Europe's leading oil and gas players have beaten down the door to get at Chesapeake Energy's (NYSE: CHK) "Big Four." I'm talking, of course, about Chesapeake's major U.S. shale plays. BP jumped into the Fayetteville, and then Statoil (NYSE: STO) stampeded into the Marcellus. Now, Total SA (NYSE: TOT) is taking a shot at the Barnett, where the whole shale story began.

I was wondering when Total would get on board. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) has made its move on the Montney in Canada, while Eni (NYSE: E) and BG Group (BRGYY.PK) have taken stakes in U.S. plays. In fact, when BG sidled up to EXCO Resources (NYSE: XCO) in East Texas six months ago, I pointed to Total as the next likely entrant into the amazing shale race. We learned Monday that Total began talking to Chesapeake about teaming up in the Barnett at around that time.

Stocks discussed on the in-depth session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Monday January 4.

The Most Speculative Natural Gas Play: Westport Innovations (WPRT)

The complete list of oil sector related ADRs traded on the organized exchanges in the US are listed below. These stocks include oil and gas producers, distributors, equipment makers and servicing companies.

Source: BNY Mellon Depository Receipts

Is "extortion" too strong a word for what’s being done to us?

Extortion is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, intimidation, trickery, or some other form of pressure or force. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way. Coercion may involve the actual infliction of physical pain/injury or psychological harm in order to enhance the credibility of a threat. The threat of further harm may lead to the cooperation or obedience of the person being coerced.

Each year the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development [UNCTAD] publishes the World Investment Report. The 2009 report is a formidable document with over 300 pages and was published in July.

Growth in the developed markets is projected to be lackluster next year. But emerging markets are expected to continue to have higher growth like they have been experiencing in the past few years. Emerging market countries like China, Brazil, India, Russia, Chile, Malaysia, Colombia, etc. were largely unaffected by the credit crisis and the recession that impacted the developed world in 2008 and most of this year.One way for investors to cash in on the strong growth in emerging markets is to select companies in those markets.

Today I will revisit my views on the long term fundamentals of the Energy sector. Today Paul Samuelson passed away at the age of 94. When a colossus who has influenced my life in some small way dies, I pay respect. Paul Samuelson’s text books have given me a passionate interest in economics; for that I thank him; may his soul rest in peace. We are governed by the laws of economics and understanding those laws has come to my aid time and time again. My understanding of those laws is by no small measure thanks to the passing colossus.

Let me start by saying that in my view, the energy sector is led by demand factors. Demand is the desire to possess the commodity backed by the willingness and ability to pay for it. Demand for oil is expected to close 2009 at 85.8 million barrels per day; this is a trough demand level. Since 1990, demand for oil has grown at an annualized rate of near 1.5%. Assuming energy intensity (the amount of energy required to produce $1 of GDP) of 30% and a long term real global GDP growth rate of 4.2%, I estimate annual demand growth of 1.25%; however to err on the side of caution, I will reduce the long term growth rate to 1% and use a growth rate of 0.75% for the five years ended 2014. With rising prices, energy alternatives and energy efficiency can be expected to reduce energy intensity. Using these demand growth parameters, demand for oil in 2014 can be expected to reach 89 million bpd by 2014 and 93.6 bpd by 2019.

Analyzing second quarter results released today, we reaffirm estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of $64 a share for buy-recommended Gazprom (OGZPY.PK). On that basis, unlevered appreciation potential is 120% to a McDep Ratio of 1.0 where stock price would equal NPV. Unlevered cash flow (Ebitda) fell short of expectations as natural gas volume dropped 28% from the first quarter and price dropped 6%.

About 80% of natural gas sold comes from Gazprom’s own wells which were curtailed further after the second quarter and rebounded sharply through last month (see chart Gazprom Monthly Gas Production Recovery, below). The Russian company’s production outside North America generally exceeds the combined output of the next six largest producers in our research coverage (see chart Rest of World Natural Gas Producers, below).

