Today's Markets

Gasoline cost pushes up prices

HEATHER SCOFFIELD

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

OTTAWA — Canada's consumer prices were up a huge 3.1 per cent in June compared to a year ago, pushed higher by expensive gasoline, Statistics Canada says.
June's increase was the largest since September, 2005. Excluding gasoline, total inflation was up 1.8 per cent in the past 12 months, Statscan said.

Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile prices, was far more subdued, rising just 1.5 per cent.

Economists had been expecting a big leap in total inflation in June, projection 2.9 per cent year over year, compared to a May rise of 2.2 per cent. For core inflation, economists had forecast 1.6 per cent in June, compared to 1.5 per cent in May.

From a month earlier, total inflation rose 0.7 per cent in May, and the core index rose just 0.1 per cent, mainly in line with economists' expectations.

Although the June numbers were slightly higher than projected, and the total inflation number may come across as quite high, economists played down the inflation report, and warned not to get too excited about the spike.

“While headline inflation pushed above 3 per cent for the first time since September, 2005, core inflation remained at 1.5 per cent for the third consecutive month, signalling once again that current inflation fears are overblown and that there is room for the Bank of Canada to reduce rates once again if needed,” economists at Bank of Nova Scotia said in a note to clients.

“While higher headline inflation will feed into core inflation with a lag, a weakening Canadian economy will continue to offset these pressures.”

For the year, the main reason total inflation soared is because gasoline prices were up 26.9 per cent between June, 2007, and June, 2008, Statscan said. That's the biggest surge since the 34.7 per cent leap recorded in September, 2005, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Gasoline prices have risen substantially, but the inflation number seems particularly large because gas prices were falling in June, 2007.

Mortgage interest costs, bakery products and air transportation were also major drivers of the 3.1 per cent annual inflation rate, Statscan said.
Mortgage interest costs were up 9 per cent.

And food costs soared 3 per cent in June compared with a year earlier, led by a 12.3 per cent increase in bakery products. Food prices have been rising sharply around the world, except in Canada, where a strong Canadian dollar, intense competition, and local production kept prices low until now.

“While still relatively mild versus most of the rest of the world, that's a big acceleration from earlier this year when grocery prices were actually down on a year-over-year basis,” commented Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
Air transportation prices rose 14.3 per cent, the largest increase since May, 2002, as carriers pass along higher fuel costs to their customers. Overseas flights saw the largest increases.
A few falling prices helped mitigate the overall rise in inflation. Vehicles fell 8.4 per cent year-over-year, and computer equipment dropped 13.2 per cent. Clothing and footwear prices fell 0.6 per cent – but that's not as big a drop as usual for June, Mr. Porter said.
But over all, goods prices rose 2.5 per cent – a much larger leap than usual for this category, which has seen little change whatsoever in prices lately. Services prices rose 3.7 per cent.

By province, Prince Edward Island and Alberta saw the biggest increases, with inflation well over 4 per cent in both provinces, driven by rising energy prices. Excluding energy, Saskatchewan saw the highest inflation rate among the provinces, at 2.6 per cent, mainly because of housing.

Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive.

Its Been A Busy Week IE-T Drops After Money Raised

The good old fashion pump up while raising the $88 Million

Now the volume is significantly down.

So now we wait for more news or a spike in Oil again.

10:25 EDT Tuesday, June 17, 2008
CALGARY, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (TSX: IE; NASDAQ: IVAN) announced today that it is increasing the private placement announced on June 6 to Cdn.$88 million due to significantly increased expressions of interest from institutional investors. The price for the offering has been set at Cdn.$3.00 per special warrant. Ivanhoe Energy announced on June 6 that it was intending to raise up to Cdn.$50 million.

Ivanhoe Energy completes C$88 million private placement

07:30 EDT Wednesday, July 09, 2008
CALGARY, July 9 /CNW/ - Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (TSX: IE; NASDAQ: IVAN) announced today that it has completed the C$88 million private placement that was announced on June 6, 2008.
The financing, consisting of C$3.00 special warrants, will be used to make the initial payment required under Ivanhoe Energy's agreement with Talisman Energy Canada to acquire Talisman's interests in certain leases in the Athabasca oilsands region in Alberta, Canada, as announced on May 29, 2008. The balance of the funds will be used for Ivanhoe Energy's planned development activities on the acquired oilsands leases and for general working capital purposes.
The financing, originally targeted at C$50 million, subsequently was increased to C$88 million due to significantly increased expressions of interest from institutional investors.
Subject to regulatory approval and satisfaction of all conditions precedent, the private placement is expected to close contemporaneously with the closing of the acquisition of the oilsands leases on July 11th, 2008.

