Wednesday 21st May 2008
moneyweek.com
MoneyWeek logo

The most important financial stories, and how to profit from them

Skip to navigationSkip navigation

The shocking truth about North Sea Oil

NSE1

Dear Fellow Level-Headed Profit Seeker,

On 18 June 1975, the first oil from the North Sea arrived at the Isle of Grain refinery by tanker from the Argyll field.

It was welcomed by the new Energy Secretary, Tony Benn, who held a bottle of the stuff aloft and declared: "I hold the future of Britain in my hand."

Unfortunately, the "future" turned out to be only 30 years or so.

The North Sea is now running out of easy-to-get oil. And gas.

In 2007 the United Kingdom will become a net importer of both - a status from which it will never recover.

That's bad news for the economy in an age of $70 oil. Even worse news for a government that's enjoyed billions in oil taxes over the years. But it's very good news for smart investors... who are about to be presented with a series of unprecedented profit opportunities.

Read on and I'll introduce you to four of them...

Farewell to the age of British energy independence

North Sea oil couldn't have come at a better time for Britain.

In October 1973 there was a four-fold hike in the price of Saudi crude. By 1975 inflation here hit a massive 25% and London stocks were in the midst of their worst bear market in history. North Sea oil came to the rescue... as the trickle of oil from small fields like Argyll turned into a flood from much bigger discoveries by Shell-Exxon in the Brent fields and BP in the Forties fields.

Since then, North Sea oil has been a major source of wealth for the British and Norwegian economies. What's more, it's also been a crucial way for the UK to avoid depending on oil from the Middle East, or any other country.

Now, with the worst timing imaginable, we're about to lose that vital cushion.
At the present rate of decline, according to the UK Offshore Operators' Association, the UK will cease to be oil self-sufficient in 2007.

That's right... NEXT YEAR!

North Sea oil has been declining at the annual rate of 6% to 17% for some time. Production, which peaked at 2.9 million barrels a day (bpd) in 1999, is set to fall to near half that level by 2007.

"You can see that production levels of oil and gas have dropped sharply over the last two years and that is set to continue, with fundamental consequences for the economy," says David Page, an economist at Investec bank in the City.

After a generation of oil-trade surpluses, Britain will soon be running an oil deficit.

Permanently.

Tell that to your friends over dinner who scoff at the very idea of oil running out... let alone it happening anytime soon. Better still, show them this chart...

 NSE2

North Sea production will drop to one million bpd by 2010 and dry up little more than five years later. At current rates of extraction, the very last drop of oil could be sucked out of the North Sea field as soon as 2015.

Britain is also running out of gas. Given that a large chunk of the country's electricity generation depends on gas, the shortfall will have to be made up somehow. The UK is expected to be 50% dependent on imported gas by 2010, and 80% dependent by 2020.

As you'd expect, all this is not great news for the British economy...

"The UK produced most of its oil when it was cheap and they sold it for cheap money," says Kjell Aleklett, the President of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil. "Now they need to buy it back at more than twice the price they sold it at." NSE3

Already oil and gas imports are sending Britain's trade deficit with the rest of the world soaring. In May this year the UK trade gap with the rest of the world hit £6.8bn, up by over £1bn from April's revised number of £5.6bn.

On top of that, the government is going to lose the substantial oil tax revenues they've become accustomed to for decades. Over the last 30 years, oil taxes earned the government a massive £200bn in today's prices. Today, with the oil price above $60 a barrel, the Treasury will receive £12.5bn this year alone in North Sea tax receipts. That's a HUGE income that will start diminishing rapidly from 2007 onwards.

In short, the UK economy faces some tough times as the North Sea runs down.

The question is:

What will the consequences be for YOU?

As a consumer of oil, there's no need to panic just yet. The North Sea IS running on empty. But that won't create a direct problem for you tomorrow or next week or next month.

The oil that you will use tomorrow, next week, or next month has already been pumped from the ground, shipped via tanker or pipeline, refined in a refinery somewhere, and is in transit to your local petrol station. Even the oil that you will use next year is already well identified.

This special MoneyWeek investigation is not another hysterical push of the "oil panic" button...

Instead, we look at the last days of British energy independence not as the end of life as we know it (because really, it isn't - plenty of European nations get along fine importing 100% of their oil) but as a GIANT money-making opportunity for switched-on investors.

Think about it...

If Big Oil wants to stay Big Oil (and believe me, it does) it needs to find MORE OIL.

So which smaller companies will profit when oil majors spend their record-high profits on finding and developing what oil and gas remains?

In just a second you'll learn more about three little-known oil service outfits primed to benefit from the £15bn BP alone is spending on exploration and production each year.

Which seismic contractors and deepwater specialists are going to watch their profits soar as Big Oil goes further out and deeper into the North Sea to reach untapped oil and gas?

If you own JUST ONE deepwater drilling specialist in 2007, make it the one outlined in this investigation. They're already charging £275,000 A DAY to hire their advanced deepwater equipment - how high will they hike their fees when the easy-to-get stuff runs out?

Which other sectors and companies will benefit as the focus shifts from oil to other sources of energy?

Like it or not, expensive and dwindling oil has put nuclear power back in the British agenda. Just last month Tony Blair did a complete about-face, saying he had "changed his mind" on the issue and announcing a new atomic programme that will cost more than £12bn when six new plants are constructed.

Who will this cash filter down to?

Read on and you'll discover four red hot uranium producers first-in line to profit from Britain's inevitable swing back to nuclear power.

And with higher oil prices driving the quest for new, affordable energy sources, which "alternative oil" investments made today will reap massive dividends tomorrow?

In a few moments you'll learn precisely how to stake a ground floor claim in a new, unconventional grade of oil which, according to analyst Jeff Rubin of CIBC World Markets, will become "the world's most important source of new oil by as soon as 2010".

It's pretty clear-cut...

From next year onwards, Britain will be forced to start looking for alternatives to North Sea oil.

In effect, we're embarking on our "Final Energy Boom".

For the past three months, MoneyWeek's analysts have spent considerable time researching how this boom might play out.

More importantly for you, we've scoured the market for every possible way private investors can siphon profits from the final days of UK oil.

Try MoneyWeek today and receive 3 issues and your special Oil Report absolutely FREE

There are four specific phases that will provide great money-making opportunities for early investors.

Here is the first...

PHASE 1: Cash in as every drop possible is squeezed from the North Sea

The UK is about to become a net importer of crude. That's a fact.

But it's the cheap, easy-to-get oil we're running out of, not oil itself.

An estimated 27 billion barrels of oil remain untapped in the North Sea. It may be harder and more expensive to extract - but in a climate where many experts believe we'll never again pay less than $50 for a barrel of oil, what remains of North Sea oil will be hot property for anyone who gets their hands on it.

That's why North Sea oil exploration hit a 35-year record in June this year.

Despite the fact that the North Sea's huge shallow fields are well past their heyday, Malcolm Wicks, the Energy Minister, announced that there'd been 147 applications by 121 companies this year - more than in any year since 1971.

"I'm determined that we maximise the exploitation of the remaining reserves which could be between 22 and 28 billion barrels of oil equivalent."

Snapping up these remaining reserves will form the first phase of Britain's Final Energy Boom. This "last-gasp" extraction will simply slow the pace of the production decline, not stop it. Nevertheless, it's in both the Government AND Big Oil's interest to keep North Sea oil and gas pumping for as long as possible.

So, with 121 companies fighting over the 27 billion barrels left in the North Sea... who will be the big financial winners?

And crucially...

Which stocks should YOU buy now to profit
from the North Sea's 'Last Hurrah'?

Oil majors may be making eye-watering profits. But lack of investment in recent years means they don't have the skills, equipment or manpower to find and extract enough oil to meet demand.

So who do you turn to for rig repair, equipment installation and specialist personnel? How do you transport supplies, personnel and equipment to rigs that are going further and further out to sea? Most importantly, how do you survey the North Sea for more oil?

The answer is you hire small, specialised oil service companies.

From contractors who carry out seismic surveys to consultants and rig providers, oil support services are making hay as the oil giants' profits trickle down the industry. According to The Sunday Times many firms are reporting that their turnover doubled last year.

This year alone BP is spending a whopping £12 billion on exploration, production and the rest of its business. Martjin Rats of Morgan Stanley NSO 4forecasts that oil-firm expenditure will continue to grow by at least 15%-25% a year until the end of the decade.

So WHO will benefit from this expenditure?

Oil services firms.

And then YOU, potentially - if you pick the right ones to invest in today...

Three oil service companies you MUST own in 2006/2007

Smaller oil service firms now have as much work as they can take... and can charge accordingly. Over the last few years, these outfits have developed seemingly "limitless" pricing power, says Alan Laws, sector analyst at Merrill Lynch.

Seismic service contractors - the outfits that look for the oil - will be first in line to profit from the current record-breaking exploration of the North Sea. Owners and manufacturers of offshore drilling platforms will be next, with the most sophisticated drilling rigs charging triple the hire rate they did two years ago.

Specifically, we've identified three of the most attractive oil service stocks in the sector today - companies that are about to benefit significantly from the next surge in UK offshore drilling...

  • The first, an offshore rig construction and drillship specialist, DOUBLED the rates they charge in 2005. Even better, in June this year they were awarded 10 new contracts - worth in excess of US$1 billion - for new projects in the North Sea, South East Asia, Gulf of Mexico and West Africa...
  • This second offshore pipeline specialist has just won a contract to provide operations and maintenance support to the first "Stabilised Platform" to be introduced to the North Sea. This new platform's innovative cylindrical mono-hull design makes it perfect for drilling in smaller oilfields. This oil services outfit is going to have complete control of operations management of the new platform - and the first oil is expected in 2007...
  • And our third UK-listed oil services pick has already leapt up 45% since MoneyWeek started tracking the stock in February this year. At their AGM in July their chairman announced that "increased drilling activity throughout the world has benefited all products and services in both well construction and well completion divisions. Price increases continue as operators view delivery as a higher priority. Order books remain strong with some deliveries extending into 2007." There's HUGE upside potential from this plucky company in the months and years ahead...

As oil majors desperately try to find and extract more oil... these three oil service firms are perfectly positioned to benefit from the trickle-down profits.

With your permission, I'd like to tell you everything you need to know about these opportunities in a brand new, exhaustive and FREE report called How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom.

Yes. FREE.

Get your free report and 3 week trial to MoneyWeek by clicking HERE

How come? I'll explain in a second. First, with little time to waste, let's get on to the next lucrative stage in Britain's Final Energy Boom...

PHASE 2: The coming explosion in deepwater drilling

With North Sea oil in serious decline and the price of crude now tipping $80 a barrel, getting to existing deepwater oil reserves is now an attractive and affordable option.

Of course, deepwater oil will cost more to extract.

With severe wind gusts and waves often 30 metres high, even shallow areas of the North Sea are among the most challenging on the planet for exploration and recovery. The infrastructure for getting the oil will have to be further out and more vulnerable to the elements. And the hazards of drilling two or three kilometres under the surface of the ocean will make it a capital and risk-intensive venture.

But the rewards are starting to outweigh the risks.

Currently, producing fields make up just 20% of all known deepwater NSE5oilfields in the world.

That means that 80% of known deepwater fields worldwide, including many in the North Sea, are yet to be tapped.

It's a case of WHEN - not if - the UK's deepwater oil starts getting drilled.

But drilling deep is a tough business.

The challenge of keeping a 750-foot drill ship over a two-foot spot on the sea floor is tremendous. In order to make it all work, a sophisticated global positioning system (GPS) tells the boat which way to move. At the same time a real-time computer-controlled positioning system moves the boat to keep it steady. Plus you need the infrastructure to get the oil back to the mainland.

Nevertheless, money is starting to flow into deepwater specialists... and will continue to do so as long as oil remains scarce and expensive.

And that's great news for companies like this one...

If you buy JUST ONE oil stock this year -
make it this deepwater driller

This company has 90 drilling rigs in total... in fact their fleet makes up 37% of the global industry.

They have over 28 ships that can drill in depths of over 4,500ft. These rigs command premium prices, and will be much sought after in the year ahead.

But it's their highly-specialised ultra-deep rigs that give these guys almost a monopoly in deepwater drilling.

They have 13 of them... mammoth structures that can drill to a 35,000ft total depth in up to 10,000ft of water.

In an era when countries are bidding to secure ever deeper tracts of seabed... rigs like these will start seeing SERIOUS business.

NSE6Already these deepwater rigs command DAILY rates of up to £275,000.

How much do you think they'll start charging as the oil price continues to rocket and shallow deposits worldwide start running dry?

Soon - much sooner than most people think - deepwater oil extraction will become one of the most profitable businesses in the world...

You'll want this stock sitting in your
portfolio BEFORE that happens...

And I'd like to send you everything you need to know about it - FREE OF CHARGE - in the brand new report I mentioned earlier, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom.

This is information that could bring you some stellar, perhaps even life-changing investment returns over the next three years.

And I don't want a penny for it. I'll explain why...

As you know, I write on behalf of a magazine called MoneyWeek. My name is Merryn Somerset Webb, and I'm its Editor. We specialise in scouring every single news source across the world to find the most important investment trends. Then we find the simplest, most effective ways our readers can profit from them...

MoneyWeek has been one step ahead of the oil price since it began its meteoric rise back in August 2002. Accordingly, we've recommended Eastern Bloc oil equities which we considered way too cheap - including Sibneft, Surgutneftegas, Lukoil and Premiere Oil. By the end of 2003 these four companies had risen 47%, 87%, 58% and 82% respectively.


In November 2001 MoneyWeek reported that gold prices were about to bounce back... readers who listened saw their gold investments soar 50% by the end of 2003 and have watched the yellow metal spiral upwards ever since. In fact, in one February 2002 issue alone, Bill Murphy of LeMetropole-CafŽ recommended Gold Fields, Harmony Mining and Gold Star Resources. From that one issue you would have reaped gains of 140%, 44% and 46%.


When everyone was certain UK shares were overpriced and going down, we advised our readers the exact opposite was the case. Last year we said it was a GOOD time to buy shares in Britain. Subsequently the FTSE soared from 4,800 in 2004 to break the 6,000 mark in 2006.


We've tracked Japan's recovery since its beginnings, and in May 2003 we told readers that there is real value to be had in Japan. At the time the Nikkei index in Tokyo stood at 8,400. The index has increased 90% since our recommendation, and today stands at 15,500.

In the six years since its inception, MoneyWeek has accurately forecast the slide of the US dollar since 2002... pre-empted the consumer spending boom in India... told readers how to gain exposure to the base metals bull market... and guided retirement savers to the best course of action before the pension rules changed earlier this year.

I write today because I'd like you to sample the same insightful advice.

On top of your free report, I'd also like to send you three FREE copies of MoneyWeek.

No obligation at all. No strings. The issues are yours to keep and profit from with our compliments. It's simply a chance for you to experience how valuable MoneyWeek's timely, intelligent and highly-profitable investment advice can be. Without risking or spending anything.

Obviously I'd very much like you to become a regular MoneyWeek reader. But that's your decision... one you only have to make if you like what you see in your free issues.

For now, I urge you to consider acting VERY SOON on the powerful investment intelligence contained in the free report we're offering, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom.

For the latest advice on how you can profit from oil, start your 3-week FREE trial of MoneyWeek now and receive this special oil report!

The end of easy North Sea oil will be very profitable for smart, far-sighted investors who act decisively within the next few months. And that brings us to...

PHASE 3: Make 'nuclear returns' from the swing back to uranium-based power

Like it or not, nuclear power is back on the agenda.

The debate over whether nuclear power is a solution for the UK's energy production has raged for a generation. Three years ago an energy review put nuclear on the back-burner while pushing for more renewables.

Then in July this year, Mr Blair did a complete about-face.

He confirmed the government would commission a new series of nuclear power stations... and admitted to MPs he had "changed his mind" on the controversial issue.

Having read this far, you'll know the driving force behind Mr Blair's change of heart...

Oil, or lack of it, is directly threatening our ability to plug in and power up.

Oil is now too expensive to use for electricity generation. In fact its use in that department peaked way back in 1980. The next option is coal. Over 95% of the demand for coal over the next three decades will come from the electricity market. But coal itself is not the answer, simply because it's too dirty.

Hence an inevitable swing back to nuclear power.

At present, there are 35 nuclear plants in the UK, and they account for around 20% of the country's electricity. But many of them are getting old and need to be decommissioned. By 2023, only Sizewell B will still be active. By 2020, the UK will NOT be producing enough electricity to meet demand, unless we act NOW.

That's why the Energy ministry has earmarked a massive £12bn for the construction of six new power plants. And these six new plants won't be the end of it. Their construction won't increase our reliance on the atom, just maintain it. Chances are more plants will need to be built.

What about opposition from the Greenies?

Environmentalists have long been anti-nuclear. But, as The Financial Times says, given how clean a form of power it is, and the obvious havoc that carbon emissions are playing on the earth, "the biggest climate worriers should be nuclear's keenest fans."

Whether they fall in line or not is irrelevant. Nuclear is back. The question is...

What's the investment angle for you?

Four hot uranium miners set to rocket as Britain
falls back in love with "Yellowcake"

While surging oil and gas prices generate acres of newsprint, the equally impressive bull market in uranium is often overlooked.

Big mistake if you're a forward- thinking investor.

"Yellowcake" prices have started steadily increasing since the beginning of 2003... and have shot up more than 80% over the last 18 months.

NSe7

As nuclear is forced back on to the table - not just here but in many oil dependent countries - demand for uranium is picking up dramatically.

Britain currently has 35 nuclear power reactors, and we're planning to add six. But there are also about 440 worldwide, accounting for 20% of global power generation.

More than 100 new plants are expected to start construction in the next decade as several powerhouse countries, including China, India and the US, increase their use of nuclear power.

"Reactors take a long time to build, so we have a lot of visibility on the demand side for uranium over the next ten years," says Sprott Securities' David Stein.

And the supply side looks even better...

Around 40% of uranium supply comes from stockpiles and decommissioned weapons. But "uranium from these sources is being consumed and is likely to supply less than 25% of the market by 2011," says Resource Capital analyst John Wilson.

Mine production is likely to increase only 5% to 15% over the next three to five years, meaning supplies should be tight for some time. In fact, according to the World Nuclear Association, demand will exceed supply by as much as 100% by 2020.

If market forces are allowed to act freely, uranium prices MUST rise at least for the next few years. In the meantime, well-positioned investors in the uranium sector can sit back and enjoy the ride.

In our FREE report, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom, you'll discover the Four very best uranium shares to buy right now...

NSE8One of these outfits was recently labelled by Robert Mitchell of Adit Capital as "the Saudi Arabia of uranium"... Another, a much smaller play, is more of a gamble but "could be a huge winner from here"... One of these miners has just acquired a deposit in Namibia that is thought to contain some 72.8 million pounds of uranium... And our final, favourite pick - already churning out 10 million pounds annually - is set to ramp up production to 30 million pounds by 2010.

Any one of these four uranium miners - each outlined in detail in our free report - would be an asset to your portfolio. Owning all four could be one of the smartest medium-to-long-term investment moves you ever make.

And this, really, is the cornerstone of what MoneyWeek magazine is all about. . .

From Indian credit cards to the water you drink - MoneyWeek spots the critical trends BEFORE they become profitable...

Our speciality is identifying the big, inevitable, 100% unstoppable trends... and then deciphering specific, targeted ways for our readers to profit from them.

And while the oil and energy story is big (let's face it, the biggest of our generation) it's by no means the only sector where MoneyWeek helps its readers lock in future returns...

How to lock in gains from the bull market in "Blue Gold". In April 2004, we highlighted the looming water crisis now threatening the world. Less than 1% of all water is fresh and accessible, yet global demand for it has quadrupled. Around this time last year we alerted our readers to the three top water stocks poised to profit. If you'd been with us back then you would have already made tidy gains of 24%, 25% and 44%. We'll continue to monitor this hot investment opportunity over coming issues.


Profit from the new gambling revolution. In February last year, we covered the rapid explosion of the gambling industry. Thanks to increasing consumer demand and changes in legislation, this sector is predicted to grow 165% in the next few years. We identified Wynn Resorts as the must-have share that would soar and bring our readers maximum profits from this new trend. If you'd bought Wynn Resorts 13 months ago you'd now be sitting on a 115% gain. With government plans to relax legislation even further, the future for gambling looks even brighter. Rest assured we'll monitor this trend closely for further profit opportunities...


Take easy gains from Russia's economic boom. Last April, we reported on Russia's economy - one of the fastest growing in the world. We assessed its strengths and weaknesses, giving readers a measured view... as well as a "back door" way to gain exposure. Our tip to invest in Jupiter's Emerging European Opportunities Fund has already climbed 25%. Or attention is firmly fixed on Russia's progress, as well as some exciting opportunities in other Eastern European countries. Right now we're tracking several buys that are starting to tempt even the shrewdest fund managers.


How to gain UK exposure to the Indian credit card boom. This is one of our most recent red hot trend picks. In a special report, we told readers how they could get UK-listed exposure to the exploding Indian credit sector... and a credit card market that's growing at a blistering 35% per annum. A lot of people overuse the term "ground floor" when describing an early investment opportunity. But nowhere is the term more applicable than when used to describe the state of the Indian credit card and loan sector. We told readers about three stocks we fully expect to DOUBLE in price as the credit boom gathers pace...

From the end of the property boom to the rise and rise of gold, we've called every major investment trend worth knowing about. And we've helped investors just like you to stake a claim in these profitable trends... BEFORE the investment herd piles in.

Keep completely up-to-date with investment opportunities (both good and bad), by claiming your 3-week FREE trial of MoneyWeek now!

These are recommendations and warnings you can't afford to be without in these exciting and uncertain times.

I simply cannot stress enough what a pivotal moment we've reached in the history of the domestic and global markets - thanks, mainly, to an out-of-control oil price...

When the growing energy crisis hits the UK economy -
only resource investors will get rich...

In the 1970s - during the Yom Kippur War and the OPEC oil shock that followed - if you held the most popular blue chip stocks of the day, you would have LOST money.

General Electric dropped 54% from its former high, and didn't recover for another nine years. Kodak fell 60% and didn't recover for another 15. The FT 30, an index of the 30 largest companies in Britain, collapsed 72.3% in just two years... and many investors had to wait almost a decade, sometimes longer, to break even.

If you owned shares in the oil majors and junior oil stocks, however, you made a fortune.

Exxon's price more than doubled in the 70s... and then doubled again. And we're not talking about a small cap here... we're talking about shares in one of the largest companies on the planet! Amoco, Mobil and BP also rose by a factor of four over the decade.

Junior oil stocks shot up even higher, with some companies locking in gains over 1,000% for investors who were shrewd enough to see the writing on the wall.

The point is this: no matter how you slice it, history's greatest fortunes have all been made one way - by investing in real assets in times when real assets are scarce and geopolitical tensions are high.

And that brings us to the last clever way we've found to play Britain's Final Energy Boom for outsized potential gains...

PHASE 4: Profit from "alternative oil" NSE9

You've probably heard the words 'Peak Oil' bandied about a bit recently.

It's the theory that the world is very close to - or has perhaps even passed - the point where we are pumping the maximum amount of oil we can from the earth. From that point on global production will keep falling, never to rise again... followed by a similar peak and decline in natural gas production.

In other words: it's exactly what's about to happen to the North Sea from 2007 onwards... but on a GLOBAL scale.

Some experts reckon the peak has already been reached. But the growing consensus amongst the world's leading petroleum geologists and geophysicists is that it's going to occur at some point within the next 10 years.

As Paul Roberts says in The End of Oil, "Even optimistic energy experts go grey in the face when you ask them what we will use to fill up our fuel tanks in 30 years time."

There are alternative energy sources. Solar and wind are options for power generation that are being developed. As you already know a new push for nuclear is under way. But it will take decades for these to become an effective substitute for fossil fuels.

The fact is, we still need oil - and we'll need it for a long time to come.

But it's the cheap oil we're running out of - not oil itself...

And that's why "alternative oil" is now the buzzword on every far-sighted investor's lips...

Become an "alternative oil tycoon" tomorrow by owning these stocks today...

'Alternative oil' refers to oil sources which, until now, were too hard and expensive to extract to bother with. But with oil prices sitting above $70 a barrel, there's now plenty of incentive to tap these once unpopular resources.

First there's heavy and sour crude oil, which is harder to refine than more desirable light, sweet crude. The term "heavy" means the oil is thicker, while "sour" means it contains more sulphur and other impurities.

The good news is, there's a lot of it. Venezuela alone claims its Orinoco "extra-heavy" oil belt contains about 1.2 trillion barrels of oil. In fact they're already producing 620,000 barrels of extra heavy crude per day.

The bad news is that more intensive refining is required to yield less petrol than lighter crude oil - and only a small amount of refineries can handle it. With the energy sector booming, there aren't enough engineers or tools to build or adapt refineries to process heavier grades of oil.

In other words, if you're a refinery that can already do so, you're in the money...

Start your FREE MoneyWeek trial and claim this free report How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom today and you'll discover the three most efficient heavy and sour oil refiners in the world at present. As more and more "unconventional oil" starts getting processed in this way, these three businesses are on track to grow into the energy giants of tomorrow...

Then there's oil made from coal.

The Fischer-Tropsch coal-to-liquids process was discovered all the way back in 1923, and was used to power the Nazi war machine in World War II, providing nearly all the country's aviation fuel and half of its petroleum needs.

HSBC has calculated that coal-to-liquid plants are now viable at about $44 for a barrel of crude. For this reason many new coal-to-liquid plants are in the planning and production stages worldwide.

Canadian engineer SNC-Lavalin's $1bn coal-to-diesel plant in Wyoming is set to come on line in 2009. China has a total of 30 coal liquefaction projects in the works across the country. One planned plant alone aims to generate 30 million tonnes of oil products by 2020 - representing one seventh of China's annual oil usage...

Because of this, the International Energy Administration expects demand for coal to rise at 3% a year - almost twice the rate of oil. MoneyWeek has identified the three companies poised to benefit as the demand for coal-to- liquid technology soars. You can learn all about them by claiming your FREE report today...

And, finally, potentially the most promising oil investment mentioned so far...

"Like investing in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s..."

You can't talk about alternative oil without mentioning Canada's tar sands - considered to be one of the global oil industry's great hopes...

Official estimates put accessible Canadian tar sand reserves at 179 billion barrels of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia. But with the right technology, it's thought there's enough bitumen in the tar sands to yield over 300 billion barrels. Although refining requires over two tons of tar sands to produce one barrel of oil, it's an economic proposition as long as oil is at the $75 mark.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers reports that C$60bn (£28bn) has been allocated for new development projects in Alberta over the next five years. It predicts this year's tar sand outputs of over one million barrels a day will rise to 3.5 million in 2015 and 4 million in 2020.

Canada's tar sands will become an integral part in our own Final Energy Boom.

Think about it... if YOU were a country who had to start importing oil on a permanent basis (as we will from next year onwards), who would you rather be getting it from?

Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia?

Or Canada?

For this reason, analyst Jeff Rubin of CIBC World Markets believes Alberta's reserves will become "the world's most important NSE11source of new oil by as soon as 2010, as supplies of conventional crude decline."

If you let me rush you your FREE report today, you'll receive a detailed brief on exactly which companies will help you gain a foothold into the black gold rush unfolding in Alberta. This is going to be a long-term story... but as John Markman at MSN.com says: "if you make the right investments today it will be something like investing in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s"

The irrefutable fact is that conventional oil supplies are shrinking... both domestically and globally.

That's precisely the dilemma (read: profit opportunity) facing forward-thinking British investors right now.

