Best Oil Companies To Own For 2014

What has two thumbs and is killing your 401(k)? If you said Ben Bernanke, you're our next winner!!!

Well, the Fed chairman may not deserve all the blame for the market's recent drop, but that's certainly what Wall Street seems to believe.�For the second day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) fell more than 100 points, again on concerns about central bank tightening, ending down 127 points, or 0.8%, slightly below 15,000 at 14,995. The blue chips actually opened up more than 100 points, but those gains quickly disappeared.

Yesterday, a lack of monetary policy action by the Bank of Japan sent stocks into a tailspin while today, on a day with no major economic reports out, the Dow sunk on general fears about the Fed cutting its stimulus. The next major Fed announcement will come next Wednesday, when it provides its latest decision and thoughts on the benchmark interest rate, which it's held at 0.25% for nearly five years.

Today's news wasn't all bad, though, as a report showed that last year the U.S. had the world's biggest increase in oil output and its biggest increase ever adding more than 1 million barrels a day in production to 8.9 million a day, or a 14% jump. The additional output has helped keep oil prices down, ensures a steady supply for American consumers, and aids U.S. foreign policy interests.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Stocks To Watch For 2015: NK Lukoil OAO (LUKOY)

LUKOIL is a Russia-based integrated oil and gas company. The Company is engaged in the business of oil exploration, production, refining, marketing and distribution. The Company's exploration and production activity is located in Russia, and its main resource base is in Western Siberia. It owns modern refineries, gas processing and petrochemical plants located in Russia, Eastern and Western Europe. The Company�� petroleum products are sold in Russia, Eastern and Western Europe and United States. The Company operates in four business segments: exploration and production, refining, marketing and distribution, and chemicals and other business.

In January 2009, the Company acquired a 100% interest in Energoaktiv ZAO. In March 2009, the Company established a subsidiary, LUKOIL Overseas Holding GmbH. In Addition, in March 2009, LUKoil OAO increased its stake in TGK-8 OAO up to 60.21% from 31.38% previously held. In December 2009, the Company sold its 99.99% stake in Agentstvo LUKOM-A OOO. In February 2010, the Company established a research center, LUKOIL-Engineering OOO, which would be responsible for the research and engineering complex of the exploration and production business segment. The main production region of the Company is Western Siberia. LUKOIL is carrying out international exploration and production projects in Kazakhstan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Venezuela, Cote d��voire, Ghana and Iraq.

LUKOIL owns oil refining capacity both in Russia and abroad. In Russia the Company owns four large refineries at Perm, Volgograd, Ukhta and Nizhny Novgorod. Total capacity of LUKOIL facilities in Russia is 44.7 million tons of oil per year. LUKOIL also has refineries in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and a 49% stake in ISAB refining complex (island of Sicily, Italy), with total capacity of 21.8 million tons per year.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  ConocoPhillips (COP) explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids on a worldwide basis. I am attracted to the above average yield on ConocoPhillips, in comparison to Exxon and Chevron. Unfortunately Chevron is already one of my highest weighted positions, which is why ConocoPhillips was the second US oil choice. I am building my position in the stock with this purchase. The company is extremely well run, has a history of disposing out of non-core assets such as Lukoil stock (LUKOY) and Kashagan Project, and sending cash to shareholders in the process. The company has increased dividends for 13 years in a row, and has managed to boost them by 15.10%/year over the past decade. Currently, the stock trades at 10.70 times earnings and yields 4.20%. Check my analysis of ConocoPhillips.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  To be fair, it might be years before PROP really starts to worry the likes of Denbury Resources and Halliburton Company. That doesn't dampen the size of the opportunity for Propell Technologies Group Inc. in the meantime, though. In fact, considering major oil players like Miller Energy Resources Inc. (NYSE:MILL), LUKOIL (OTCMKTS:LUKOY), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have already utilized this plasma-boring service and liked the results, PROP may grow into a real threat to the sol-called "majors" before anyone realizes it's happening, ultimately spurring an acquisition of the company. When the provisionally-patented technology is this good, we can't rule out any rewarding outcome for the stock.

