Three Oil Stocks To Buy Now That Benefit From Booming U.S. Production

Oil Stocks To Buy

Crude oil futures hit near a six-week high in mid-April, and these higher oil prices are pushing investors to look for oil stocks to buy now.

A great area to search for promising oil stocks to buy is among oil companies in the United States.

That's because U.S. crude oil production is booming. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects world petroleum and other liquids production to increase by 1.4 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2014 and 1.3 million bbl/d in 2015. It reports that the U.S. and Canada will account for much of that growth.

In fact, the amount of production by the U.S. presently makes it account for 10% of the world's total oil production.

U.S. oil companies stand to net big profits from increased production - and so do their investors.

Here's a closer look at three oil stocks to buy now...

Three Oil Stocks To Buy Now

1. EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG)

EOG holds assets in the Bakken Shale and the Permian Basin. What's more, the company is the biggest owner of drilling leases in the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas.  

That's important because production from Eagle Ford has increased at an incredible rate. The shale formation now produces about 25 times as much oil as it did in 2010. Oil drilling in Eagle Ford didn't begin until 2009, but it has already surpassed the Bakken Shale as the largest tight oil formation in the U.S. According to the EIA, the formation's tight oil reserves jumped to 3.37 billion barrels in 2012, up from 1.25 billion in 2011.

EOG's positioning in the Eagle Ford region makes it one of the best oil stocks to buy now. It is known to produce 13,000 barrels from five new well sources in the region that have only been in operation for a few weeks. Moreover, the crude oil produced from these wells is very light, which means it can be easily converted into other petroleum products.

EOG stock is up more than 76% year-over-year, and more than 22% in 2014. Shares traded at $102.81 per share on April 22, with a 52-week range of $56.76 - 103.58.

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2. Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (USA) (NYSE: KOG)

Kodiak is one of the new players at North Dakota's Bakken shale region. Its current oil production is surging, currently averaging about 29,200 barrels of oil every day.

Even though Kodiak is still a relatively small company compared to competitors, its production number designates it a big earner. The company has said it plans to create more sources this year in the Bakken. That means even more production - and increased cash flow that makes this one of the top oil stocks to buy now.

KOG stock is up more than 77% year-over-year, and more than 19% in 2014. Shares traded at $13.43 per share on April 22, with a 52-week range of $ 7.27 - 14.11.

3. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO)

Marathon Oil's production in the Eagle Ford averaged almost 90,000 net barrels of oil per day (boed) in the fourth quarter 2013, an increase of 8,000 net boed from the third quarter. For the final two weeks of 2013, production averaged greater than 100,000 net boed.. The company has said it intends to boost production even further this year.

MRO stock is up 20% year-over-year, and 3.51% so far in 2014. Shares traded at $36.53 per share on April 22, with a 52-week range of $29.47 - $38.18. Investors benefit from a 2.1% dividend yield, making MRO one of the best oil stocks to buy now.

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