Customer Reviews

Successful Energy Sector Investing: Every Investor's Complete Guide

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are not many books on investing in the energy sector presumably because of the boring reputation of that sector (and commodities investing in general). However, that perception is simply wrong. Energy is the lifeblood of our modern societies and its future cheap and abundant avaiability is becoming more and more uncertain. Any serious book on this important subject is therefore highly welcome. Unfortunately, the book under review is not serious. To begin with, the most important issue facing the oil and natural gas industry, the issue of depletion is not mentionend in the book at all. The fact that the US oil production reached its (so called Hubbert-) peak of oil extraction in 1970 with falling production ever since then is not mentioned either. The world is facing a peak of oil production in the immediate future (this decade) with possibly dramatic consequences for the economy in general and the energy sector in particular. All of this is not addressed in the book at all.

The author is unfortunately politically biased. For instance when discussing the Russian oil reserves (among the largest in the world), not a single Russian oil company is mentioned. This is unexcusable especially since the oil reserves of the largest Russian oil companies rival those of Mobil-Exxon (a market leader which is extensively discussed in the book). Yet the Russian oil companies are valued by the stock market at a fraction of the valuation enjoyed by the the market leaders. Failing to emphasize this important point indicates that the author is not a experienced investor. He may be a enthusiastic politician, but definitely not a great investor. There are many other irritating inaccuracies and omissions. For instance, the appendix A listing the world oil reserves mentions the marginal reserves of Suriname, but fails to list the substantial reserves of Venezuela - the largest known oil reserves in North and South America. To sum up, I regret having bought this book.

Having spent 13 years on Wall Street focusing on other industries, I was most excited to find what appeared to be an interesting book on energy investing. However, my enthusiasm faded very quickly. The book is a ham-handed effort to teach about the energy business and investing, in my opinion. Weak writing at best, even worse intellectual logic, Mr. Duarte cannot seem to follow a single line of thought for more than a few sentences. Further, the book suffers terribly from his attempts to be much more certain about events and connections between events than one can possibly be. A must avoid, in my view.

I found the book filled with valuable information about investing in general and energy sector invesing in particular. However, I did find the charts to be frustrating. Not enough data is provided on them to fully understand them and they are not up to the quality of the text.
However, I do recommend the book.

Precise and easy to understand. Covers some history on Standard Oil's break-up, then comback as a portfolio of different companies. Mentions some great plays on the coming oil boom. Very smart by never predicting outcomes or making outlandish forcast.Well written, a great entry book for a novice to the energy patch.

This book was absolutely fantastic. Well written, and easy to understand, it brings the reader completely through the energy sector, giving you a solid "investors" understanding of types of energy companies, as well as when to invest in them. It really helps you understand the parts behind the energy sector, and what moves the market. I highly recommend both this book and Joe Duarte's other book: Successful Biotech Investing.