Middle Eastern politics begin to affect oil prices again

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


For months, the big story behind plummeting oil & gas prices has been the U.S. and Canadian on-shore shale boom. The resulting supply glut has caused WTI crude to fall from about $107 on June 20th, to a low of about $45 recently. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and OPEC have held firm to their Thanksgiving weekend decision to continue pumping at a steady rate. Finally, lackluster demand from emerging countries like China hasn't had enough kick to cause prices to rebound significantly.

So… OPEC countries have been the "steady" ones in all this.

In recent days, however, focus has turned to the Middle East (of all places). Can you imagine? Middle Eastern geopolitics affecting oil prices? It's been awhile since the Mid-East has been the center of attention. Continue reading "Middle Eastern politics begin to affect oil prices again"

An Interesting Shale Play

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


One stock that has caught my attention the last couple months has been Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD).

Simply put, every analyst or article I've read agrees PXD has a solid balance sheet, exceptional management, favorable hedging positions through 2016, low production costs, and some of the most productive oil field acreage in the business. Plus, the stock seems to be trending higher within a trading channel that bears the appearance of a good strong bottoming formation – even while trading more than 30% below its 52-week high.

U.S. Shale Oil

Shale is still a dangerous place to play, no doubt about it. Oil and gas prices continue to flirt with a continuation of their precipitous declines since last June 20th. Further oil-price deterioration would surely affect shale companies like PXD.

On the other hand, if you're game for a little bottom-fishing and want to stay with high quality, take a look at Pioneer. Continue reading "An Interesting Shale Play"