Ivanhoe Energy completes acquisition of Athabasca oilsands assets from Talisman Energy

16:15 EDT Friday, July 11, 2008
Athabasca to be home for first integrated HTL (heavy-to-light) oil
project
CALGARY, July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (TSX: IE; NASDAQ: IVAN), announced today that the company has completed its previously announced acquisition of Talisman Energy Canada's 100% working interests in two leases (Leases 10 and 6) located in the heart of the Athabasca oilsands region in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Talisman Energy Canada is an affiliate of Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM; NYSE:TLM).
The total purchase price is C$90 million, of which an initial payment of C$22.5 million has been made from proceeds of an C$88 million private placement financing that closed on July 8th. The financing, consisting of C$3.00 special warrants and originally targeted at C$50 million, was increased to C$88 million due to significantly increased expressions of interest from institutional investors. The balance of the funds will be used for Ivanhoe Energy's planned development activities on the acquired oilsands leases and for general working capital purposes.
The acquisition of Lease 10 will provide the site for the first commercial application of Ivanhoe Energy's proprietary, HTL(TM) heavy-oil upgrading technology in a major, integrated heavy-oil project. Lease 10 has a relatively high level of delineation (four wells per section). It is believed to be a high-quality reservoir and an excellent candidate for thermal recovery production using the SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage) process. The Lease 10 reservoir characteristics are believed by Ivanhoe to be similar to those at Petro-Canada's 30,000-barrel-per-day MacKay River project, located nearby, across the Athabasca River. MacKay River is acknowledged to be one of the most successful and longest-producing SAGD projects in the Athabasca oil sands.
Lease 10 would be capable of producing between 30,000 and 50,000 barrels of oil per day, based on estimates by independent reservoir engineers Sproule Associates Limited. Based on the most recent evaluations conducted by Sproule, Lease 10 is estimated to contain, on a best-estimate basis, approximately 244 million barrels of contingent bitumen resources (with low and high estimates of approximately 188 million and 313 million barrels, respectively). The evaluation of Lease 10 has an effective date of August 31, 2007. Using Sproule's interpretation of net pay, Ivanhoe expects to encounter an average of 30 metres of continuous bitumen saturated sand within the initial development area.
Based on these contingent resource estimates, Ivanhoe Energy's acquisition price of C$90 million represents a price of approximately C$0.37 per barrel of contingent bitumen resource measured on a best-estimate basis, with a range of approximately C$0.29 per barrel on a high-estimate basis to approximately C$0.48 per barrel on a low-estimate basis.
Since Ivanhoe Energy's oilsands announcement on May 29th, the holder of the 25% working interest in Lease 50 has exercised its right of first refusal to acquire Talisman's 75% working interest in Lease 50 - a third lease that Ivanhoe was to acquire from Talisman. Lease 50 is a less-delineated asset located approximately 19 km southeast of Fort McMurray. Contingent bitumen resources attributable to Talisman's 75% working interest in Lease 50 were estimated by Sproule as of July 31, 2006, to be, on a best-estimate basis, approximately 50 million barrels. As a consequence, Ivanhoe Energy has proceeded to purchase Lease 10 and Lease 6 - and the total purchase price has decreased from C$105 million to C$90 million.
Lease 50 was considered by Ivanhoe to represent possible expansion potential. The reduced cost to Ivanhoe of acquiring its principal target, Lease 10, leaves Ivanhoe with additional cash resources to initiate the development of Lease 10 and also allows Ivanhoe to apply its resources to alternative expansion targets as appropriate.
Lease 6 is a small, undelineated, 680-acre block 1.6 km south of Lease 10.
Talisman's Rights
Talisman will retain back-in rights of up to 20% in the acquired leases for a period of three years. During this period, Talisman also will have the right of first offer to acquire any participation interests in heavy-oil projects in Alberta that Ivanhoe wishes to sell, excluding the acquired leases, on mutually agreeable terms. In addition, Ivanhoe and Talisman have entered into an HTL Data Monitoring Agreement to allow Talisman to effectively monitor the commercial effectiveness of Ivanhoe's HTL technology.
Lease 10 to be the site for Ivanhoe's first HTL integrated heavy-oil
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project
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Lease 10 is a 6,880-acre contiguous block located approximately 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Fort McMurray, immediately south of Suncor's operating Steepbank and Millennium projects. The block also adjoins leases held by ExxonMobil, Laricina Energy and E-T Energy.
The Lease 10 resource target is considered to be of high-quality McMurray sands, with clean and continuous average net pay of approximately 20 metres and no significant top- or bottom-water or top-gas issues. The average porosity is 34%, average bitumen saturation is 79% and permeabilities are between one and 10 Darcies, all of which are considered excellent reservoir characteristics. The high quality of the asset is expected to provide for favorable projected operating costs, including attractive steam-oil ratios (SOR) using SAGD development techniques.
Ivanhoe's HTL plant on Lease 10 is projected ultimately to be capable of operating at production rates of at least 30,000 barrels per day for approximately 25 years. Ivanhoe intends to integrate established SAGD thermal recovery techniques with its patented HTL upgrading process, producing and marketing a light, synthetic sour crude.
Ivanhoe plans to continue the Lease 10 delineation program in preparation for the submission of permits for an integrated HTL project. In general, thermal oilsands projects, including SAGD projects, require a period of initial development, including delineation, permitting and field development, which is followed by relatively stable operations for many years. Ivanhoe will provide guidance on expectations regarding development timelines, as appropriate, at a future date.
Benefits of HTL Integration
---------------------------
HTL is a field-located upgrading process that converts heavy oil to a transportable, partially upgraded synthetic crude oil and converts the upgrading by-products to onsite energy. The process frees the heavy-oil producer from the need to purchase diluent for transport, significantly eliminates the need to purchase natural gas to steam the reservoir, and allows the producer to capture the majority of the heavy-oil/light-oil value differential. The net result is enhanced rates of return and reduced earnings volatility. Furthermore, the HTL process is technically and economically scalable down to as low as 10,000-30,000 bopd, allowing for vertical integration of smaller, heavy-oil assets in Canada and internationally.
Purchase details

