Keith Kohl

Energy investors find that it is impossible to have a discussion about national oil companies (NOCs) without shining a light on OPEC. By the end of 2011, more than 80 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves rested in the hands of the 12-member oil cartel. OPEC was created in the 1960s by five founding members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

One reason natural gas investment prospects are better in North America than the rest of the world is that fracking (hydraulic fracturing of rock) is causing a bona fide natural gas boom right now. Most natural gas production in the United States comes from shale and tight gas; these are reserves of natural gas trapped deep in shale and sedimentary rock that are too hard to drill through.

For energy investors to successfully trade oil and gas futures, understanding the basic drivers behind oil and gas prices is imperative. In a perfect world, a market’s fundamentals would revolve entirely around demand. That is, you have a buyer with a specific amount in mind, willing to pay a certain price. Rarely, however, is that the case.

Energy investors should know that America is the country that made coal king. Coal from Southern and Midwestern states is what helped build the strongest economy in the world. Some of the companies that made that possible are still around and are still solid investments. Here's a look at some of the major coal mining companies: Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is a large blue chip coal miner with a $5.

Investing successfully in energy involves a lot of research into many different aspects of energy production and consumption. You can invest in commodities such as coal, oil, and natural gas, or you can purchase stock in an oil company or a company that builds natural gas power plants. You need to keep an eye on not only the energy markets but also the global economy and the news of the day.

Energy investors need to have a basic understanding of natural gas markets on both a regional and global scale. Natural gas is a composition of hydrocarbons formed from millions of years of pressure and heat in thick layers of silt, sand, and mud. It is odorless and tasteless, has no discernible color, and more important, is combustible.

It’s important to define energy, because it’s important to know the nature and scope of a market you’ll be putting your hard-earned dollars into. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of energy breaks it down into several parts. Energy Has a dynamic quality Is a vigorous exertion of power Is a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system, and is usually regarded as the capacity for doing work Is usable power (such as heat or electricity) or the resources for producing such power For investment purposes, a combination of the third and fourth definitions is apt.

You've likely heard about the highly controversial subject of hydraulic fracturing — referred to as fracking by today's media — at one point or another within the last few years. But contrary to popular belief, it's only fairly recently that the fractious row began over this drilling technique. Hydraulic fracturing has actually been around for over six decades.

A new discovery in northern Saskatchewan, Canada could quickly become one of the top ten uranium deposits in the world. MacArthur River, also located in Saskatchewan, is widely agreed to be the largest deposit, containing high grades of uranium totaling about 324 million pounds. This new discovery, called Patterson Lake South, has only had a few holes drilled and is already shown to contain around 50 million pounds of uranium at high grade.