David Smith

Despite an impressive backlog, should other softness at Transocean keep you from adding the company to your portfolio?

Examine EOG Resources -- its performance and its prospects -- in detail, and you'll be hard-pressed to stumble on a major weakness.

It's been a tough couple of years for Freeport-McMoRan, but the company just might be on the verge of shaking off its recent woes.

With ExxonMobil suffering across-the-board declines in the second quarter, is integration still the appropriate model for oil and gas producers?

Weatherford International is still endeavoring to get beyond some negative issues. Should you consider buying the company's shares?

While the margins in its rig technology segment slipped during the past quarter, from a macro perspective, National Oilwell Varco's future has never appeared brighter.

Do you still think of electric lights, vacuum cleaners, and maybe jet engines when you hear about General Electric? Well, the big company's oil and gas unit is now leading its overall growth. E

With its agricultural operations already leading the pack, venerable DuPont may be on the verge of becoming an even more omnipresent farmers' helper.

Earnings at Baker Hughes slid year over year and didn't come close to expectations. But there remain bright lights at the Houston-based oil-field services provider.

Schlumberger's quarterly performance demonstrated the importance to oil-field services companies of attaining a wide geographic spread.

Along with subsea production and dual-gradient drilling, a trio of other technological advancements in energy are taking the industry by storm.

The world of oil and gas is adding new wrinkles almost daily. Which companies are best positioned to profit from this technology explosion?

While mighty Schlumberger is an ideal proxy for the oil-field services group, here is a trio of smaller services companies the analysts are touting.

Three years ago Josh Fox's "Gasland" film castigating fracking for its environmental dangers received lots of attention. His newly-released second version could garner even more.

Forum Energy Technologies is involved in several key oil-field services areas. It's young, but well worth your attention.

One of the key advancements in the technologically more demanding quest for oil and gas has been the movement into progressively deeper waters. How can you profit from that accelerating trend?

The big aluminum company continues to struggle with a host of woes, including higher worldwide production of the light metal.

BP's being hit by both public and private damage claims relating to its 2010 Gulf of Mexico tragedy. The latter includes a host of claimants with no real ties to the Macondo gusher. Will Louis Freeh's presence give the company some relief?

With gold having rolled over and chaos in North Africa and the Middle East expanding seemingly by the minute, crude trader Dan Dicker thinks oil has become the new gold.

With water shortages parching much of the country, drillers in unconventional plays are suddenly becoming more likely to hit the gas.