An Oil Company You Should Watch

We pay significant attention to a number of the Big Oil companies operating around the world -- with ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and perhaps BP (NYSE:BP) leading the pack.

But there are also several somewhat smaller operators that could drop lots of shekels into your portfolio when the energy sector recovers. Included among the medium-sized, but lesser-followed, companies I'm referring to is Norway's StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO), which was the last of the group to report this season.

Looking at its adjusted earnings for the second quarter, the company's earnings dropped 48% year over year because of reduced prices and volumes for liquids and lower prices for natural gas.

Like several of its peers, Statoil's overall production declined during the quarter to 1.845 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, a 3% year-over-year drop. The primary reason for the reduction was lower output from mature wells.

Among the notable operating events for Statoil during the quarter was the startup of operations at the Tyrihans field in the Norwegian Sea, along with new production from the Tahiti field, which Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operates in the Gulf of Mexico and in which Statoil participates. In addition, the company acquired a 40% stake in 50 Gulf of Mexico blocks from BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and remains active in the Arctic Circle.

It's also interesting to know that StatoilHydro operates closer to Florida than U.S. companies are allowed to. For several years, the company has been a partner of Spain's Repsol (NYSE:REP), which has operated off the coast of Cuba. It's a trend that is only likely to expand: Last week, state-owned Cubapetroleo signed a deal with Russia's Zarubezhneft to drill in the deep water off the northern coast of Cuba. In addition to Repsol and Statoil, Brazil's Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) will also participate in the program.

As the company said in its earnings release, "We anticipate that these commodity prices will continue to be volatile at least in the near term." Until a definitive change occurs wherein prices begin to move steadily up, my choice would be to add StatoilHydro to your portfolio only if your investment time frame is long.

For related Foolishness:

• A Hot 5-Star Stock Idea: Petrobras
• An Energy Company You Shouldn't Ignore
• It's Still Hard to Beat Exxon

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