The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Profitable Oil Stocks in 2024

Nobody gets it right all the time. 

But many of my calls were right on the mark, such as, the resilient demand we’ve seen throughout the first three quarters of 2023. Or, that oil was dirt cheap after selling off last March. And the veritable smorgasbord of oil profits that were still ahead when summer came rolling around. 

But in the holiday spirit, I’m also humble enough to know that not all my predictions came true this year for the oil markets. 

And you know what?

Sometimes that’s a good thing…

The Good

One of the most pleasant surprises came from the U.S. oil fields. 

Earlier this year, it was very hard to make a case to the upside for U.S. oil output.

Not only were there fewer and fewer rigs being deployed into the field, which in-and-of-itself is a major red flag that future production would be limited, but there were other signs of trouble, such as the rapidly falling number of drilled-but-uncompleted wells. 

Yet through it all, U.S. drillers are now extracting more crude oil out of the ground than ever before. If the EIA’s numbers hold true — and that may turn out to be a very big IF, mind you — then current production stands at a little over 13.2 million barrels per day. 

But hey, that’s a good thing. 

The problem now becomes: How high can it go?

We’ll save that one for later. 

The Bad

Then there was China. 

All year, the headlines were littered with doomsday calls over China’s economy. 

But we knew better, especially after three years of lockdowns finally over. 

For most of this year, China’s oil demand surpassed expectations just as we had expected, and remained throughout the year. During the first eleven months of 2023, China’s imports grew 12.1%, but finally started to show cracks over the last few months. 

Remember, China was supposed to be the penultimate driving force for global oil demand. If it falters, then oil prices fall sharply. 

Unfortunately, that demand picture has finally become clouded, with demand growth expected to slow in 2024. 

However, the silver lining in 2023 is that no matter how you played oil this year, you would’ve come out ahead. 

And things are about to get even better.

The Downright Profitable Oil Stocks in 2024

No matter how uncertain you were about oil stocks in 2023, the one truth that became glaringly clear to us all is that this was the year of the mega-merger. 

For all of its advantages, Big Oil has always had one downside: Growth.

You see, one peculiar little tidbit that most investors don’t realize is that massive oil companies like Exxon Mobil don’t achieve their growth through the drill-bit. They play by a different set of rules, and are far less occupied with staking out new claims in up-and-coming areas. 

Why should they? 

When you have a war chest like Exxon, you don’t have to fret over little things like that. 

Besides, if you can’t beat ‘em, just buy ‘em…

And that’s precisely what happened in 2023. 

Exxon announced its buyout of Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion back in mid-October. 

A few weeks later, Chevron made its own move to grab Hess for about $53 billion. 

That’s more than $100 billion on oil and gas mergers in the Permian Basin in just the last few months. And those deals have lit the fuse for more M&A in the oil and gas industry. 

You can bet they’re not done yet.

Last week, Occidental said it was dishing out $11 billion to pick up CrownRock in West Texas. 

Don’t be surprised to see more and more of these deals in 2024, and reshape the U.S. oil patch as we know it. 

The only question that should be on your mind now is, “Who’s next?”

Well, I know who I’m buying.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl

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A true insider in the technology and energy markets, Keith’s research has helped everyday investors capitalize from the rapid adoption of new technology trends and energy transitions. Keith connects with hundreds of thousands of readers as the Managing Editor of Energy & Capital, as well as the investment director of Angel Publishing’s Energy Investor and Technology and Opportunity.

For nearly two decades, Keith has been providing in-depth coverage of the hottest investment trends before they go mainstream — from the shale oil and gas boom in the United States to the red-hot EV revolution currently underway. Keith and his readers have banked hundreds of winning trades on the 5G rollout and on key advancements in robotics and AI technology.

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