Weekend Review: From Sperm Whales To The Majors' Big GOM Buy

Let's take a look back at the last week to determine what companies, individuals and even animals, are hot. Who's hot? China. Yes, they're beating the U.S. in the Olympic gold medal count again. By the end of Friday, the U.S. team had won 31 gold medals, while the Chinese had 47. Speaking of gold, the supermajors dominated the Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 207. Coming in with the gold was ExxonMobil with $127 million in total winning bids for 130 blocks. The silver went to Chevron, whose three bids alone totaled $105 million. And the bronze goes to Norway’s StatoilHydro with a total of $87 million in high bids. Sperm whales. These whales in the Gulf of Mexico have made it into the news after a six-year study announced that the deep-diving mammals are not being disturbed by seismic testing by the ever-growing Gulf energy industry. Obama's mysterious running mate. Yes, just hours away from the next business week, which heralds the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Obama still hasn't announced his running mate. So that possibilities are still endless until an announcement is made... Happy weekend, everyone! –Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com