Replies to post #9769 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

I’ve long thought HES (and APC) would make a nice midsized acquisition for one of the oil super-majors. The question with HES, which had been run as a family business until Elliott intervened two years ago, was whether John Hess was ready to sell. Now, a sufficiently lucrative offer would probably carry the day, regardless of what John Hess wants.

Buyout vig is one of the main reasons to be invested in HES even during a period of low oil prices, IMO.

[semi_infinite]

Looks to me a bit of gamesmanship with XOM combined with gullible analysts and journalists. Why in the world would the latter believe that XOM will go elephant hunting for specific elephants when everybody knows it is a competitive game. Is XOM the only supermajor out elephant hunting? Come on guys.

Look at the ones not on the list and there are several big ones missing. If it was mentioned specifically, then it is a decoy.

[DewDiligence]

(WLL)—Shale is on sale:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-11/get-ready-for-oil-deals-shale-is-going-on-sale

A decision by Whiting Petroleum Corp., the largest producer in North Dakota’s Bakken shale basin, to put itself up for sale looks to be the first tremor in a potential wave of consolidation as $50-a-barrel prices undercut companies with heavy debt and high costs.

…Buyers are ultimately after reserves, the amount of oil a company has in the ground based on its drilling acreage. The value of about 75 shale-focused U.S. producers based on their reserves fell by a median of 25 percent by the end of 2014 compared to 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s opening up new opportunities for bigger companies with a better handle on their debt, said William Arnold, a former executive at Royal Dutch Shell Plc.