Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now

It's no secret that oil and gas behemoth Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) operates in a vast array of locations. Along with being a major player in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, it's also the top dog in Australia's burgeoning LNG world. It's active in Sub-Saharan Africa and is the only major company working upstream in Saudi Arabia. It's also busy across Southeast Asia, and is trying to plumb hydrocarbons from Poland's shale formations.

But it's in South America, a continent on which it's figuratively been "snakebit" for years, that Chevron has made notable strides of late. The company has been attempting to fend off pesky legal challenges in Ecuador for about two decades, has seen its operations in Brazil called to a halt by an oil spill, and has evidenced a desire to begin operations in geologically promising but politically unstable Argentina.

Now, almost at once, there are tangible developments on all three of these fronts. Of course, progress in Ecuador, OPEC's tiniest member, doesn't imply new oil or gas discoveries or a pact for new exploratory efforts. It simply means that an ordeal of lawsuits and countersuits, all played out against a backdrop of apparently rampant fraud in the Ecuadorian legal system, may be coming to an end.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Southern Union Company(SUG)

Southern Union Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the gathering, processing, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas in the United States. It operates in three segments: Transportation and Storage, Gathering and Processing, and Distribution. The Transportation and Storage segment engages in the interstate transportation and storage of natural gas in the Midwest and from the Gulf Coast to Florida. It also provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminalling and regasification services. The Gathering and Processing segment involves in gathering, treating, processing, and redelivering natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in Texas and New Mexico. It operates a network of approximately 5,500 miles of natural gas and NGL pipelines, 4 cryogenic processing plants with a combined capacity of 415 MMcf/d, and 5 natural gas treating plants with a combined capacity of 585 MMcf/d. The Distribution segment engages in the local distribution of natural gas in Missouri and Massachusetts. This segment serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers through local distribution systems. The company was founded in 1932 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: EXCO Resources NL(XCO)

EXCO Resources, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the exploration, exploitation, development, and production of onshore North American oil and natural gas properties with a focus on shale resource plays. The company holds interests in various projects located in East Texas, North Louisiana, Appalachia, and the Permian Basin in west Texas. As of December 31, 2010, it had proved reserves of approximately 1.5 trillion cubic feet equivalent; and operated 7,276 wells. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  EXCO Resources (NYSE: XCO  ) has also seen meaningful improvements�in drilling days, reporting that it drilled its most recent wells in about 34 days, down from 45-60 days a few years ago. These and other efficiency gains helped the Dallas-based company reduce its well costs by about 20% from the end of 2011, with current costs in its core DeSoto area down to about $7.8 million-$8 million.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  EXCO Resources (NYSE: XCO  ) is about to draw another shareholder payback out of the ground. The company has declared a dividend of $0.05 per share for its Q1. That nickel will be paid on June 28 to stockholders of record as of June 14. The amount matches the company's previous distribution, which was paid in late March. Before that, EXCO Resources had handed out $0.04 per share since September 2010.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Using this simple thesis not only makes the whole idea of LNG exports rather simple, it doesn't need to drastically change the way you think about the energy space already. For those who are a little more tolerant of risk, natural gas producers should look a bit more attractive. Low-cost producers like Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL  ) and Exco Resources (NYSE: XCO  ) beat analyst expectations this past quarter because the small uptick in gas prices gave them enough room to profit. If we were to see an uptick in demand thanks to natural gas, then these companies could stand to profit greatly.�

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Right now, natural gas spot prices are in the $4.00 range. For low-cost natural gas producers like Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL  ) and Exco Resources (NYSE: XCO  ) , a $4 price for gas will be a welcome sight. Exco had written down so many assets because of low gas prices, the company expects profits as long as gas remains above $2.15. Once LNG exports do come on line, an uptick in natural gas prices is expected, but not one that is so severe. More importantly, companies like Ultra and Exco that deal exclusively with natural gas will not have to worry as much about wild price swings.�

Top Stocks To Own For 2014: Tesoro Petroleum Corporation(TSO)