Best Oil Companies To Own For 2014: NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL)

NGL Energy Partners LP is a limited partnership company formed to own and operate a vertically-integrated propane business. The Company operates in three segments: retail propane; wholesale supply and marketing; and midstream. Its retail propane business sells propane to end users consisting of residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers. The Company�� wholesale supply and marketing business supplies propane and other natural gas liquids and provides related storage to retailers, wholesalers and refiners. Its midstream business, which consists of its propane terminaling business, takes delivery of propane from pipelines or trucks at its propane terminals and transfers the propane to third-party transport trucks for delivery to retailers, wholesalers or other consumers. The Company�� general partner is NGL Energy Holdings LLC (the General Partner). On October 14, 2010, it executed a series of transactions (the Combination) with NGL Supply, Inc. (NGL Supply). In February 2012, the Company acquired all of the assets comprising the propane and distillate operations of North American Propane. In May 2012, the Company acquired Downeast Energy Corporation. The assets contributed by Downeast are located in Maine and New Hampshire. In November 2012, the Company acquired limited liability company membership interests in Pecos Gathering & Marketing LLC and its affiliated companies (Pecos). In July 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP announced the acquisition of the assets of Crescent Terminals, LLC. Effective July 8, 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired High Roller Wells Big Lake SWD No 1 LP. In August 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired the water disposal and hauling business of Oilfield Water Lines LP. In September 2013, NGL Energy Partners LP acquired the water disposal business of Coastal Plains Disposal #1, LLC owned by WinCo Development, LLC. In November 2013, the Company announced acquisition of all of the equity interests of Gavilon, LLC.

Retail Propane

The Co! mpany�� retail propane business consists of the retail marketing, sale and distribution of propane, including the sale and lease of propane tanks, equipment and supplies, to more than 56,000 residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers. It markets retail propane primarily in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Kansas through its customer service locations. The Company owns or leases 44 customer service locations and 37 satellite distribution locations, with aggregate above-ground propane storage capacity of approximately four million gallons. It also owns a fleet of bulk delivery trucks and service vehicles.

Wholesale Supply and Marketing

The Company�� wholesale supply and marketing business provides propane procurement, storage, transportation and supply services to customers, through assets owned by it and by third parties. Its wholesale supply and marketing business also obtains the majority of the propane supply for its retail propane business. The Company procures propane from refiners, gas processing plants, producers and other resellers for delivery to leased storage, common carrier pipelines, rail car terminals and direct to certain customers. It has the right to utilize 100% of the ConocoPhillips Blue Line pipeline, which runs from Borger, Texas, to its propane terminals in East St. Louis, Illinois and Jefferson City, Missouri. The Company leases approximately 67 million gallons of propane storage space in various locations to accommodate the supply requirements and contractual needs of its retail and wholesale customers.

Midstream

The Company�� midstream business, which consists of its propane terminaling business, takes delivery of propane from a pipeline or truck at its propane terminals and transfers the propane to third party trucks for delivery to propane retailers, wholesalers or other customers. The Company�� midstream assets consist of its three propane terminals in East St. Louis, Illinois; Jefferson City, Missou! ri, and S! t. Catharines, Ontario. The Company is a service provider at each of its terminals, which have a combined annual throughput in excess of 170 million gallons of propane.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL) and Transmontaigne Partners (NYSE: TLP) said that they have ended discussions over NGL Energy's non-binding proposal to acquire the outstanding units of Transmontaigne. Shares of NGL Energy lost 0.57 percent, closing at $42.21 while shares of Transmontaigne gained 0.54 percent, closing at $43.03.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Oil Companies To Own For 2014: QEP Midstream Partners LP (QEPM)

QEP Midstream Partners, LP (QEP), incorporated on April 19, 2013, is a limited partnership formed by QEP Resources, Inc. to owns, operates, acquires and develops midstream energy assets. The Company�� primary assets consist of ownership interests in four gathering systems and two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-regulated pipelines, through which it provides natural gas and crude oil gathering and transportation services. The Company�� assets are located in, or are within close proximity to, the Green River Basin located in Wyoming and Colorado, the Uinta Basin located in eastern Utah, and the portion of the Williston Basin located in North Dakota. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� gathering systems had 1,475 miles of pipeline and an average gross throughput of 1.8 million british thermal units per hour of natural gas and 18,224 barrels of crude oil.

