The low prices now represent the abundance of unusable and potentially unstorable gas, a situation that will not last.
(Read "Can Steven Chu Win the Fight Over Global Warming?")

Producers who cannot sell or store their gas will have limited options: cap their wells, which could be bad for them in the long term; give gas away for free, which has happened before when producers did not want to halt production; or flare it — burn it off into the atmosphere. With production decreasing because of low price incentives and a great deal of gas likely being lost from capping wells and flaring gas, the oversupply will not last, and the price will be pushed higher by supply and demand fundamentals. The natural gas futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) imply that natural gas prices will more than double in the next year.

Just as in the case of crude oil, supply and demand do not paint the full picture. As of Aug. 24, the U.S. Natural Gas Fund, an exchange-traded fund listed as UNG on the NYSE, held about 10% of the contracts in the October 2009 futures market traded on NYMEX. Combine that position with its over-the-counter swap holdings, and UNG held the equivalent of more than 50% of the October contract's open interest. In following its plan to buy and hold natural gas, UNG keeps rolling its position into the next futures month. In other words, every month, UNG sells its enormous long position in the front month — representing the price of natural gas closest to the present — and buys back as much as it can in the next contract month. The idea is that UNG is always trading the most liquid natural gas contract, but the problem is that UNG has become too large for the market — and for its own good. In a bear natural gas market, UNG's massive monthly gas sell-off accelerates the fund's losses and brings down the price of natural gas with it.

UNG's equivalent position in the October futures contract amounts to over a trillion cu. ft. of gas. Given that the U.S. consumes an average of about 2 trillion cu. ft. of gas per month, UNG's position in the front month — at over half of that month's consumption — seems too large for a purely speculative fund.

A great pricing inefficiency arises because this natural gas speculator is following a predefined plan — and the plan is publicly known. Plus, it's a foolish one. A fund that invests in long-term natural gas prices is taking needless risk in placing significant money in the short-term futures market.

What's next for natural gas? Most likely, more weird volatility. As UNG continues to roll month to month, the front month will continue to get pounded down. The markets will not hit a true support on the bottom until traders know for sure how much storage the U.S. can actually handle. Whatever happens, this will be a volatile time for natural gas, as traders battle out prices amid uncertainty of true storage capacity.
(See the video "The Truth About Solar Power.")

One thing is for sure: UNG is too big to succeed. And the government is in the business of bailing out only financial institutions that inflate energy prices — not those that lower them.

Ari Officer is director of automated trading and analytics at Traditum LLC, a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm

Lars: On sept 7, 2009 I will send Bruce a letter asking for alot of info. On bottomof letter I will state "CC SEC". I hope every else does the same thing. Maybe we can then see what is actually going on. If you do the same (As I asked everyone else to), remember to ask for specific info (not vage info like they give most of the time). I specifically picked Labor Day Weekend (Here in U.S.), so this way I can have time to compose such a letter.

Why aren't those wells operating?

I looked at the link, just reading it where he states he was responsible for Revenues of over $300M, look again, it doesn't state that it's all from oil and gas, but other operations as well. I sure would like to see a Current Financial Statement on all three companies!

From your lips to Gods Ears!

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR INFO FROM. IT SEEMS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE. HOW MUCH OF THESE REVENUE WERE PAID TO UPDV AND HTOG.

DOESN'T THERE HAVE TO BE A GENERAL CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST MANAGEMENT AND WIN BEFORE SHAREHOLDERS CAN COLLECT AGAINST COMPANY AND MANAGEMENT?

THE BEST I HOPE FOR IS HTOG GETS BACK, AS TREASURY STOCK, ALL THE SHARES KAMEL & UPDV ARE HOLDING AND LIBERATE US FROM UPDV/KAMEL AND GO IT ALONE.

I have no idea. Well maybe one idea! Why don't we all make a letter up and mail it to Bruce asking for real information and not vague information. Lets do it all together on lets say September 1, 2009.

Here an article of Kamal Arrest


Aug. 14, 2009, 9:51PM
Share Print Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponThe FBI has arrested a former chairman of the parent company of a Texas firm under investigation about petroleum products stolen from Mexican oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, that were smuggled and resold in the U.S.

Kamal Abdallah, 44, appeared briefly in federal court in San Antonio on Friday on stock-fraud charges out of New York alleging he was involved in a penny-stock scam, and is scheduled for a bail hearing Wednesday.

The alleged scheme involved the manipulation of stock prices at two small companies, including one he chaired. That company, Universal Property Development and Acquisition, is involved in natural gas and energy exploration.

The FBI arrested Abdallah this week at his home in the Dominion, the same week U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that millions of dollars of petroleum condensate was stolen from Pemex pipelines, smuggled into Texas using import companies and falsified paperwork, and resold in the U.S.

Officials said the thefts are linked to the Gulf Cartel's armed enforcers, Los Zetas.

Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora told the Express-News this week that $50 million in stolen petroleum product was traced to the U.S., referring to the U.S. currency recovered from alleged thieves arrested in March.

One of Universal's subsidiaries, Continental Fuels Inc., formerly of San Antonio and now in Houston, is under investigation in the Pemex case.

ICE agents seized $40,000 they say is from sales of contraband condensate. Continental Fuels owns and operates Universal's port facilities and blending and distribution businesses, according to a report on the companies by Beacon Equity Research.

The probe by ICE is focusing on at least 10 companies — some of them tiny oil and petroleum transporters, and whether larger refiners knew the petroleum products they were buying was stolen.

Abdallah's lawyer, John Convery, said Friday that his client denies the stock-fraud allegations and “looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Convery also said “we are not aware of any (separate) investigation” involving Abdallah.

“During the relevant times, he was the chairman of a parent company of Continental,” Convery said. “He was not involved in the day-to-day management and decision making and was not aware of any improprieties or irregularities related to the trading and importation of fuel.”

The last time I spoke to Bruce (Oct of 2008) I got the impression he was more busy with another company than PPTL. I think he is no longer interested in PPTL, which means he knows something we don't. What is it Bruce? You owe a Fiduciary responsibility to your shareholders!

That stolen oil from Mexico, also involves CONTINENTAL OIL. Isn't that the other Subsidiary of UPDV. If so then UPDV will also be investigated by the FBI. That may explain the sell off of UPDV stock. Can anyone confirm this?