Crude oil prices were like a bouncing basketball this week and after slipping in trading earlier in the week, they rose on Thursday after the U.S. announced new sanctions on Iran.
The sanctions targeted a network of Iranian petrochemical producers and front companies in China as well as the United Arab Emirates. They were unveiled by Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson and came as the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is on the verge of collapse.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery shot back up $2.27 to $117.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Global benchmark Brent crude for August delivery managed an increase of $1.30 and settled at $119.81 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
July natural gas rose 4 cents to $7.46 per 1,000 cubic feet.
While oil went back up, Oklahoma energy stocks had a bad Thursday with Laredo Petroleum dropping 10% and Devon Energy sliding nearly 8%.
But there was a long list of what we’ll call the “Six Percenters” club—those firms that suffered losses of 6% or more. They included Coterra Energy, Helmerich & Payne, NGL Energy Partners, ONEOK, Ovintiv and PHX Minerals.
Thursday proved to be a tough day for other energy stocks according to the Texas Energy Report.
Apache (APA) down 3.87 at 41.76 – change 8.49%
Cheniere (LNG) down 6.32 at 124.15 – change 4.85%
Chevron (CVX) down 8.78 at 155.47 – change 5.35%
ConocoPhillips (COP) down 6.91 at 102.42 – change 6.33%
Diamondback Energy (FANG) down 13.08 at 133.68 – change 8.92%
Energy Transfer LP (ET) down 0.59 at 10.13 – change 5.51%
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) down 1.31 at 24.15 – change 5.15%
EOG Resources (EOG) down 7.90 at 119.56 – change 6.20%
ExxonMobil (XOM) down 3.50 at 91.39 – change 3.69%
Kinder Morgan (KMI) down 0.90 at 16.70 – change 5.12%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) down 2.41 at 25.66 – change 8.59%
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) down 0.49 at 17.27 – change 2.76%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) down 3.47 at 56.81 – change 5.76%
Phillips 66 (PSX) down 5.88 at 96.50 – change 5.75%
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) down 16.71 at 241.50 – change 6.48%
Tellurian Inc. (TELL) up 0.01 at 3.82 – change 0.26%
Valero (VLO) down 9.56 at 118.74 – change 7.46%
CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS
American Electric Power (AEP) down 1.46 at 89.19 – change 1.62%
CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.68 at 27.44 – change 2.42%
Entergy (ETR) down 1.90 at 105.87 – change 1.77%
