Crude Oil and Natural Gas Chart, Support and Trendlines

The Chart above shows Crude oil support levels at $100 a barrel and $87.71 a barrel. The 50% and 61.8% retracement from the three year lows matches horizontal resistance, which is good validation.

The bottom chart shows the ratio of Crude Oil to Natural Gas. We see the trend line of this ratio. If the ratio of Crude Oil to Natural goes back to trendline (around 12:1), then that means either Crude Oil continues to drop or Natural Gas increases or a combination of both.

Today's Chart

Pipelines from Alaska; Sarah Palin and Energy Independence; Profit from this

While reading a New York Times article on recent Republican VP Selection Sarah Palin of Alaska, I discover this:

Her intense pursuit of a pipeline to deliver natural gas from the North Slope of Alaska to market in the Lower 48 led to what her administration has claimed as a major triumph: the Legislature this summer approved her plan to give a $500 million subsidy to TransCanada, a Canadian company, to help build the project.

I discover TransCanada is trading in the US as TRP.

TransCanada is $22 billion Canadian Company focusing on Pipelines and Energy.

There is a lot of natural resources in Alaska (even if there is controversy regarding drilling there). There is also a trend where the U.S. is trying its best to not have to depend on foreign oil.

These trends are good for Pipeline companies such as TransCanada, because eventually, Natural Gas and other resources could be marketed to the lower 48 states.

TRP has a forward PE of 16.58, and a yield of around 3.70%.

French Utility companies Suez and Gaz De France (GAZ.PA) Merge Creating Europe's 2nd Largest Electricity and Gas Group

French Utility Companies Suez (formerly SZEZY) and Gaz De France (GAZ.PA in France) have merged to form Europe's 2nd largest Electricity and Gas Group. French Nuclear Power Group EDF (EDF.PA) is the first.

The new company is GDF Suez (GDFZY.pk is the United States ADR).

Suez had been known as a good French Utility with good exposure to Water and Waste Management. However, the merger agreement says there will be a spinoff of 65 percent of Suez's water and waste management arm through a market listing.

With the merger, Eruope's natural gas sector will be firmly dominated by a handful of players including Gazprom of Russia, E.ON of Germany, Eni of Italy, Gasunie of the Netherlands and Norsk-Hydro of Norway.

The longer term stock chart of the original GAZ.PA looks good as the stock has gone steadily up since the 2005 IPO. The stock as of July 30, 2008, is also above the 200 day moving average.

Cow Power (Methane) Can Help Save Our Environment and Save our Future

Do not underestimate the Power of the Cow in terms of saving the environment and providing us with energy.

Cows (and a few other animals) can provide us with power and energy through their manure (the average dairy cow creates about 100 pounds of manure a day). Manure naturally releases methane gas into the atmosphere.

Companies, such as Utility Company PG&E (PCG), can take this manure and flush it into a tank or a tented lagoon, where the manure can decompose and the methane gas bubbles off, before being captured under the cover. The gas is then pumped from the digester, then purified and compressed into gas pipelines. After purification, the methane gas is the same as traditional natural gas, except that it's renewable and cleaner.

Cow Power Can Save the Environment Too

If we allowed the methane gas just to reach our atmosphere, this would be harmful to the environment. It is said that methane gas is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.

PG&E

A lot of the information above comes from PG&E (PCG), the Utility Company. It has a forward PE of 12.73, a yield of around 3.60%, and a five year estimated growth rate of 7.73%. Incorporating the dividend yield in the PEG ratio, PG&E has a PE to Growth Ratio of around 1.12, which is a reasonable value.

They also provide a website:
www.wecandothis.com

and click on the Cow Power link.

Natural Gas Boom, Oil Sands, Rising Oil Prices, Breakout: Try CNQ, Canadian Natural Resources

What company benefits from all the trends below?

1. Crude oil is zooming.

2. Jim Cramer has proclaimed 2008 the Year of Natural Gas. In Jim Cramer's CNBC Show Mad Money, Jim Cramer expressed his optimism:

Cramer extended his optimism to the entire natural gas sector. With the growth rates for a natural gas drillers averaging 15%, he said investors will be hard pressed to find such high growth in any other sector. He also mentioned the sector's excellent visibility as another plus.

3. Oil Sands Exposure

Over the long term, as crude prices zoom higher, alternative sources of oil need to be found. Canada has the Largest Reserve of Crude Oil, and extracting the Oil from Canadian Oil Sands becomes a much more profitable experience. Right now, oil sands account for 50% of Canada's Production. By 2010, it is estimated to account for 70%.

This particular company has a Horizon Oil Sands Project and Phase 1 of the project is almost 100% complete.

4. Breaking Out, 52 week high

As of May 6, 2008, this company has broken out to a multi-year high.

The Company?

So what is the Company? The Company is Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), and this company benefits from all the trends above. It has a forward PE of 14.5.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) is a company worth looking into.