GLG News by Oil and Gas Refining Experts (North America)

The major players have been holding onto significant non- producing international gas fields for years. Location of these major resources is the key. New entrants may have been naive believing in the published world wide stranded gas reserve numbers. The bulk of those reserves are either spoken for...

Leading buyout firms have found a new avenue for success:  refinery partnership with the leading European independent refinery company Petroplus AG, being owned by by the private equity firms Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings.  The new partnership consists of the Blackstone Group, First...

The US Government has mandated increased fuel economy for future cars and trucks.  The 35 mpg CAFE standard is a daunting challenge for Detroit as it scrambles to redesign 12-18 mpg trucks and SUVs.  Diesel engines have been proven in the European market and could see the lion's share...

A bankruptcy court has denied Chrysler the right to pull tooling from  Plastech which filed for Chapter 11 protection after negotiations fell apart.  This new found bargaining chip may prove valuable to other Tier suppliers as they continue to be squeezed between rising material costs...

    The anticipated export of Eastern U.S. coal in 2008 and 2009 will need to be sourced in great extent from the Powder River Basin (PRB).  This is in addition to the new coal plants coming on in 2008 and 2009 using PRB coal. The discussion below provides a forecast on...

    The global coal availability and price has provided the opportunity for U.S. Eastern coals to be placed in export to Europe.  This has dramatically increased Eastern coal prices.  This provides an opportunity for Western Powder River Basin (PRB) coals.

    The increase in coal prices will obviously increase the electricity generating costs at a coal plant exposed to these price increases.  The impact to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and their potential margins is understood.  Regulated utilities, on the other hand,...

    The global coal availability and subsequent coal price explosion has provided a great benefit to Eastern U.S. coal producers.  The Western U.S. coals may not be able to appreciably directly-participate in the export surge.

As automotive Tier suppliers struggle to survive in today's brutal cost environment the OEMs are threatened with supply disruptions due to bankruptcies and volatile price negotiations.  With new contract terms that cut new UAW hires' wages  in half and reduce oppressive...

Raw material costs for metals and plastics are squeezing profits out of Tier suppliers in the auto industry.  Locked in to firm part price contracts with OEMs, suppliers cannot pass on rising commodity costs to stay profitable.  The cash drain has forced many into bankruptcy and presents strategic...