Ivanhoe has purchased all of Talisman's interests in Leases 10 and 6. The total purchase price for the two leases is C$90 million, allocated as follows:

1. C$22.5 million cash that has been paid.

2. A C$12.5 million note, with interest at prime plus 2%, is to be
repaid on or before December 31, 2008.

3. A C$40 million, three-year convertible note, with interest at prime
plus 2% with principal convertible at C$3.13, which represents a 25%
premium to Ivanhoe Energy's share price based on the volume-adjusted,
weighted-average closing price for the 10 business days prior to the
signing of the preliminary agreement on May 29th. If the note were
fully converted, 12,779,552 common shares of Ivanhoe Energy would be
issued to Talisman, representing approximately 4.44% of the issued
and outstanding shares of Ivanhoe Energy as of July 11th, after
giving effect to the conversion, as well as the C$88 million
financing that just closed.

4. C$15 million cash upon Ivanhoe Energy receiving requisite government
and other approvals to develop the northern border of Lease 10, which
is subject to a Mineral Surface Lease (MSL) held by Suncor.
Ivanhoe's obligations under the notes and the contingent payment are secured.
Ivanhoe intends to finance future payments with funds from a combination of strategic investors and/or traditional debt and equity markets, either at the Ivanhoe Energy Inc. level or project level.

Financial Advisor

Tristone Capital Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Ivanhoe for this transaction.

Ivanhoe Energy
--------------
Ivanhoe Energy is an independent, international, heavy-oil development and production company focused on pursuing long-term growth in its reserves and production using advanced technologies, including its proprietary, patented heavy-oil upgrading process (HTL). Core operations are in the United States and China, with business development opportunities worldwide. Ivanhoe Energy's shares trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market with the ticker symbol IVAN and on the Toronto Stock Exchange with the symbol IE.

