Ultra Petroleum - Low-Cost, High-Quality

Sometimes the best you can hope for is to own a good house in a tough neighborhood. In what has been a tough market for natural gas, shareholders of Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL) have done relatively better than most. 

And why not? Ultra is a low-cost producer in the field, and couples that with significant production growth. The real question is whether or not the market will continue to value Ultra when the inevitable rally comes in natural gas prices. 


For the full piece, please go to:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Ultra-Petroleum---Low-Cost-High-Quality-UPL-CHK-ECA-SWN-APA-DVN-COG0803.aspx

Of course it figures ... less than an hour after I post my "sorry, possibly no posts today", an Investopedia piece goes up!

Will The EPA Crack Down On Fracking

With everyone's attention focused on the Gulf oil spill clean-up efforts, there is another environmental controversy brewing in the energy sector. While hydraulic fracturing and pressure pumping have been hailed for their ability to open up new reservoirs of oil and gas in the United States, there is growing concern about the environmental impact of these activities. Although I do not think these worries are ever going to shut down operations in areas like the Marcellus Shale, energy investors need to keep an eye on this issue. 

What the Frack? 
In simple terms, hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", is a process by which drilling companies force fluids down a bore hole and use that pressure to crack the rock. Those cracks are then kept open with additional additives called proppants (sometimes sand, but increasingly purpose-built ceramic particles). Oil and gas that was previously trapped within the pores of that rock can then migrate out through those cracks and up the well.  
 

To read the full piece, please go to: 
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Will-The-EPA-Crack-Down-On-Fracking-HAL-APC-NBL-COG-EOG-CHK-UPL-XOM0712.aspx

A quick note on spelling conventions ... I realize a lot of industry insiders spell it as "fracing" or "fraccing", but there are just as many sources out there that use "fracking". I have no dog in the hunt.