Chevron

Stocks sank for a second consecutive day in tandem with oil prices surging to 28-month highs as continued turmoil and violence in Libya shatters traders nerves.

U.S. stocks are plunging and oil prices are surging on fears over the continued violent unrest in Libya.

U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. said it will challenge the ruling of an Ecuadorean judge who has ordered it to pay a record $9.5 billion fine after holding it responsible for polluting a wide swath of Amazon rainforest in Ecuador from 1972 to 1992 while it operated in a consortium with state-run Petroecuador.

A court in Ecuador has fined US oil explorer Chevron (NYSE: CVX) $8-billion for polluting part of the country's Amazon region.

PetroChina (0857.HK)(PTR.N) agreed to pay C$5.4 billion ($5.4 billion) for half of Encana's Cutbank Ridge shale gas project, marking the largest Chinese investment in a foreign gas asset.

The companies that reported earnings before the markets open on Friday are: Ford Motor, Chevron Corp., Honeywell International, Dominion and Dover.

The companies which are expected to see active trade on Friday are: Microsoft, Amazon, Ford Motor, Chevron, Honeywell International, Dominion Resources and American Electric Power.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the federal agency, which oversees U.S. offshore drilling, has allowed Shell Offshore Inc. and 12 other oil and gas companies to resume deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico without the need to submit revised exploration or development plans for supplemental National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews.

Clashes between political gangs rather than attacks on oil facilities are the greatest threat to Nigeria's Niger Delta ahead of April elections and the long-term security of its oil output depends on much more than who wins.

BP Plc, which is tormented by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has witnessed a positive development last week when Presidential Commission did not find BP solely responsible for the oil spill.

U.S. stocks declined in early trade on Wednesday despite upbeat private sector employment report from ADP as commodities and natural resources stocks were hurt by strong dollar.

Former Shell Oil CEO John Hofmeister's prediction a fortnight ago that retail gasoline prices would hit $5 per gallon by 2015 has gone viral since then, drawing attention largely on the U.S. drilling policies but also spooking consumers and polarizing analysts in the process.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) negotiated with the Iranian government about developing Iraq-Iran cross-border oilfield, in direct violation of U.S. sanctions against Teheran, according to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks.

Energy services company AGL Resources Inc. announced an agreement to acquire rival Nicor Inc. for about $2.4 billion in cash and stock, creating a leading natural gas distributor in the U.S.

US stocks declined in early trade on Monday as the European Union’s 85 billion euro ($113 billion) financial assistance package for Ireland failed to boost investor sentiment.

US stocks declined in early trade on Friday as fresh concerns over European debt crisis weighed on sentiment.