Big Oil Benefits From Upswing in Crude Prices

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 02/22/12 -- After lagging their smaller cap peers for most of the year, shares of Big Oil companies have been on the upswing of late and are benefiting from higher oil prices. Oil prices hit nine month highs to kick off the week after Iran halted sales to France and Britain, and as China eased credit policy amid expectations of a bailout deal for Greece, Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch explains. The Paragon Report examines the outlook for companies in the Oil and Gas - Integrated industry and provides equity research on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.paragonreport.com/XOM

www.paragonreport.com/CVX

According to a US energy sector report from EIC Consult, the offshore deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to regain the momentum it had prior to the devastating Macondo disaster. There are currently 5,981 active leases in the Gulf of Mexico with over 130 new well permits since new regulations came into effect in October 2010, the EIC Consults Country Overview finds. The new permitting regulations require higher standards regarding well design, casing and cementing.

The Paragon Report provides investors with an excellent first step in their due diligence by providing daily trading ideas, and consolidating the public information available on them. For more investment research on the oil and gas - integrated industry register with us free at www.paragonreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

The EIC report finds that US shale gas development -- in particular liquid rich plays -- are poised for years of growth with production estimated to reach 30 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by 2020.

EIC Consult argues that the prohibitive regulation of shale gas in the future remains unlikely, despite much publicized opposition, due to the number of jobs created and taxes generated. Natural gas fracking has been accused of contaminating water supplies, causing earthquakes, and a myriad of other environmental concerns. However, a recent University of Texas study argues that there is no evidence that fracking is contaminating groundwater. Moreover, a recent report commissioned by Taranaki found no evidence fracking had any observable effect on natural earthquake activity.

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