Tesoro Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in refining and marketing petroleum products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining and Retail. The Refining segment refines crude oil and other feed stocks into transportation fuels, such as gasoline, gasoline blendstocks, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, as well as other products, including heavy fuel oils, liquefied petroleum gas, petroleum coke, and asphalt. This segment also sells refined products in the wholesale market primarily through independent unbranded distributors; and in the bulk market primarily to independent unbranded distributors, other refining and marketing companies, utilities, railroads, airlines and marine, and industrial end-users. It owns and operates 7 refineries with a combined crude oil capacity of 665 thousand barrels per day. The Retail segment sells gasoline, diesel fuel, and convenience store items through company-operated retail stations, and third-party branded dea lers and distributors in the western United States. As of December 31, 2011, this segment had 1,175 branded retail stations under the Tesoro, Shell, and USA Gasoline brands. The company was formerly known as Tesoro Petroleum Corporation and changed its name to Tesoro Corporation in November 2004. Tesoro Corporation was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Oppenheimer’s Fadel Gheit and Robert Du Boff have become the latest analysts to offer their opinion of refining stocks, when they downgraded Holly Frontier (HFC), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Phillips 66 (PSX), Tesoro (TSO) and Valero (VLO) to Perform from Outperform today.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Freedom Energy Holdings Inc (FDMF)

Freedom Energy Holdings, Inc. (FDMF), incorporated in June 2005, is a holding company with a focus on the identification of opportunities within the oil and energy sectors. KC-9000 is the Company�� heavy oil technology, to assist in the recovery of heavy oil. As of December 31, 2011, the Company research had developed and shown a new product SR-139 at breaking down asphalt shingles allowing the extraction and recovery of hydrocarbons.

KC-9000 is a micro-emulsion technology. KC 9000 is a micro-emulsion developed to assist in the recovery and extraction of heavy based hydrocarbons that are saturated with high metals and paraffin content. KC 9000 is used for tank cleaning processes. By injecting KC 9000 directly into the tank port holes, at the tank bottom, with the emulsifies turning into an easily extractable slurry.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: North American Energy Partners Inc. (NOA)

North American Energy Partners Inc. provides heavy construction and mining, piling, and pipeline installation services to customers in the Canadian oil sands, industrial construction, commercial and public construction, and pipeline construction markets. The company operates in three segments: Heavy Construction and Mining, Piling, and Pipeline. The Heavy Construction and Mining segment focuses on providing surface mining support services for oil sands and other natural resources. Its activities include land clearing, stripping, muskeg removal, and overburden removal to expose the mining area; the supply of labor and equipment to supplement customers� mining fleets supporting ore mining; and provision of general support services, such as road building, repair and maintenance for mine and treatment plant operations, and hauling of sand and gravel. This segment also engages in the construction related to the expansion of existing projects-site development and infrastructure ; and the provision of environmental and tailings management services. In addition, it provides industrial site construction for mega-projects; and underground utility installation services for plant, refinery, and commercial building construction. The Piling segment installs driven, drilled, and screw piles, as well as caissons and earth retention, and stabilization systems. It also designs, manufactures, and sells screw piles and pipeline anchoring systems worldwide, as well as provides tank maintenance services to the petro-chemical industry in Canada and the United States. The Pipeline segment provides small and large diameter pipeline construction and installation services, as well as equipment rental to energy and industrial clients. The company�s fleet includes approximately 900 pieces of diversified heavy construction equipment supported by approximately 750 pieces of ancillary equipment. North American Energy Partners Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered i n Calgary, Canada.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Energy XXI(Bermuda)

Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of oil and natural gas properties onshore in Louisiana and Texas, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The company operates or has interest in 419 gross producing wells in 41 producing fields on 254,891 net developed acres. As of June 30, 2011, its net proved reserves were 116.6 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP)

Access Midstream Partners, L.P., formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.L.C. (Partnership), incorporated on January 21, 2010, owns, operates, develops and acquires natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil gathering systems and other midstream energy assets. The Company is focused on natural gas and NGL gathering. The Company provides its midstream services to Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake), Total E&P USA, Inc. (Total), Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko), Statoil ASA (Statoil) and other producers under long-term, fixed-fee contracts. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired from Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. (CMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake, and certain of CMD's affiliates, 100% of interests in Chesapeake Midstream Operating, L.L.C. (CMO). As a result of the CMO Acquisition, the Partnership owns certain midstream assets in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Niobrara regions. The CMO Acquisition also extended the Company's assets and operations in the Haynesville, Marcellus and Mid-Continent regions.

The Company operates assets in Barnett Shale region in north-central Texas; Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas; Haynesville Shale region in northwest Louisiana; Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; Niobrara Shale region in eastern Wyoming; Utica Shale region in eastern Ohio, and Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, Delaware and Permian Basins. The Company's gathering systems collect natural gas and NGLs from unconventional plays. The Company generates its revenues through long-term, fixed-fee gas gathering, treating and compression contracts and through processing contracts.

