Large multinational oil companies are struggling to increase total production, but earnings haven't been affected by the lack of growth. Higher oil prices and non-core asset divestments continue to make large oil companies immensely profitable, allowing ExxonMobil (XOM 0.23%), for example, to return more than $100 billion to shareholders over the past five years. International majors need to start focusing on organic production growth once again, but with the rise of nationalized oil companies, will Big Oil still get a cut of the crude oil pie? 

Controlling crude prices
Imagine a company that rents a very specific and valuable piece of machinery for $41,000 per hour. (That's almost as much as the average American makes in a year!) And Warren Buffett is so confident in this company's can't-live-without-it business model, he just loaded up on 8.8 million shares. An exclusive, brand-new Motley Fool report reveals the company we're calling OPEC's Worst Nightmare. Just click here to uncover the name of this industry-leading stock, and join Buffett in his quest for a veritable landslide of profits!

This segment is from Thursday's edition of "Digging for Value," in which sector analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss energy and materials news with host Alison Southwick. The twice-weekly show can be viewed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It can also be found on Twitter, along with our extended coverage of the energy and materials sectors: @TMFEnergy.