ExxonMobil today has announced a massive $600 million partnership with Synthetic Genomics Corp to explore alternative energy.

More specifically, Exxon is looking at developing fuel with second-generation photosynthetic algae, a good clean and sustainable alternative that even consumes carbon dioxide.

ExxonMobil VP of Research told the AP today, “This is not going to be easy, and there are no guarantees of success,”

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Breaking now: the WSJ is firstly reporting that two of Canada’s largest oil companies are in acquisition talks. It is being reported that Suncor is going to buy Petro Canada for $15 billion in all stock, about a 30% premium. An announcement could come as soon as tomorrow.

Russia and china have just inked an energy deal in Beijing. Under the plan, Russia will provide 300,000 barrels of oil per day for the next 20 years to China. China in return will provide loans to two Russian companies. Russian oil producer Rosneft will get $15 billion in loans, while the Russian energy company Transneft will get $10 billion in capital. Both of the Russian companies have been struggling to gain access to capital and continue to underperform from slumping prices.

Calgary based Husky Energy, joint venture with BP Ohio, has announced Q4 2008 earnings. Operating revenue, net of royalties, were $4.7 billion in Q4, down from $4.8 billion YoY Q4. Husky earned a $232 million net profit in Q4, down materially from $1.1 billion a year before in the same period, promoting the company to cut its dividend. Production was 358,400 barrels of oil per day in Q4, down again from 367,600 in 2007 in the same period. Natural gas production was slightly down in 2008 to 263,200 daily barrels. President and CEO John Lau said 2009 will be challenging, and the company will spend less to curve costs. Husky only plans to spend about $65 million in oil sands projects in 2009 compared to $300 million in 2008.

Shell has posted its Q4 2008 and annual earnings today. The company performed fairly well, but took a hard hit with a $2.81 billion net loss in Q4 because of falling crude prices which reached five-year lows to about $33 per barrel. However, in Q4 2007, the company earned an $8.47 billion profit. Aggregately, in 2008, total revenue was up 29% to $458 billion. For the year, Shell had a net profit of $26.28 billion, down 16% from 2007. Read the full story

Texas based Exxon mobile has just reached a significant milestone in the process breaking a world record. The company said today 2008 total profits were $45.22 billion, the highest amount ever recorded for a publicly traded company anywhere in the world. Exxon was still able to post this massive number despite Q4 revenue being down 33% to $84.7 billion thanks to lower and highly volatile crude and energy prices. Exxon Chairman Rex Tillerson said, “Exxon Mobil’s financial strength continued to support its disciplined capital investment approach in the midst of a growing global economic slowdown,”

The Petroleum Services Association of Canada said today they believe oil/gas drilling in Canada could fall by more than 20% in 2009. They said they believe 13,500 wells to be drilled, down from 17,043 in 2008. The decrease is attributed to falling demand and falling prices.

In a rather surprising move, the world’s largest oil company, Exxon Mobil, has announced its support for a new U.S. carbon tax law. Exxon Mobil has never conceded greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, but after decades of increasing pressure, the company now seems to be adopting a more environmentally friendly view. Exon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said in Washington today it’s difficult to speak favorably of any new tax, but he favors this one. See here the Exxon Mobil Q4 2008 Earnings Conference Call

Oil valve and equipment maker, Velan Inc., today reported Q2 earnings of $7.6 million. Only a year ago, the company had a $300,000 loss. Q2 revenue was $109.9 million ($0.34 a share). Company partners are continuing to struggle from falling crude prices and the company warned of volatile times ahead as the massive gain in Q2 largely came from foreign currency trading.

Libya has ordered its oil companies to reduce oil production by 270,000 barrels per day starting Jan 1 2009. Officials believe cutting production will help increase oil prices, which have fallen more than 65% in the past year. OPEC has already reduced oil production by 1.5 million barrels in October 2008, but this massive cut had little effect on increasing prices.