Oil: What You Need to Know

As the price of oil trades around $70 a barrel, how much do you really know about investing in the oil business?

The following are key insights from TheStreet.com.

As a starting point, here are the oil industry's ten biggest earners (based on net income for the second quarter of 2008):

1. Exxon Mobil (XOM): $11.68 Billion
2. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A, RDS-B): $11.56 Billion
3. BP (BP): $9.47 Billion
4. Total (TOT): $7.46 Billion
5. Chevron (CVX): $5.98 Billion
6. Petrobras (PBR): $5.52 Billion
7. ConocoPhillips (COP): $5.44 Billion
8. Eni (E): $5.41 Billion
9. PetroChina (PTR): $4.12 Billion
10. StatoilHydro (STO): $3.68 Billion

(These companies will soon announce their third quarter earnings.)

From The No. 1 Oil Stock to Own (Video, Oct. 17)

Research Director Stephanie Link weighs in on the oil debate. Which is more important for investors: a stock's yield or the price of oil?

Link: "We think yield is very important... If you look at the last correction [in the price of oil]... the [oil] stocks that did not have a yield really got hit much harder than those that did have a yield... We actually started to building a position in Chevron (CVX Quote)... it's about a 4% yield, about $4 billion in cash and it's trading at the cheapest level on a normalized earnings basis than it has in quite some time."

To watch the video, click the player below:

Related video on TheStreet.com TV: Cramer: Gas Stocks and Yields (Oct. 14).

Plus, don't miss Dividend Stock-Picking: DuPont, Chevron.

From Cramer: Make Money as Oil Slips (Video, Oct. 1):

Jim Cramer: "I look at price-to-earnings multiples and you're [now] getting four or five times earnings for oils [oil companies]. That's traditionally been something that I'm only leery of if the balance sheets are bad, and these balance sheets are fabulous... There is a core value to energy... When I look at companies that I'm less concerned about their earnings -- which is oil and gas -- and I look at the cash flow of these companies and I look at the potential for dividends, I think that they've come down enough that you'd be foolish not to look at them."

Watch the video on TheStreet.com TV.

From Deepwater Drillers Offer Deep Value:

Transocean (RIG Quote) has the largest fleet of offshore drilling rigs, and the volatility in oil prices has not hurt the company's overall business. The total contracted backlog stands at $40 billion, and given the high demand for these rigs, these contracts are secure. Transocean produces eye-popping net margins approaching 45% and a return on equity (ROE) of nearly 40%, while changing hands at a P/E of 7.83 and a forward P/E of 7.46 (at publication time).

Diamond Offshore operates a fleet of 44 rigs all over the world, and the numbers are equally as impressive -- 35% profit margins, 37% ROE, and a forward P/E of about 9.12.

Read the full version of Deepwater Drillers Offer Deep Value.

From Four Drilling Stocks for Value Investors:

Across the board, both international and domestic oil companies are raising their oil-services budgets to meet expected worldwide demand growth. Budgets for exploration and development are expected to grow by 20% in 2008 and 10% in 2009, according to industry analysts. This bodes well for the companies in the oil service industries.

Many of the stocks are cheap. I wrote about Bronco Drilling (BRNC Quote)... It remains one of my favorite stocks in the group.

Read the full version of Four Drilling Stocks for Value Investors.

From One Horse You Shouldn't Change Midstream:

I [Jonathan Moreland] own several midstream energy master-limited partnerships (MLPs), which have gone from being seemingly safe income plays to being as hard hit as other more obviously risky plays due to the present market meltdown. But that doesn't mean that the companies themselves have become any riskier. What it does mean is that you may have to pay closer attention to their balance sheets than you might have previously. Having done that, I have one that I think presents an opportunity here.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD Quote) is one of the larger players in the space that will survive this downturn, but even its quality shares have fallen... EPD now [early October] yields just over 8%, which is historically high for this security.

While the indicated yield could yet move higher before this financial catastrophe is over, any further decline in EPD should not be the result of fears of being rejected in the capital markets. Enterprise can wait until October 2009 to hit up the market for more funding. That's when a $500 million note comes due.

Read the full version of One Horse You Shouldn't Change Midstream.