Exxon Mobil: New Highs On Utica Shale, Rosneft In 2013

Rex Energy Corporation (REXX) announced Tuesday it is acquiring 208,000 gross acres of the Appalachian Basin from an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (RDS.A). The independent energy company will pay $120 million for the acquisition deal, which will give it 100% interest in Shell Western Exploration and Production Inc. (SWEPI) LP in the Marcellus, Burkett and Utica shales in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) and BG Group plc (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BRGYY) merger is just three weeks away.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (RDS.A) reported financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (2QFY14, ended June 30, 2014) before the opening bell in New York today. The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas supermajor saw its quarterly earnings double from same period last year due to higher oil and natural gas prices and higher liquid petroleum production. Natural gas price in the US increased 14% YoY and crude oil rose by 9.4% YoY due to higher demand.

By Jeff Williams:As costs have increased and margins are expecting to decrease, oil and gas majors including Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B) have released their first profit warn

By Dividend Kings:Falling, or rather plunging, natural gas prices have been hard on natural gas stocks and even big diversified energy stocks like Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) are feeling some of the pain, thanks to having exposure to natural gas. However, Exxon Mobil has remained resolute in its focus on natural gas for the long term, which begs the question: should investors be concerned about that?

With the announcement of BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) earnings results on October 27, it is expected that crude oil market conditions will further deteriorate. BP, one of the world’s super oil majors, posted $54.73 billion in revenues, beating analysts’ consensus forecasts of $49.39 billion. Compared to 3QFY15, the company’s revenue fell by 42%.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (ADR) (RDS.A) announced yesterday that it made two oil discoveries in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Despite being on a divestiture spree, Shell has extended its gas discovery activities farther east in the Utica shale formation.

BP reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday partly due to weakness in its refining business, providing more evidence of difficult times across the “big oil” sector. BP’s results, hit by tough conditions in U.S. refining and partly offset by strong contributions from its stake in Russia’s Rosneft, highlighted the industry’s struggle to increase profits in the face of rising costs.