Peers

Environmentalist investors named nine companies to a “Climate Watch List” and said they are lagging their peers when it comes to addressing climate change. Seven of the nine are in the energy industry.

Environmentalist investors named nine companies to a “Climate Watch List” and said they are lagging their peers when it comes to addressing climate change. Seven of the nine are in the energy industry.

Southwestern Energy Co. isn’t going to let something like tight capital markets keep it down in 2009. Unlike a growing number of its peers, the Houston-based natural gas producer stepped up its planned capital expenditures (capex) in 2009 by half a billion dollars, with most of the money directed toward the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas. The producer also expects to drill 10 more wells than it had scheduled for 2008.

Chevron Corp. Friday posted a 11% rise in quarterly net income thanks to high commodity prices, but like its peers, the California-based major failed to gain any ground on the production side.

Apache Corp. intends to spend its free cash flow on exploration rather than what’s now used by many of its peers: share buybacks.

Apache Corp. intends to spend its free cash flow on exploration rather than what’s now used by many of its peers: share buybacks.

Echoing forecasts of some — but not all — of his peers, energy analyst John Gerdes said Friday high natural gas storage levels will depress prices below $6/MMBtu for the next several months, but before the end of the year, prices should rebound to around $7.25.

Like many of its peers, ChevronTexaco Corp.’s quarterly earnings exceeded those from a year ago, but with gains of only 4.5%, the numbers failed to impress analysts. The company, which is counting on a coming merger with Unocal Corp. to boost its oil and natural gas output, reported a 7% decline in its worldwide oil-equivalent production.

EnCana, ConocoPhillips release positive reports on their 2004 reserves additions on Tuesday. During a year when several of their peers were forced to significantly revise downward their reserves estimates, ConocoPhillips said it posted a 65% reserve replacement ratio and EnCana’s proved gas reserves jumped 24%.