Barnett Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Barnett Shale region are located in Tarrant, Johnson and Dallas counties in Texas in the Core and Tier 1 areas of the Barnett Shale and consist of 25 interconnected gathering systems and 850 miles of pipeline. During the year! ended December 31, 2012, average throughput on the Company's Barnett Shale gathering system was 1.195 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points that are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Barnett Shale gathering system is connected to the three downstream transportation pipelines: Atmos Pipeline Texas, Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas and Enterprise Texas Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Atmos Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and south, east and west Texas markets at the Katy, Carthage and Waha hubs. Natural gas delivered into Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Centerpoint CP Expansion Pipeline and Gulf South 42-inch Expansion Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Texas Pipeline pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Gulf Crossing Pipeline.

Eagle Ford Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Eagle Ford Shale region are located in Dimmit, La Salle, Frio, Zavala, McMullen and Webb counties in Texas and consist of 10 gathering systems and 618 miles of pipeline. During 2012, gross throughput for these assets was 0.169 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Eagle Ford gathering systems are connected to six downstream transportation pipelines, which include Enterprise, Camino Real, West Texas Gas, Regency Gas Service, Eagle Ford Gathering and Enerfin. The Company processes gas at Yoakum or other Enterprise plants and transports residue to Wharton residue header w! ith conne! ctions to numerous interstate pipelines.

Haynesville Shale Region

The Company's Springridge gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in Caddo and DeSoto Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the core areas of the Haynesville Shale and consists of 263 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Springridge gathering system was 0.359 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Springridge gathering system is connected to three downstream transportation pipelines: Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission, ETC Tiger Pipeline and Texas Gas Transmission Pipeline. The Company's Mansfield gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in DeSoto and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the areas of the Haynesville Shale and, as of December 31, 2012, consist of 304 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Mansfield gathering system was 0.720 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered and treated. The Company's Mansfield gathering system is connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Enterprise Accadian Pipeline and Gulf South Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Accadian pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines. Natural gas delivered into Gulf South pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines.

Marcellus Shale Region

Through Appalachia Midstream, the Company operates 100% of and own an approximate average 47% interests in 10 gas gathering systems that consist of approximately 5! 49 miles ! of gathering pipeline in the Marcellus Shale region. The Company's volumes in the region are gathered from northern Pennsylvania, southwestern Pennsylvania and the northwestern panhandle of West Virginia, in core areas of the Marcellus Shale. The Company operates these smaller systems in northeast and central West Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania, northwest Maryland, north central Virginia, and south central New York. During 2012, gross throughput for Appalachia Midstream assets was just over 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Marcellus gathering systems' delivery points include Caiman Energy, Central New York Oil & Gas, Columbia Gas Transmission, MarkWest, NiSource Midstream, PVR and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Natural gas is delivered into a 16-inch pipeline and delivered to the Caiman Energy Fort Beeler processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. The natural gas is then delivered into the TETCo interstate pipeline for ultimate delivery to the Northeast region of the United States. Natural gas delivered into Central New York Oil & Gas 30-inch diameter pipeline can be delivered to Stagecoach Storage, Millennium Pipeline, or Tennessee Gas Pipeline's Line 300. In Columbia Gas Transmission lean natural gas is delivered into two 36-inch interstate pipelines for delivery to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States. Natural gas is delivered into a MarkWest pipeline for delivery to the MarkWest Houston processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. In NiSource Midstream natural gas is delivered into a 20-inch diameter pipeline and delivered to the MarkWest Majorsville processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the rich gas stream. In PVR natural gas is delivered into the 24-inch diameter Wyoming pipeline and the Hirkey Compressor Station. In Tennessee Gas Pipeline natural gas is delivered into this looped 30-inch diameter pipeline (TGP Line 300) at three different locations can be received in the Northeast at points along th! e 300 Lin! e path, interconnections with other pipelines in northern New Jersey, as well as an existing delivery point in White Plains, New York.

Niobrara Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Niobrara Shale region are located in Converse County, Wyoming and consist of two interconnected gathering systems and 79 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput in the Company's Niobrara Shale region was 0.013 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points,which are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Niobrara gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Tallgrass/Douglas Pipeline and North Finn/DCP Inlet Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Tallgrass/Douglas pipeline is sent to the Tallgrass processing facility; after processing, natural gas is delivered to Cheyenne Hub, Rockies Express Pipeline, or Trailblazer Pipeline through Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission.

