Out Fox The $treet

 The revelation that Whiting Petroleum Corp ( NYSE: WLL     ) only paid a 5% premium to average prices over the last 60 days to purchase the stock of fast-growing Bakken producer Kodiak Oil and Gas Corp ( NYSE: KOG     ) was clearly unusual. Typically, a growing company doesn't accept a buyout without a substantial premium. In this case, the deal creates a formidable producer in the Bakken to rival Continental Resources ( NYSE: CLR     ) .  Is it possible that Kodiak shareholders benefited more from accepting a meager premium? The deal  Whiting Petroleum agreed to buy Kodiak Oil and Gas for .177 shares of WLL per KOG share, or the equivalent of $13.90 per share based on the July 11 closing price of Whiting. Though the deal offers a 5% premium above the average of price of Kodiak over the last 60 days, any investor in the stock might be disappointed that it accepted an offer below the prior closing price. The stock, though...

Over the last couple of years, Pioneer Natural Resources  ( NYSE: PXD     ) has quickly developed into an oil major with a massive reserve base in the Permian Basin. Unfortunately, the company has garnered a stock valuation that equally matches the potential for production growth. At $28 billion, the stock now trades for seven times expected 2014 revenue. After the divestiture of Alaska and Barnett shale assets, Pioneer Natural Resources is now focused on developing the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale acreage with a net recoverable reserve potential of more than 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After yet another disappointing earnings report for Nuverra Environmental Solutions ( NYSE: NES     ), investors need to remain focused on the long-term picture. Sure the company announced plans for a reverse split, and reduced EBITDA brings debt covenants into question, but investors always need to keep cool and research all the facts. You can't deny that Nuverra has been a serial disappointer, on the path to becoming a complete environmental solutions provider to customers in the energy and industrial end-markets. The promise of providing environmental solutions for the dangerous materials produced by hydraulic fracturing once provided enormous potential. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long NES. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After a great 2012 in the pipeline business, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) completed a transaction to increase the focus on rail transportation growth. The company finalized a $500M deal to acquire several loading facilities for railroads though the existing enterprise value of nearly $22B limits the impact of this rail move. Plains All American engages in the transportation, storage, terminalling, and marketing of crude oil, refined products, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) products in the United States and Canada. The move highlights the transformational currents under cutting the pipeline business. As crude oil has been unable to transverse the current pipeline system to reach the refineries on the coasts, the railroads have stepped up with more direct routes that bypass the congested Cushing, OK oil hub. Not only is it a boon to railroads struggling with weak coal shipments, but exploration and refinery companies are access to better pricing than currently available. R...

On first thought, the announcement by TPG-Axon that SandRidge Energy (SD) should fire the CEO that founded the company and brought it to this position seemed ridiculous. After more research, the investor might just have a point. The activist investor submitted a letter last Thursday arguing that the Board of Directors should be realigned and the CEO should resign. SandRidge is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company that primarily focuses on the Mid-Continent, Permian Basin, and Gulf of Mexico. CEO Tom Ward has become a prominent leader in the oil exploration field making it further unlikely that he will be ousted. He was an original founder of Chesapeake Energy (CHK) that left to start SandRidge. The combined experience suggests that he has the knowledge to make this company successful. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned: Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The Baker Hughes (BHI) rig report on Friday showed an interesting divergence with the commodity markets. While natural gas has jumped some 60% in the past few months, the amount of rigs drilling for natural gas has plunged to lows not seen since 1999. In the last week, the natural gas rig count dropped another 15 to only 422. Last year, the count was 936. For investors expecting that exploration companies can quickly turn on the drilling spigot, one needs to note the most concerning part of the report is that the percentage of rigs drilling for natural gas is the lowest ever at 23%. The concern is that limited rigs and service personnel might exist for a rebound in demand. This is the first part of a series focusing on the potential beneficiaries and losers of a pending spike in natural gas prices while most of the available drilling rigs are focused on oil. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long CJES, HEK, WFT. Please review the disclaimer page for more d...

Halliburton (HAL) is quickly going from a market leader in the oil services field to the one that is always wrong. Today, CFO Mark McCollum reported at a conference that domestic revenue would miss estimates. This after the company famously complained about high guar prices squeezing margins, only to load up on the product at the peak price. The company is one of the world's leading oil service firms, with revenue approaching $29B for 2012 and a market valuation of nearly $30B. Not surprisingly, the stock has traded down 2-3% today, especially after McCollum mentioned that the profit margins would take a 2.5 to 3 percentage point hit. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. D isclosure: Long CJES and WFT. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After reporting earnings on Wednesday night, Continental Resources (CLR) moved up slightly as investors battled over the huge production gains and the spending increases. For some reason the market was disappointed with a forecast increase in capital spending while oil approaches $94 (not to mention that Brent crude exceeds $112). The company is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused on the Bakken and Anadarko areas. The market remains very focused on reduced spending in the domestic energy production sector that any added spending is seen as negative. SandRidge Energy (SD) encountered this very problem the previous week. Though natural gas still struggles around $3, the market is missing that oil prices remain strong. Why wouldn't an oil exploration company attempt to produce more oil at these prices? Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Continental Resources (CLR) announced early today a huge expansion in their drilling plans for the Bakken Shale in the Montana and North Dakota area. Forbes.com has some info about the move. Basically CLR had originally expected to end 2009 with 6 rigs working, but now they expect to be using 9 rigs. Then by mid 2010, they expect to be utilizing 23 rigs. Thats 17 more rigs that CLR will be putting to work. This is just one company operating in the Bakken Shale, not to mention Haynesville or the Marcellus Shale. Its unclear whether Bronco Drilling (BRNC) will benefit directly from this expansion, but it should benefit from the overall capacity utilization in the sector leading to higher day rates and margins. BRNC just began benefiting from a contract for 6 more rigs in Mexico working on drilling for PEMEX. Also, with the push in the US for more reliance on natural gas, BRNC seems like one of the best plays left. Most natural gas producers have already surged off the bottom along with ...