SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Natural gas was the talk
of the oil patch in 2010 after Exxon Mobil Corp’s (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) $30
billion XTO deal, but energy investors are returning their
focus to the business of finding and refining crude oil.

A persistent U.S. natural gas glut has weighed on Exxon’s
performance relative to peers over the past year, as the XTO
takeover more than doubled its exposure to U.S. gas.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oilfield service company Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted higher-than-expected profits, boosted by oil projects in North America, and forecast steady growth elsewhere even if pricing competition is tough.

Shares of the world’s second-largest oilfield services company, which have long traded at a big discount to larger rival Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), climbed nearly 3 percent on Monday, while the sector index was only slightly higher.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s largest oilfield services company, posted higher-than-expected profits and saw a good year ahead, but its stock fell as it began looking expensive compared with peers.

The company boosted its dividend for the first time in three years, and its shares rose to within $1 of a 28-month peak before they retreated along with oil prices.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest oilfield services company, posted a higher-than-expected profit, boosted by strong demand in North America, and said it expected brisk activity ahead.

Like others in the sector, Schlumberger depends on spending by its oil- and gas-producing clients, and rising energy prices have bolstered confidence about 2011 from Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gould.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A typical discussion with anyone associated with offshore drilling about the year ahead tends to shift quickly to how much better 2012 looks.

Deepwater drillers, from sector leader Transocean Ltd (RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to Noble Corp (NE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (DO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), face an especially tough 2011 as uncertainty reigns in two big markets: the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Chevron Corp’s (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) average U.S. output grew slightly from a subdued third-quarter, even if the second-largest U.S. oil company’s domestic output remains much below what it was a year before.

In its interim trading update on Tuesday — the first formal look at how any of the oil majors did last quarter — Chevron said fourth-quarter exploration and production earnings would be higher than in the third, driven by higher crude prices.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Encana Corp (ECA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz),
North America’s second-largest natural gas producer, will spend
less money on operations in 2011 as prices for the fuel remain
weak, the head of the company’s U.S. unit said on Wednesday.

Encana expects its capital spending budget to range from $4
billion to $4.5 billion when it is released in about three
weeks, according to Jeff Wojahn, the USA Division president.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Francisco will be the site of the 2013 America’s Cup, officials said on Friday, with a Silicon Valley billionaire giving the “City by the Bay” its first chance to host sailing’s biggest event.

“We sought a venue that fulfills our promise — to showcase the best sailors in the world competing on the fastest boats,” Richard Worth, chairman of the America’s Cup Event Authority, said in a statement.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Francisco will be the site for the 2013 America’s Cup, two local newspapers reported on Friday, though officials said no final decision had yet been reached.

The decision on where to stage the 34th Cup will ultimately be up to Larry Ellison, chief executive of software company Oracle Corp, whose BMW Oracle team won the event in races off Valencia, Spain, in February 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nissan Motor Co
(7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) delivered the first mass-market all-electric car to a
technology entrepreneur in California on Saturday as the
company tries to get a jump in the nascent green vehicle race.

The first customer, Olivier Chalouhi, has been riding an
electric bicycle to work, and he plugged his new car in for the
cameras outside San Francisco City Hall. The charge point, one
of 400 in the region, had a green official city sign near it
that said, “Green Vehicle Showcase: Cars that make a
difference.”