Analyzing third quarter results released November 4, we reaffirm estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of $90 a share for buy-recommended Total S.A. (TOT). On that basis, unlevered appreciation potential is 35% to a McDep Ratio of 1.0 where stock price would equal NPV. Unlevered cash flow (Ebitda) matched expectations to the exact euro amount, coincidentally.

After the second quarter low point, the latest quarter looks like the start of a rising trend. Five major projects completed in 2009 add some 10% to 2010 oil and gas production. Base production declines at perhaps 5% a year, management estimates. About 40% of the new volume is oil, mostly offshore Africa, and 60% is liquefied natural gas in Qatar and Yemen.

The Fed model compares the forward earnings yield of the stock market with 10-year government bond yields. The model assumes that investors view stocks and bonds as competing assets and will purchase whichever asset has a higher yield, according to an article in Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance May 2009 issue.

Income investors will always be in a dilemma over whether to purchase fixed income securities such as bonds, or to buy stocks with competitive yields. Companies that pay generous dividends tend to perform well in an era of mild inflation.

By Allen Good

ConocoPhillips' (COP) recent decision to reduce its asset base and capital spending in the coming years brings to the forefront the challenges facing the supermajor oil and gas companies. Despite dominating hydrocarbon development throughout the world during the last century, these six firms are now facing unprecedented difficulty in their pursuit of reserves. Jim Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips, cited the inability to gain access to resources as a primary reason for the company's strategic shift.

The SPDR DJ Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) and SPDR DJ Stoxx 50 ETF (FEU) offer exposure to some of the largest companies in Europe. FEZ is the largest of the two funds with an asset base of $166M.

1. The SPDR DJ Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ)
FEZ tracks the performance of the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index. This index represents 50 blue-chip companies in the Eurozone which excludes the UK. As of October, the fund is up 19.10% YTD. Financials comprise about 31% of the portfolio. Some of the top 10 holdings include Eni (E), BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK), Total (TOT) and BBVA (BBV).

The ‘gold bugs’ assert that at all times and in all circumstances gold remains money. For some irrational reason the ‘paper bugs’ cling to their increasingly worthless colored coupons asserting their importance as currency.

The Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings for 2009 was released by Platts this week. This is the eighth year that Platts has published the rankings.

The factors used to select these top energy performers are:

On Thursday November 12, 2009 Suburban Propane (SPH) will announce its quarterly and year end results. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. originally known as The Suburban Gas Company, was formed in the suburbs of Newark, New Jersey, in 1928. The company’s first major expansion took place in 1945, when it acquired the eastern properties of Phillips Petroleum and formed the Suburban Propane and Gas Corporation. The company has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1996, and operates as a Master Limited Partnership.

Stocks of the European Oil group, made up of five buy-recommendations, Total (TOT), StatoilHydro (STO), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), BP plc (BP) and BG Group (BRGXF.PK), have low McDep Ratios that fall within the tightest range (0.75-0.87) of the six industry groups in our coverage. McDep Ratios for the European stocks have reversed a three-year slump (see chart below). In the context that lower McDep Ratio stocks should return more than higher McDep stocks, BP has underperformed modestly over three years.

Otherwise, occasional extremes appear to get reduced in a pattern of reversion to the mean. Among the three majors, BP and TOT have the traditional oil concentration near 60%, while RD has a traditionally greater concentration on downstream and natural gas. STO has the highest concentration on natural gas production. BG profits from a dominant natural gas trading position and is the largest partner of Petrobras (PZE) in deep offshore Brazil oil discoveries. Fundamental trends for the five stocks are favorable with futures prices for oil and natural gas for the next six years trading above 40-week averages. The five stocks are also bargains at median cash flow multiple (EV/Ebitda) of 5.9 and pay high dividends at the median rate of 5.3% a year.

The complete list of French ADRs traded in the U.S. is listed below: