According to the International Energy Agency, the world needs to invest $48 trillion by 2035 to meet its energy needs. Of that amount, $23 trillion will need to be invested to help offset current energy supplies as oil and gas wells deplete, as well as to add new energy supplies to help meet the demand for energy in emerging nations. It's a super-trend that deserves to have a place in nearly every portfolio. While oil and gas producers are one way to profit from this trend, equipment and service companies such as National Oilwell Varco (NOV 0.79%), FMC Technologies (FTI -0.12%) and Transocean (RIG 2.12%) offer a less risky "pick-and-shovel" profit opportunity for investors.
National Oilwell Varco has basically become the main equipment supplier of the energy industry. It has equipment on nearly every drilling rig around the world. In fact, its wares are so prevalent that many in the industry refer to NOV as "No Other Vendor," because no one else supplies the industry to the degree of National Oilwell Varco.
Further, with the bulk of the easy oil gone, energy producers are tapping deepwater sources for new production. Not only is it a trend that will benefit National Oilwell Varco, but it also plays right into the hands of the core businesses of FMC Technologies and Transocean. Investors can profit from the drilling of these deepwater wells with Transocean, while FMC Technologies will yield profits as it is a leading supplier of key subsea technologies that work at getting the oil and gas from the ocean floor to the surface.
To help investors gain a better understanding of how these three companies will profit from the spending of $23 trillion on fossil fuel development, I created the following slideshow presentation. The presentation profiles all three companies and shows how each will profit as the world spends trillions to meet its energy needs in the decades ahead.