In this video from Tuesday's special New Year's Eve edition of Investor Beat, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool energy analyst Taylor Muckerman break down the biggest stories in energy from 2013 and look ahead to what energy investors can expect in the coming year ahead.
Next year, ConocoPhillips will focus 55% of its budget on the United States, with other companies making similar moves, Apache is selling off Egyptian assets that were weighing down the company's share price to move back into the Permian Basin. In the lead story on today's Investor Beat, Taylor points to the broader trend here that took place in 2013 -- America's continued dominance as a play for Big Oil companies, which have been "reshoring" by moving operations back into the United States and out of some of the geopolitically riskier plays overseas. Taylor also discusses what this trend means for investors, and which companies stand to profit.
Then, while Continental Resources' CEO Harold Hamm was recently awarded CEO of 2013 by the Platts Global Energy Awards, this Fool analyst makes a different pick. Taylor nominates SolarCity chief Lyndon Rive as this year's greatest CEO in the energy sector. Apart from the company's ability to grow its deployed megawatts by 77% compared to 2012, which is a staggering amount, Rive also has a 91% approval rating on Glassdoor.com, and SolarCity falls within the top 20 "Best Places to Work in 2014." However, Taylor also discusses the volatility of the solar industry today, and says that investors looking to jump in need to be prepared to ride along with both the ups and the downs.
Finally, Taylor looks into why he thinks offshore drillers are poised to perform in 2014. He discusses Ensco and why its youngest fleet in the industry could mean utilization levels that drive investor returns, and he also points to Hercules Offshore, and highlights why this smaller niche play could make a great bet for the year ahead.
