Sinopec: A Bullish Signal For Long-Term Investors

By Morningstar: By Robert Bellinski

Sinopec Group wants to sell half of its two biggest shale gas acreages in Canada to spread costs and accelerate their development, as the Chinese energy company focuses increasingly on return of investment, an executive said. A sale of an overseas asset would be a rare move for one of China’s state-owned energy companies, which have spent hundreds of billions of dollars investing in hydrocarbon resources from North America to Australia to secure China’s energy needs.

By Ron Sommer: The decline in the price of oil and gas at the well has not been good for the exploration companies nor have consumers seen any benefit. However, the refiners are reaping the benefits of lower raw material costs. Two refiners that stand out are Delek US Holdings (DK) and Western Refining (WNR).

By Income Hunter:One of what is consider super majors in the oil and gas industry, ConocoPhillips (COP) has interests in the exploration and production, refining, marketing and distribution of petroleum products.

By Bret Jensen:With oil continuing to be priced in the high nineties for WTI (West Texas Intermediate crude) and even higher for Brent, major integrated oil firms seem to have good prospects at these valuations. One of my favorites that has major upside is Hess (HES).

China may have overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest oil importer, but America is now the land of opportunity for traders looking to profit off energy markets, thanks to changes brought by the shale gas revolution. After a generation in which traders salivated over emerging markets, executives at the Reuters Global Commodities Summit this week spoke about the good old fashioned U.S.A. – soon to overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer – the way they once used to gush about BRICS.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) , Asia’s largest oil refiner, will buy half of Chesapeake Energy Corp’s Mississippi Lime oil and gas properties for $1.02 billion, becoming the latest Chinese company to pick up shale assets in North America. Chesapeake shares were up 2% at $20.90 in premarket trading on Monday. The stock has risen about 23% this year. Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped over the last three years due to the advent of drilling methods such as hydraulic fracturing.

Ray Merola submits:Despite some ugly market action, I continue to troll around for values. An interesting stock is Hess Corporation (HES) currently trading under $69 a share. Hess Corporation: One Year Chart and Volume