Utica Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Utica Shale region are located in northeast Ohio and consist of 67 miles of pipeline. The Company's Utica gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Dominion East Ohio (Blue Racer) and Dominion Transmission, Inc.

Mid-Continent Region

The Company's Mid-Continent gathering systems extend across portions of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. Included in the Company's Mid-Continent region are three treating facilities located in Beckham and Grady Counties, Oklahoma, and Reeves County, Texas, which are designed to remove contaminants from the natural gas stream.

Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma

The Company's assets within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma are located in northwestern Oklahoma and the northeastern portion of the Texas Panhandle and consist of appro! ximately ! 1,578 miles of pipeline. During 2012, the Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma region gathering systems had an average throughput of 0.457 billion cubic feet per day. Within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma, the Company is focused on servicing Chesapeake's production from the Colony Granite Wash, Texas Panhandle Granite Wash and Mississippi Lime plays. Natural gas production from these areas of the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma contains NGLs. In addition, the Company operates an amine treater with sulfur removal capabilities at its Mayfield facility in Beckham County, Oklahoma. The Company's Mayfield gathering and treating system gathers Deep Springer natural gas production and treats the natural gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to meet the specifications of downstream transportation pipelines.

The Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma systems are connected to a transportation pipelines transporting natural gas out of the region, including pipelines owned by Enbridge and Atlas Pipelines, as well as local market pipelines such as those owned by Enogex. These pipelines provide access to Midwest and northeastern the United States markets, as well as intrastate markets.

Permian Basin

The Company's Permian Basin assets are located in west Texas and consist of approximately 358 miles of pipeline across the Permian and Delaware basins. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's gathering systems was 0.076 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Permian Basin gathering systems are connected to pipelines in the area owned by Southern Union, Enterprise, West Texas Gas, CDP Midstream and Regency. Natural gas delivered into these transportation pipelines is re-delivered into the Waha hub and El Paso Gas Transmission. The Waha hub serves the Texas intrastate electric power plants and heating market, as well as the Houston Ship Channel chemical and refining markets. El Paso Gas Transmission serves western the United ! States ma! rkets.

Other Mid-Continent Regions

The Company's other Mid-Continent region assets consist of systems in the Ardmore Basin in Oklahoma, the Arkoma Basin in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas and the East Texas and Gulf Coast regions of Texas. The other Mid-Continent assets include approximately 648 miles of pipeline. These gathering systems are localized systems gathering specific production for re-delivery into established pipeline markets. During 2012, average throughput on these gathering systems was 0.031 billion cubic feet per day.

The Company competes with Energy Transfer Partners, Crosstex Energy, Crestwood Midstream Partners, Freedom Pipeline, Peregrine Pipeline, XTO Energy, EOG Resources, DFW Mid-Stream, Enbridge Energy Partners, DCP Midstream, Enterprise Products Partners Inc., Regency Energy Partners, Texstar Midstream Operating, West Texas Gas Inc., TGGT Holdings, Kinderhawk Field Services, CenterPoint Field Services, Williams Partners, Penn Virginia Resource Partners, Caiman Energy, MarkWest Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan, Dominion Transmission (Blue Racer), Enogex and Atlas Pipeline Partners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  While you can debate whether beaten-down natural gas producer Chesapeake (CHK) is a buy or just junk, its former MLP subsidiary Access Midstream Partners (ACMP) is very much in the ��uy, buy, buy!��camp.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS�� pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company�� gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment accounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers��portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering inspections, project management and professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S.A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  TGS (TGS) slumped 7.4 percent to 176.90 kroner as Norway�� largest surveyor of underwater oil-and-gas fields lowered its forecast for full-year revenue to $920 million to $1 billion because of lower-than-expected demand from industry. It had projected sales of $970 million to $1.05 billion.

• [By Dividend]

  Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. (TGS) has a market capitalization of $308.26 million. The company employs 829 people, generates revenue of $466.44 million and has a net income of $43.33 million. Transportadora de Gas Del Sur�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $170.33 million. The EBITDA margin is 36.52 percent (the operating margin is 27.41 percent and the net profit margin 9.29 percent).

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) lost 1.8 percent as Standard & Poor�� said it may downgrade the phone company�� debt to non-investment grade. TGS Nopec Geophysical Co. (TGS) tumbled the most in two years after reducing its revenue forecast. Celesio AG jumped to a three-year high on a report that McKesson Corp. may buy the German drug distributor.