Pickens missed market turn, his funds lose big

T. Boone Pickens took a wrong turn and it has cost him dearly as oil prices have tumbled, resulting in roughly $1 billion in losses for one of his energy-focused hedge funds, the Texas energy tycoon told Reuters on Wednesday.

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BUSINESS OF GREEN

The accelerating race to get oil and natural gas from the Arctic.

Rising energy prices have made the expensive work of discovering and pumping oil and natural gas from such an unforgiving environment as the Arctic more feasible. So has the drastic retreat of Arctic ice cover in recent years, which facilitates drilling and delivery by ship to distant markets.

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Nigerian Oil Workers Strike Could Shut-in 700,000 B/D

A local branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, or NUPENG, in Nigeria said Wednesday that about 700,000 barrels of oil a day produced by Chevron Nigeria Ltd., a local unit of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp., could be shut-in if the union launched a strike over labor issues.

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OPEC’s Oil Supply to Fall in September

OPEC’s oil supply is expected to fall in September because of lower output from members including Saudi Arabia and Iran, industry consultant Petrologistics said on Wednesday.

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Venezuela’s Chavez Meets Chinese Leaders, Signs Oil Deal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday before the two sides signed an oil cooperation deal and several economic agreements.

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Oil rises on U.S. supply concerns, OPEC

Oil rose more than $2 to around $109 a barrel Wednesday as concerns about U.S. fuel supply and signs OPEC cut output in September outweighed doubts about the U.S. government’s plan to rescue the finance industry.

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Surging Oil Prices Will Spur A Resurgence In Manufacturing Jobs

“In autos there is some long-term damage, but in manufacturing in general, much of what we have lost … is coming back because it’s not just about wages anymore,” Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, said in an interview Tuesday.

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Democrats to let offshore drilling ban expire

Democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in a months-long battle with the White House and Republicans set off by $4 a gallon gasoline prices this summer.

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‘23 Platforms Destroyed By Ike, 66.8% Oil Production Still Shut-In’

Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are reboarding platforms and rigs and restoring production following both Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike. The Minerals Management Service is monitoring activities for both hurricanes through its Continuity of Operations Plan team. This team will be activated until operations return to normal.

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Bailout ‘good news’ for Canada’s oil economy: CIBC

The $700-billion (U.S.) Wall Street bailout the U.S. government is trying to ram through Congress is “unambiguously good news” for Canada’s energy-levered economy, even though it will leave Americans facing higher taxes, inflation and interest rates, CIBC World Markets’ chief strategist Jeff Rubin said Tuesday.

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