The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which analyst John Reeves and advisor David Meier discuss topics across the investing world.
With natural gas prices so low and so much investment made when prices were much higher, ExxonMobil looks best positioned to survive and thrive during the inevitable shakeout. Look at Chesapeake Energy. It has lots of wonderful properties, but is loaded with debt. That is one risky play right now.
Others like SandRidge Energy and Denbury Resources have moved further away from natural gas and David believes they are better protected in the near term. ExxonMobil, with its purchase of XTO Energy, looks to be the inevitable winner. XTO's natural gas wells have better decline rates, thereby requiring less investment capital and resulting in longer lives. All in all, ExxonMobil's shares look very attractive on a total return basis.
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