Green River System

The Company�� Green River System, located in western Wyoming, consists of three complimentary systems owned by Green River Gathering, Rendezvous Gas and Rendezvous Pipeline and gathers natural gas production from the Pinedale, Jonah and Moxa Arch fields. In addition to gathering natural gas, the system also gathers and stabilizes crude oil production from the Pinedale Field, transports the stabilized crude oil to an interstate pipeline interconnect, and gathers and handles produced and flowback water associated with well completion activities in the Pinedale Field. The Green River Gathering assets are comprised of 405 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, 61 miles of crude oil gathering pipelines, 81 miles of water gathering pipelines and a 60-mile, FERC-regulated crude oil pipeline located in the Green River Basin. The Rendezvous Gas assets consist of three parallel, 103-mile high-pressure natural gas pipelines, with 1,032 million cubic feet per day of throughput capacity and 7,800 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression. Rendezvous Pipeline�� sole asset is a 21-mile, FERC-regu! lated natural gas transmission pipeline that provides gas transportation services from QEP�� Blacks Fork processing complex in southwest Wyoming to an interconnect with the Kern River Pipeline.

Vermillion Gathering System

The Vermillion Gathering System consists of gas gathering and compression assets located in southern Wyoming, northwest Colorado and northeast Utah, which, when combined, include 454 miles of low-pressure, gas gathering pipelines and 23,197 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression. The Vermillion Gathering System is primarily supported by life-of-reserves and long-term, fee-based gas gathering agreements with minimum volume commitments, which are designed to ensure that it will generate a certain amount of revenue over the life of the gathering agreement by collecting either gathering fees for actual throughput or payments to cover any shortfall. The primary customers on our Vermillion Gathering System include Questar, Samson Resources Corporation (Samson Resources), QEP and Chevron USA, Inc. (Chevron).

Three Rivers Gathering System

Three Rivers Gathering is a joint venture between QEP and Ute Energy Midstream Holdings, LLC (Ute Energy) that was formed to transport natural gas gathered by Uintah Basin Field Services, L.L.C., an indirectly owned subsidiary of QEP (Uintah Basin Field Services), and other third-party volumes to gas processing facilities owned by QEP and third parties. The Three Rivers Gathering System consists of gas gathering assets located in the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah, including approximately 50 miles of gathering pipeline and 4,735 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression.

Williston Gathering System

The Williston Gathering System is a crude oil and natural gas gathering system located in the Williston Basin in McLean County, North Dakota. The Williston Gathering System includes 17 miles of gas gathering pipelines, 17 miles of oil gathering pipelines 239 basic hydrogen peroxide o! f gas com! pression, and a crude oil and natural gas handling facility, located primarily on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

The Company competes with Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., Western Gas and The Williams Companies, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  QEP Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: QEPM) was started as Buy at Janney Capital, and note that four other firms started coverage earlier this week.

  ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) was started as Buy with a $55 price target at Canaccord Genuity.

Best Oil Companies To Own For 2014: Bri-Chem Corp (BRY)

Bri-Chem Corp. is a North American distributor, blender, and manufacturer of drilling fluids and steel pipe for the oil and gas industry in North America. The Company operates in three segments: Fluids, Steel Distribution and Steel Manufacturing. Its Fluids segment includes the sale of fluids and chemical additives to the resource and industrial markets. The Steel Distribution segment includes the sale of tubular steel products to the resource, industrial and construction industries. The Steel Manufacturing segment produces seamless steel pipe through a thermal expansion process for sale to steel pipe distributors in North America. On May 31, 2011, it acquired all membership interest in Bri-Chem Supply Corp, LLC (BSU) and Stryker Transportation Ltd. (Stryker). In September 2013, Bri-Chem Corp acquired the cement blending business assets of Sun Coast Materials Co. and certain additional transportation assets from its affiliate Acme Trucking, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Don't forget the business model
  Short sellers see this decline rate as being an insurmountable burden that will eventually lead to LINN's demise. Given the perfect storm, that's entirely possible, just as it is for any other company. Yet, LINN's business model is designed to combat the decline ���t is constantly purchasing additional assets to not only replace the decline but to grow its production and reserves. Earlier this year the company made its largest transaction ever as it announced a deal to buy Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY  ) .

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Lately the pair have been under a lot of pressure after a series of negative attacks on LINN's business model. The attacks have brought the respective yields to around 9% for LINN and 8.5% for LinnCo when you take into consideration the soon to be rising payout after the Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY  ) acquisition closes. Berry adds significant oil assets to the combined company and the deal significantly improves the reserves, credit metrics, distributable cash flow ratio, and production. The bottom line here is that investors can lock in significant monthly income by investing in either company.