As gas prices go up and new oil wells go down, Vantage drilling looks like a promising stock. With a fresh stock of new equipment and a host of contracts around the world, the drilling contractor is poised to be a major force for the next few years.
Given the prospect of $4-plus gasoline this summer, what's an American to do? Beyond switching to a higher-MPG vehicle, you can consider buying some oil stocks with plenty of upside potential. Here are five candidates, if your risk appetite is hardy enough.
Skyrocketing prices don't have to bring only pain. Investors can also find some relief with investments that can benefit from oil's recent -- and likely future -- increases. Here are some ETFs and mutual funds worth considering, based on performance, risk and cost.
As crude prices keep inching upward, the threat to both the U.S. and global economy is clear. While OPEC says don't blame us, the Interational Energy Agencys says: "This is a wake-up call to the oil-consuming countries and to the oil producers."
Marathon Oil, the fifth-largest oil refiner in the U.S., is spinning off its refining business into a new company called Marathon Petroleum. Marathon Oil, meanwhile, will reduce its debt as a result of the move and will focus on oil exploration and production.
One would think that BP's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill this year would have given pause to the global oil industry, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Companies in the sector are planning to spend a record $490 billion in 2011, including a large amount for deep-water development.
Global oil demand growth is expected to increase a little this year but slip in 2011 as fuel stockpiles surge and concern persists that economic growth could falter, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.
The stock is trading at $60 a share -- about where it was during the March 2009 market low. Even as oil has rebounded to $74 from $40 at that time, ExxonMobil languishes. That could soon change.
Will there even be a BP as we now know it? The answers rest on several variables, most notably: continued asset sales, future litigation and efforts to restore the company's now-tattered public image. Its problems are only beginning.
Exxon Mobil's easily topped Wall Street forecasts in the second quarter, helped by a year-over-year jump in crude prices that allowed the world's largest publicly traded oil company to hike production. EPS hit $1.60, up from 81 cents a year ago.
Embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward traveled to Abu Dhabi to meet business partners, with rumors flying that the company is seeking to raise funds to help the company pay for the clean up operation in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward arrived in the Emirati capital on Tuesday and plans to stay "a couple of days," company spokesman Andrew Gowers told the Associated Press. Gowers declined to comment on whether or not Hayward would be meeting with investment funds.
Some of Friday's top stories for investors, including oil stocks most likely to make a comeback, wedding stocks in time for June brides, and how Facebook is damaging Google.
Most of the analysts who follow BP still urge investors to buy its stock, and none recommend selling -- 12 rate it a buy, and five recommend holding. Will a federal criminal probe change their minds?