Ivanhoe Energy has established a number of geographically focused entities. The parent company, Ivanhoe Energy Inc., will pursue HTL opportunities in the Athabasca oilsands of Western Canada and will hold and manage the core HTL technology. Two new subsidiaries have been established, one for Latin America and one for the Middle East & North Africa,
complementing Sunwing Energy Ltd., Ivanhoe Energy's existing, wholly-owned company for China. Dave Martin is leading the subsidiary for Latin America and Leon Daniel is leading the subsidiary for the Middle East & North Africa. Ivanhoe Energy Inc. owns 100% of each of these subsidiaries, although the percentages are expected to decline as they develop their respective businesses and raise capital independently.

This structure will allow the development and financing of multiple HTL projects around the world, while minimizing dilution of Ivanhoe Energy's existing shareholders. In addition, the alignment with principal energy-producing regions will facilitate financing from region-specific strategic investors, some of which already have been identified, and also will enhance flexibility in accessing global capital markets.

Building an execution team:

During recent months, Ivanhoe Energy has made significant progress in building its execution teams in preparation for this acquisition. The upstream team consists of a number of Calgary-based, experienced heavy-oil engineers and geologists hired from firms such as Petro-Canada and Synenco, complemented by a core team of petroleum engineers and geologists located in Ivanhoe's offices in Bakersfield, California, a number of whom are expected to move to Calgary, Alberta, in the summer of 2008. The Houston-based HTL technology team also has been strengthened. Ivanhoe expects to continue filling key positions as it moves into execution mode.

Assad: Attack Iran and Pay The Price

Assad: Iran war will cost US, Israel dearMon, 14 Jul 2008 14:48:22 Syria has cautioned that a military attack on Iran over its nuclear program would have serious repercussions for US, Israel and the world.

"It will cost the United States and the planet dear," Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with France Inter radio on Monday. "Israel will pay directly the price of this war. Iran has said so. The problem is not the action and reaction.

The problem is that when one starts such an action in the Middle East, one cannot manage the reactions that can spread out over years or even decades," he said. He criticized the US government, stressing an attack on Iran would be far from rational.

"This administration is an administration whose doctrine is a warmonger's doctrine. It does not reason with our logic, and that of most European countries, most countries in the world,"
Assad said in the interview.

Tel Aviv and its fervent supporter, Washington, accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear weapons but Iran stresses it pursues nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Tehran has kept cooperating with UN nuclear watchdog over its nuclear program.

The latest report by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, certified Iran's non-diversion towards a nuclear bomb material. The US and Israel have said they might resort to a military option to stop Iran from developing nuclear technology.

However, Tehran says it will give a devastating response to invaders, making them regret their action should the country come under any attack.
© Press TV 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Chavez said Oil will go to $300 If...

"If they freeze us there will be no more oil for the UnitedStates, and the price will go to $300," Chavez said during atelevised meeting with Caribbean and Central American leadersas part of an energy cooperation scheme called Petrocaribe.

Source

Venezuela's Chavez says oil could reach $300
Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:57am BST
MARACAIBO, July 13 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday oil prices could hit $300 per barrel if U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil again freezes Venezuelan assets in a dispute over a nationalized oil project.
Exxon (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) won court orders freezing $12 billion in assets held by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA after the OPEC nation took over a multi-billion dollar oil project, heightening tensions with the United States and helping to raise oil prices.
A London court later overturned Exxon's temporary asset freeze, but Chavez said the company could seek further action against Venezuela.
"If they freeze us there will be no more oil for the United States, and the price will go to $300," Chavez said during a televised meeting with Caribbean and Central American leaders as part of an energy cooperation scheme called Petrocaribe.
Chavez also said oil prices were being influenced by a "speculative bubble", the collapse of which could send prices as low as $70 per barrel.
This contrasted with his Saturday statements that geopolitical tensions, particularly the threat of an invasion against Iran, could push oil prices to $200 per barrel.
"Years ago I said oil was going to go to $100 per barrel, now it looks like it is headed toward $200," he said. (Reporting by Manuel Hernandez, writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Toni Reinhold)