| These gains helped offset declines from Venezuela (-582,000 BPD), Iran (-308,000 BPD), Mexico (-156,000 BPD), Angola (-143,000 BPD), and Norway (-119,000 BPD). This year, for the first time, the review reported the contribution to overall oil production by natural gas liquids (NGLs). U.S. NGL production is by far the highest of any country at 4.3 million BPD (a byproduct of the shale gas boom). That's more than the entire Middle East, and accounts for 37.6% of total global NGL production. When NGLs are subtracted from overall oil production, U.S. production declines to 11.0 million BPD. This places the U.S. just behind Russia (11.2 million BPD) and just ahead of Saudi Arabia (10.5 million BPD). Investment Implications One might suspect that an industry in which production is increasing at a robust pace year after year is a great place for investment. That's only partially true. U.S. oil production has surged over the past decade, but U.S. oil producers have fared poorly. That's because they keep pushing production ahead of demand growth. Hence, they haven't been in a position to profit from this production surge, because there are too many producers eroding margins. The same is true in the U.S. natural gas industry. Pipeline companies, on the other hand, have fared much better. All that new oil, natural gas, and NGL production has to get from the field to the consumer. The pipeline companies make this happen, and to do so they sign up producers to long-term contracts. That's what makes them such good long-term investments. There's still risk there, but it's much lower than with the producers. The other sector that has fared especially well are the refiners. They have taken advantage of low domestic crude oil prices, and have increasingly shipped finished products into the export market. There, prices are more influenced by global supply and demand, which has proven favorable to the refiners. Footnotes 1. According to BP, the differences between world consumption figures and world production statistics are accounted for by stock changes, consumption of non-petroleum additives and substitute fuels, and unavoidable disparities in the definition, measurement or conversion of oil supply and demand data. 2. BP's definition of "oil" includes NGLs, which have surged in the U.S. along with natural gas production. This is the primary reason BP's oil production number is higher than numbers reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And finally, are you frustrated by the scarcity of reasonably valued investments in this overpriced broader market? Disheartened by volatility and uncertainty? My colleague Jim Fink has the answer. You see, Jim runs a trading service with an uncanny ability to pinpoint investments that generate steady profits in up, down or sideways markets. Jim's investment system hands out a regular weekly payment to his followers, sort of like a "paycheck" that they can count on, week in and week out. We've just released Jim's new presentation. It explains how investors just like you can use one simple technique to earn steady income payments of $1,150, and $1,500, and even $2,800… every single week. Want to sign up for your paycheck? Click here now. |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar