These U.S. Energy Stocks Might Get Trapped in Ukraine Conflict

This article was originally published by TheStreet on July 18, 2014.

By Sarfaraz A. Khan

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Obama administration Wednesday announced its largest package yet of economic sanctions against Russia, hitting the country's biggest oil producer Rosneft (RNFTF_) and other energy firms in a move that could also wind up hurting U.S. energy companies that operate in the region.

Betting on BP

This article was originally published by TheStreet on April 29, 2014.

By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Assistant: Gohar Yousuf.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - BP (BP_) may be a good bet despite all the bad news surrounding the company.

Earlier today, the major British oil company reported a 20% drop in first-quarter earnings. The company still hasn't recovered from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, and it's embroiled in Ukraine's crisis, as yesterday Obama administration put the name of the president of Rosneft, BP's partner in Russia, on the sanctions list. BP owns a 20% stake in state-controlled Rosneft.

But BP's American depositary receipts trade at just 6.7 times trailing earnings, and the company is increasing its dividend and promising more stock buybacks. BP raised its first-quarter dividend to 9.7 cents a share from 9 cents last year and said it would use asset sales to pay for more stock buybacks.

What Makes This European Oil Major A Buy?

From The Motley Fool, Published September 7, 2013

The European oil major, British Petroleum  (NYSE: BP  ) released its quarterly results that were a disappointment. The company's income dropped significantly due to falling oil prices, a higher tax rate and lower income from Russia. Its stock has under performed while it continues to face legal challenges from the oil spill disaster. But BP pays out healthy dividends, has high quality assets and I believe it can be a good investment for those looking for long term growth.

Quarterly ResultsBP's adjusted net income dropped from $3.6 billion in last years second quarter to $2.7 billion this past quarter, which is significantly below the market's expectations of $3.4 billion. This was attributed to lower oil prices, an unusually large underlying effective tax rate of 45%, as opposed to 35% the year before, and a drop in profits from Russia due to the Russian oil export duties and weakness in the Ruble. 

Dividend and BuybacksAlthough shares of European oil majors, such as BP and Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) have under performed as compared to the broader market

Exxon Brings Russia's Rosneft To Alaska

From Seeking Alpha

The Russian energy giant Rosneft (RNFTF.PK) and the world's biggest oil and gas firm Exxon Mobil (XOM) have signed another arctic exploration agreement through which Exxon Mobil will get an additional 234,000 square miles of oil and gas exploration in the Russian arctic, while a separate agreement gives the Russian firm a 25% stake in Point-Thomson natural gas field. The two agreements were signed in a high profile ceremony at Moscow between Stephen Greenlee, Exxon's President, and Igor Sechin, Rosneft's President in the presence of Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The new deals … read more
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