All You Need to Know About Oil

Updated from August 27.

How much do you really know about the latest oil news?

The following are key insights from TheStreet.com.

As a starting point, here are the oil industry's ten biggest earners (based on net income for the second quarter of 2008):

1. Exxon Mobil (XOM): $11.68 Billion
2. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A, RDS-B): $11.56 Billion
3. BP (BP): $9.47 Billion
4. Total (TOT): $7.46 Billion
5. Chevron (CVX): $5.98 Billion
6. Petrobras (PBR): $5.52 Billion
7. ConocoPhillips (CP): $5.44 Billion
8. Eni (E): $5.41 Billion
9. PetroChina (PTR): $4.12 Billion
10. StatoilHydro (STO): $3.68 Billion

From Energy Markets Tumble on Nat Gas Data:

The EIA's [Energy Information Administration] natural gas report estimates that working gas in storage increased last week by 102 billion cubic feet to 2,757 billion cubic feet in total underground storage. That increase puts total current storage in the high end of the five-year average range for this time of year.

Recently, energy markets have been flooded with reports of falling demand for energy around the globe, which, in concert with a strengthening U.S. dollar, have clobbered crude oil prices down to about $112 a barrel from $148 a barrel just six weeks ago.

Crude prices had been strong in Thursday [Aug. 28] pre-session trading, buoyed by hurricane-related fears in the Gulf of Mexico.

While [Tropical Storm] Gustav remains a threat to offshore drilling platforms, the Port of Houston, and to the many oil refineries lining the Texas and Louisiana coasts, the storm all but disappeared from energy traders' radars once the EIA's natural gas report was released Thursday morning.

Read the full article. (Note: Aug. 28, crude oil closed at $115.59 a barrel, down $2.56.)

From Oil Rises as Gustav Storm Intensifies:

Oil prices, which got an early lift Wednesday [Aug. 27] thanks to Tropical Storm Gustav... Gustav is heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, prompting investor fears the storm could again intensify to hurricane level and disrupt oil supplies in the region. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Transocean (RIG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) have begun evacuating offshore rigs in the area, according to Reuters.

Read the full article.

From Jim Cramer's 'Stop Trading!' Don't Trade on Gustav:

Cramer said he's wary about making a trade in the natural gas and oil company group on the belief that Tropical Storm Gustav will hit the Gulf Coast, because if it doesn't hit, oil could be down by $8 to $9 by Tuesday [Sept. 2]. "I like the group," he said, but it's getting overheated on weather reports.

Read the full article.

China Watch: A Little Gem Under $10 (Video, Aug. 25)

Frank Curzio of the Stocks Under $10 portfolio touts WSP Holdings (WH - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), an oil equipment and services company, as a little-known gem.

To watch the video, click the player below:

From Farrell: Russia's Power Play Could Shift Oil Flows:

There was a report earlier from a Turkish news source that Kazakhstan is considering moving its oil through Russian pipelines and not shipping it to Baku for transport through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

Currently, Kazakhstan ships 500,000 barrels a day by tanker across the Caspian Sea to the BTC pipe and is half the capacity of that pipe. This is the pipe that goes through Georgia to Turkey.

This is only one of the "reassessments" we will surely see as former Soviet satellites consider the newly aggressive Russia and the events in Georgia and South Ossetia.

Read the full article.

From Oil Falls on Global Woes, Stronger Dollar:

The European Union's economic statistics office reported Thursday [Aug. 14] that Europe's gross domestic product constricted by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year. Europe hasn't reported negative quarterly GDP growth in more than a decade.

The poor data from the Euro-zone means that four out of five of the world's largest economies are now alarmingly close to recession.

On Wednesday [Aug. 13] the U.S. Energy Information Administration updated its outlook on how the slowing U.S. economy is dampening domestic demand for petroleum products.

Read the full article.

From Oil in Flux as Dollar Strengthens:

Crude oil prices look weak early Tuesday [Aug. 12] at the New York Mercantile Exchange on a stronger dollar, falling oil demand in China and a possible resolution to Russia's military engagement with Georgia.

The overnight performance of the U.S. dollar was mixed, falling slightly against the euro and yen while making a small gain against the British pound. However, the dollar is trending markedly upward, having advanced strongly against all three currencies over the past seven days of trading.

Read the full article. Plus, don't miss Oil Sinks on EIC Demand Data (Aug. 12), Oil Bulls Fret Weekly Inventory Data (Aug. 13) and Oil Rises on Surprise Inventories Drop (Aug. 13).

From Oil Sinks Despite Georgian-Russian Turmoil:

Today [Aug. 11] at the New York Mercantile Exchange, futures for September West Texas crude fell 75 cents to $114.45 a barrel, and Brent settled flat at $113.33 a barrel.

Russia's new full-scale war -- its largest military engagement since the dissolution of the Soviet Union -- was generally overlooked by most energy traders today. However, the long-term ramifications of the conflict could alter global oil supplies in a major way and will likely have a much larger impact on oil prices in the long run than will minor adjustments to U.S. GDP growth.

If the reports are correct, Russia is within 100 miles of assuming control of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. The second longest oil pipeline in the world, the BTC pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan 1,099 miles through Georgia and Turkey to the Ceyhan Marine Terminal on the Mediterranean Sea.

Read the full article.

From Cramer: Oil's Fall Is Econ 101:

Nigerian rebels, Iranian saber-rattling, potential Israel-Iran war, hurricane warnings Turkish pipelines, BP (BP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) woes in Russia, all of these at one time have allegedly contributed to the strong oil price. Every time we rallied a couple of bucks, the usual suspects were rounded up and given credit for the rally.

And then the biggest actual ruckus of all -- a war between major oil producer Russia and Georgia -- rages on, and oil cascades lower into the escalation. LOWER! If this incursion were to rank with the parade of horribles that allegedly spurred oil from $90 to $148, it would be off the charts. It is the real deal that can interrupt pipelines and cause a calamity in the European market. It should have sent natural gas -- the Europeans live off Russian natural gas -- into the stratosphere, as it should have caused hoarding and a spike even here for recognition that no liquefied natural gas could come here because it would be needed so badly in Europe.

So why didn't it?

Read the full article. Plus, don't miss this related video on TheStreet.com TV: Cramer: Georgia's Not on Oil Market's Mind (Aug. 11).

For more recent "Wall Street Confidential" videos on oil, check out Cramer: Stocks to Buy on Oil's Slide (Aug. 8) and Cramer: Don't Buy Oil's Rally (Aug. 7).

From Media Ignores Russia's Role in Oil's Decline:

Reuters, for one, had a headline about how "Cheaper oil may lift stocks" this week, with a lead that echoed the sentiment -- but guess what? Read the market summary article backwards and forwards and tell me if you see even the slightest mention of Russia's violent contretemps with Georgia.

The area is close to prominent oil pipelines and can potentially have a big (at the very least short-term) impact on oil prices. But Reuters, so taken by the trend in recent price movement, is blind to the new factor. Typical. At one point, it mentions "reasons to tread lightly," but then it starts talking about stimulus from the tax rebates fading. Not war. Not the nearby pipelines.

Read the full article. Plus, don't miss this related video on TheStreet.com TV: They Just Don't Get Oil! (Aug. 11: Marek Fuchs skewers the business media for not mentioning the impact of the Russia-Georgia conflict on the oil market.)

Aug. 12: Russia to Halt Georgia Military Operation