sefa ozel/iStock via Getty Images The last article on Athabasca Oil ( ATHOF ) noted that prices seemed to be peaking (and they were). Heavy oil producers tend to have issues when prices are declining, which makes this one a bit on the speculative side when that happens. Furthermore, this management tends to buy back stock rather than get rid of the debt. Since there are lower-cost producers out th...
sefa ozel/iStock via Getty Images The last article on Athabasca Oil ( ATHOF ) noted that prices seemed to be peaking (and they were). Heavy oil producers tend to have issues when prices are declining, which makes this one a bit on the speculative side when that happens. Furthermore, this management tends to buy back stock rather than get rid of the debt. Since there are lower-cost producers out there in this part of the industry, not repaying the debt makes for a very aggressive financial strategy. The combination makes this issue suitable for well-trained advanced investors that know how to handle something like this. However, the industry landscape transformed virtually overnight due to the Iranian situation. This industry is known for fast changes due to the close interaction with politics. However, for the reasons noted before, despite the now favorable commodity pricing that appears to be around for some time, this issue is really not for the average investor. I follow several other companies that have a far safer overall strategy for the average investor who often buys and holds (and sometimes forgets about it for a while). This issue, due to its higher costs and its debt strategy, requires a fair amount of monitoring that many individual investors cannot do. Understand that at least for the companies I follow, those with the lowest debt ratios tend to perform the best over the long term. When it comes to the heavy oil and thermal oil producers, the leader is Headwater Exploration ( CDDRF ) with more than a 2000% gain since management took over. That gain has been produced with no debt. I follow other heavy oil producers that do at least as well as here in the long term. My own experience is that debt and financial leverage rarely work well together in this industry due to the very fast changes that often happen without notice. This time around there has been a very favorable change that changed a slight surplus into a yawning deficit since the last article. I...
Indian Prime Minister Modi appealed to citizens to cut fuel use and said measures from the Covid pandemic such as working from home and online meetings should be used. (Source: Bloomberg)
Indian Prime Minister Modi appealed to citizens to cut fuel use and said measures from the Covid pandemic such as working from home and online meetings should be used. (Source: Bloomberg)
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Photo by Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) / Amirhossein Khorgooei | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's counterproposal to end the 10-week war in the Midd...
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency and taken on May 2, 2026, the Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Photo by Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images) / Amirhossein Khorgooei | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's counterproposal to end the 10-week war in the Middle East, calling it "totally unacceptable," while Tehran vowed to "never bow," prolonging a standoff that has choked the Strait of Hormuz and roiled global energy markets. "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called "Representatives." I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" the president said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. Iranian state media framed Tehran's response as a rejection of the U.S. proposal , which it characterized as a demand for "surrender." In its response to the latest U.S. proposal, Tehran has insisted on war reparations, full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone as negotiations proceeded Sunday. "We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat," he said on X in Persian, translated via Grok. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes," said the war was not over because there was "more work to be done." Iran had neither surrendered its enriched uranium nor dismantled enrichment sites, and continues to support regional proxies and advance its ballistic missile program, he said. Nuclear and Hormuz impasse The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran rejected U.S. demand s regarding its nuclear program and stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Instead, Tehran proposed separate negotiations and offered to dilute some of its highly enriched uranium and transfer the rest to a third country, with a provision t...
Shell (NYSE: SHEL) CEO Wael Sawan is one of many energy industry executives sounding the alarm on the oil supply/demand imbalance that has been building since the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East erupted. Right now, Sawan says the world is short 1 billion barrels of oil, a number Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) CEO Jeffrey Miller backs. The CEOs of Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) bo...
Shell (NYSE: SHEL) CEO Wael Sawan is one of many energy industry executives sounding the alarm on the oil supply/demand imbalance that has been building since the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East erupted. Right now, Sawan says the world is short 1 billion barrels of oil, a number Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) CEO Jeffrey Miller backs. The CEOs of Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) both agree that it will take months to solve the growing imbalance once the conflict ends. Until then, the supply shortfall will only get worse. Should you buy Shell or one of its rivals? The answer depends on your investment horizon. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading