Last week, I was invited to speak at a “green investment” luncheon in Virginia.
There were about 40 people in the small hotel banquet room, all feasting on a vegetarian lunch that, to be honest, was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time…
Spicy curry tofu, Thai cucumber salad, sesame broccoli, vegan dumplings and tossed salad with lime ginger dressing. Absolutely delicious.
But don’t let the menu fool you; these folks were by no means a bunch of unemployed, patchouli-scented tree-huggers…
These were very wealthy individuals who simply see sustainability as a way of life — and alternative energy as just one more way to grow their wealth.
And who can blame them?
We’ve been doing it for years — and we will continue to do it, thanks to little more than the basic fundamentals of supply and demand.
Bottom line: You simply will not find anything with the same kind of growth potential as alternative energy. And long term, alternative energy will prove to be one of the greatest investment opportunities of the 21st century.
That being said, the basic fundamentals of supply and demand also dictate that rapidly depleting resources serve to benefit investors that seek to capitalize on limited supplies of things like oil and coal.
While you will find no greater supporter of clean energy in these pages, I am still no stranger to buying oil on dips or seeking new ways to capitalize on fresh oil finds.
And I’m not alone…
During the luncheon last week, we discussed new developments in solar and offshore wind technology. We talked about electric cars, high-performance batteries, and high speed rail.
But we also talked about oil. More specifically, we discussed how the rapid depletion of “easy” oil will not only help facilitate a quicker transition to transportation systems that don’t rely on the stuff; but it will also provide us with an opportunity to profit, as limited oil supplies will only increase its value.
And no matter what the talking heads in Washington tell you, limited supplies are all we have from here on out.
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Which is why I was so quick to discuss…
New Developments in International Oil Exploration
I’m not a believer in this whole “drill, baby, drill” mentality.
It’s stupid, dishonest, and irresponsible. It’s a dumbed-down sound bite that trivializes the complexities of our energy crisis.
Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying we shouldn’t produce our domestic resources. Because we should. And we should do so now, not ten years from now…
But we should do so in a responsible manner, one by which we don’t sacrifice our water and health in order to save a few bucks.
What we can’t do is look at it as a solution. The truth is it can never be more than a stopgap. And that’s a reality no politician wants to admit, which is why they tend to be so quick to sell these illusions to the public.
In any event, our oil discussion focused most of our attention overseas — specifically on opportunities in Africa, which was perfect for me as I had just been schooled by Chris DeHaemer on the developing oil story in Kenya…
As you probably know, Chris recently returned from a trip to Nairobi, where he spent his time with geologists and oil company managers getting the goods on some new oil plays in East Africa.
And when it comes to these kinds of far-away, under-the-radar oil plays, no one does it better than Chris.
One of his most recent international oil plays is already up more than 813%.
And his latest Mongolian oil play is now proving to be one of his biggest blockbusters yet. The company currently has its hands on 34 percent of all the oil in Mongolia — and that’s just proven reserves, not including the potential 4 billion it’s sitting on right now…
This little gem could be sitting on almost a quarter of a trillion dollars’ worth of crude.
I may be a huge believer in alternative energy. And I’ll certainly continue to profit from it for decades to come…
But I’m sure as hell not walking away from a promising oil play.
To a new way of life, and a new generation of wealth…
Jeff Siegel
Editor, Energy and Capital
