Does Big Oil Deserve More Respect?

At a time when Elon Musk and Tesla (TSLA) is all the rage on Wall Street, very little respect is being given to 'Big Oil', the major integrated oil companies. If ever there was an industry which is completely and unfairly deemed a public enemy, the oil industry is it. Oil is a vital resource and involves national security at the highest levels. Without oil, cars, planes, trucks, trains, and every major transportation avenue cannot operate. 99.9% or more of all the potential methods of transportation involve the use of oil. In order to be employed in the oil industry, typically you need to be highly educated, trained by experts, and completely reliable. Oil is a substance which is dangerous to work with, and the people who work with it are constantly exposed to danger. If you pay attention to the energy industry, all over the world, there have been accidents involving oil - Shell in the Arctic, BP in the Gulf of Mexico a few years ago, yesterday a railroad in Quebec, Exxon with a pipeline in Arkansas, Chevron in Australia. The reality of working with oil is it is not easy, not to find, not to drill, not to move, not to store, not to refine, and realistically, not to replace.

The world recognizes the importance of oil, especially those countries whose whole governments depend on oil revenue to fund their entire budgets. All of the OPEC countries, Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Qatar, the United Arab Erimates are all pretty much dependent on oil sales. A major reason the future now looks bright in the U.S. is because of increased energy production due to fracking, shale oil, and increased oil and energy production. States like North Dakota and Texas are leading the way, and there are other states which have the resources available, but the politics in the state won't let exploration to begin. President Obama dare not get in the way, because if he does, the engine which is leading the American economy back will get stalled.

Yet, no matter what you read and by whom you read it from, oil companies get criticized. If there is an accident, it will is their fault. The big oil companies are huge targets for lawyers because they have lots of money and can pay. Customers complain about the high gas prices- gas is a derivative of oil and oil needs to be refined to create the gas. Politicians criticize the oil companies for their record profits. A problem with that is most of big oil are public companies, and the shareholders take risks for those profits they earn. No politician will say a word when an oil company goes bankrupt, or the stock price suffers because of bad news. Without the oil companies and their valuable workers, the world would stop. In many ways, oil workers all over the world are unsung heroes. One other thing to keep in mind- at some point in the next five years, 'Big Oil' will be seen in a different light, not by the public, or the politicians, but by Wall Street and the investment world.

Earnings season is upon the market and the parade begins this week. Next week, it will swing into full force. The market is pricing in a great deal of earnings growth with many companies, and if the revenues and profits disappoint, you could see lots of pain for those who fall short.

Here is some more information on the accident in Canada.

President Obama plays more politics by moving the target on Obamacare. Not a surprise as the private sector has been screaming bloody murder for months.

Here is an interesting new approach to funding college loans for education.

A nice interview about succeeding in business with Ken Lombard.

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