Seriously, I can think of no better way to lock in multiple short, medium AND long-term potential gains than by claiming your FREE report, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom, today.

NSE12Most UK investors will sit back and watch as power bills climb, their cars become impossibly expensive to run and the oil price rockets over $100 per barrel... sticking to their comfy ISA's and predictable blue chips...

I invite YOU today to let MoneyWeek guide you on a different, infinitely more profitable path...

What I've shown you in this report is just a tiny sample of the rich pickings on offer to investors who act now. I want to invite you to join us for more. I want to invite you to subscribe to MoneyWeek.

Firstly, I'd like to send you your FREE report, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom. But what I'd like most of all is to reveal to you all our newest vital recommendations... as they unfold.

Accept this invitation to try MoneyWeek for FREE now

No strings. No obligation. I want you to try three weekly issues, jam-packed with the same kind of rare, far-reaching profit advice you've read in these pages... absolutely FREE.

As you'll see, MoneyWeek brings you ONLY the financial news that really matters. All in a weekly format that's easy to read and understand. You'll hear the latest share tips being whispered in the Square Mile... "time bomb investments" set to plummet... which sectors are on the up and which are in for tough times... as well as dozens of clever ways to slash your tax bill.

Now you have the chance to sample crystal clear, cutting-edge insights into what's really happening in the markets... as well as how YOU can turn coming events to your own financial advantage.

And regardless of whether you like our publication or not, I want you to keep the issues AND your free investor's report with my compliments.

I hope you'll agree that's a pretty generous offer.

And it couldn't be easier to accept.

Just click HERE and fill in your details.

This is a genuine, no-obligation invitation. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking me up on it.

When it arrives, study the targeted investment recommendations in How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom. Analyse the advice and future profit trends outlined in your three issues. See what you think first-hand. If you're not 100% convinced that MoneyWeek will both make and save you thousands, potentially tens of thousands of pounds in the months ahead, just contact us during your 3-week free trial and we'll stop your subscription immediately.

As I said, your issues and report are yours to keep.

My guarantee is iron-clad simply because I want you to feel confident about acting on this invitation quickly... because with this particular trend, time really is of the essence.

So what if you want to stay on as a subscriber?

If you decide, as I hope and anticipate, that MoneyWeek will be an indispensable financial companion in the months and years ahead, then I'd like to make you a very attractive offer indeed...

An offer I hope you can't refuse...

The usual cost of MoneyWeek is £112.20 for a full year.

Let me put that into context for you: I KNOW some fund managers who charge that PER HOUR for consultancy... Our unique "consultancy" works out at about 30p a day.

I can say with complete confidence you won't get this level of investment intelligence for anywhere near this price anywhere else.

But £112.20 is the full official subscription.

The accounts department have kindly allowed me to offer you a special subscription rate of only £14 for every 13 issues through Direct Debit. That's a saving of 51% on the cover price, should you decide to stay on after your FREE trial.

Alternatively you can choose to pay by credit card and enjoy a whole year (51 weekly issues) of privileged investment knowledge for just £59.

I think you're getting a great deal here. But my opinion doesn't matter.

With three FREE issues... and potentially one of the most profitable investment reports you'll ever lay eyes on (also for free)... the ball is in your court.

I'm confident you'll like what you see. And I KNOW that you'll never find another financial advisory this direct... this close to the heart of such an explosive profit opportunity... or this far-sighted to position its readers to take advantage of investment themes like Britain's Final Energy Boom.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Merryn's signature


 

 

 

Merryn Somerset Webb,
Editor,
MoneyWeek NSE13

PS: Remember: there's nothing to lose by seizing this opportunity today. Your FREE report, How to Siphon Profits from Britain's Final Energy Boom, is really that - free. You can keep it, it's yours. And you'll have 3 FREE ISSUES to decide whether you like MoneyWeek magazine as much as it's small, loyal following does. So why NOT take a free 'sneak-peek' at what MoneyWeek has to offer? Just click on the 'Order Now' link below.

Start your 3-week FREE trial now!

 

Compare low interest credit cards