Today I've got new information on what could be the largest shale oil find ever recorded - an estimated 233 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil.
This has got the entire energy world abuzz.
That's more that all of the oil in Iran, Iraq, Canada, or Venezuela. And it’s just 30 billion barrels shy of all the reserves in oil-rich Saudi Arabia (or at least what they claim to have).
It's a very exciting find for the (surprising) country where it was found. It means decades of energy independence. Not only that, but the nation will probably begin to export oil in the next few years, too.
But it's perhaps even more exciting for investors. You see, one small company controls what is shaping up to be the biggest worldwide oil project to hit in 40 or 50 years. And they won't be the only ones who get rich from this. Far from it.
Take a look
u.s. shale oil
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After Nexen's Buyout, How Should You Play Canadian Oil Sands Stocks?
The purchase of Calgary-based energy company Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY) for $15.1 billion by China's CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE ADR: CEO) is the largest overseas purchase ever by the world's second-biggest economic power.
But it will likely be the last time China, or any other country, takes a big chunk out of Canada's oil sands - the world's third-largest proven reserves of crude oil.
That's because after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper approved the Nexen deal in December, he banned further foreign firms' investment in Canada's oil sands and will allow them only under "exceptional" circumstances.
"The government's concern and discomfort for some time has been that very quickly, a series of large-scale controlling transactions by foreign state-owned companies could rapidly transform this [oil sands] industry from one that is essentially a free market to one that is effectively under control of a foreign government," Harper said in December.
"Foreign state control of oil sands development has reached the point at which further such foreign state control would not be of net benefit to Canada," he added.
But foreign government control isn't the real problem facing Canadian oil sands companies.
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Two Reasons to Expect Greater Volatility in Oil Prices
The upward pressure on prices is building, reflecting higher revisions in forecasted demand. And this week we got two "outside" signals that mean more volatility ahead.
Will the New U.S. Shale Boom Kill Oil Prices?
These days everybody wants to extol the virtues of rising U.S. domestic crude oil production.
From decades of increasing reliance on foreign providers, some hardly sympathetic to American interests, the new prospect of having significant unconventional oil reserves here at home has been a major development.
The assumption advanced says that domestic sources will be cheaper. As a result, this should comprise a positive boon to consumers of oil products but a problem for producers and refiners. In short, the mantra among some commentators is to proclaim the end of the oil market as an attractive option for investors.
As with most such simplistic observations, however, it turns out not to be true.
A number of these "analysts" are actually talking down the prospects of oil prices because they have already shorted the commodity and will benefit their own investments if they can continue the downward push.
Well, oil prices are now going up, with both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) in New York and Brent in London at more than three-month highs.
In addition, the spread between WTI and Brent is narrowing.
The narrowing of that spread is occurring while both benchmarks are rising in price. The mantra of the pricing doomsayers would expect it to be going in the other direction.
There are two broad categories of reasons why matters are not happening as the doomsayers had expected (aside from the obvious - they misunderstood the dynamics from the beginning).
And once you understand both, you'll be in position to profit as prices continue to rise.
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