A Tale of Two Oils

By Robert Rapier • January 9, 2013 • Issue Articles

Chief Investment Officer Robert Rapier’s long-term outlook for crude oil is bullish, but that doesn’t mean oil will move up in a straight line — or that every type of oil will move in lockstep. In this issue, Robert discusses the key Brent-WTI Differential, where it’s headed in 2013, and what stocks are likely to benefit.

We also provide an updated look at why Chevron remains our favorite US-based oil giant.

In This Issue

The Stories

1. All oil is not created equal. Discover the difference and why some stocks could win, while others lose, as a result. Read “A Distinction With a Difference.”

2. We explain why Chevron remains more attractive than its peers in “Chevron’s Advantages.”

Stock Talk

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Peter

01/10/13 ‐ 11:51am ET January 10, 2013 at 11:51am ET

Hi,

I’d like to ask whether you are familiar with CSE and their problems with the Cardial power plant? What would happen if the the current customer decides not to extend the power purchase agreement? Would that mean that CSE would have to shut down the plant or could they sell to somebody else?

Thanks in advance and best regards

Peter

alamosgroup@yahoo.com

01/12/13 ‐ 8:47pm ET January 12, 2013 at 8:47pm ET

Cannot access

Robert Rapier

01/14/13 ‐ 9:16pm ET January 14, 2013 at 9:16pm ET

Hi Peter,

I am not that familiar with CSE, but Roger Conrad covered this in the most recent Canadian Edge. Here were his comments that directly address your query:

“They are still in negotiations with the Ontario Power Authority, which have dragged on for some time. If they were unable to renew the contract for Cardinal, they would have to find another customer, shut it or sell. I think all three would require a substantial write off, if they were even possible. I think most likely they are going to have to accept a much lower price than they’re getting.”

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About The Author

Robert Rapier

Bio | Archive

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.