Chevron's latest acquisition is another demonstration of the discipline that has made CVX the best-performing supermajor this century. Read More
It's hard to imagine anyone better suited to covering the energy-investment waterfront than Robert Rapier.
Robert is no armchair analyst—he has two decades of in-the-trenches experience in a wide range of fossil fuel and biofuel technologies, including refining, natural gas production, gas-to-liquids, ethanol production and butanol production.
During a six-year stretch at ConocoPhillips, Robert ran a team of engineers in Scotland working on oil and gas projects in the North Sea.
For two years, Robert was an efficiency expert in a Texas petrochemical plant. The process changes he implemented saved the facility $9 million a year. He later worked as the Engineering Director for a Dutch environmental-technology company and provided engineering support for a Chinese facility the company was constructing.
Robert was also a butanol engineer in Germany for the Celanese Corporation, where he designed a novel butanol unit that cut production costs by $5 million per year.
In all, Robert has spent more than a dozen years working on liquid fuels technologies. Along the way he's picked up five patents, including one for a breakthrough way to convert ethane into ethylene (U.S. Patent 7,074,977).
Now, in addition to guiding readers to timely investments in Utility Forecaster and Rapier's Income Accelerator, Robert travels the world evaluating startup energy companies for deep-pocketed investors. After grilling management and assessing the technology on-site, he makes a go/no-go investment decision. His wealthy private investors and hedge fund backers trust him to make the right choice for the same reason we do: his vast real-world experience in just about every facet of the energy industry. If Robert votes thumbs-up, millions of dollars flow into these cutting-edge outfits.
Robert earned his master of science in chemical engineering and a bachelor of science in chemistry and mathematics (double major) at Texas A&M University. He tells us he was "this close" to finishing his Ph.D. before he decided he was having a lot more fun making money in energy stocks.
A prolific writer, Robert's articles have appeared in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor -- and he has been a featured expert on 60 Minutes and The History Channel. His new book, Power Plays: Energy Options in the Age of Peak Oil (Apress, 2012), helps investors sort through doom and gloom, hype and misinformation to understand the true costs, benefits and trade-offs for each of our major energy options.
In what little spare time he has left, Robert consults for a number of energy projects, including biodiesel, ethanol, butanol and biomass gasification facilities.
Analyst Articles
You have questions, we have answers. Here’s a look at reader email on a variety of compelling investment topics. Read More
This little-known technique for generating investment income may be the solution many retirees are seeking. Read More
I’m seeing parallels between the crash of 1987 and current conditions in 2023. Here are specific ways to protect your portfolio. Read More
If you're considering a real estate investment, you may want to consider using a HELOC or a traditional home equity loan. Read More
Here’s a roundup of the latest legalization efforts at the state level in the U.S., regarding marijuana and psychedelics. Read More
Due to the debt ceiling fight, the ratings agency Fitch just threatened to downgrade America’s credit rating. The markets are spooked. Read More
Those who are bearish on crude oil may be facing a rude awakening. At least if they pay attention to recent announcement by the Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, made during the Qatar Economic Summit in Doha on 5/23/23, as he told oil market speculators to “watch… Read More
Crude oil bears may face a rude awakening, at least according to a recent announcement by OPEC leader Saudi Arabia. Read More
Until Biden and GOP leaders forge an agreement, the stock market will remain volatile. The stakes in this brinkmanship are explosive Read More