Top Picks in the Oil & Gas E&P Sector: 30% Increase in 2013

67 WALL STREET, New York - January 18, 2013 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Oil & Gas: Refining, Independent and Major Integrated Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Capital Expenditures and Consolidation Activity - Refining Crude Price Differentials - Frontier Exploration and Development - Shale Drilling Capital Expenditures - Oil and Gas Price Divergence - Oil Price Expectations - LNG Global Pricing Differentials

Companies include: Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), PetroQuest Energy Inc. (PQ), EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), Continental Resources Inc. (CLR), Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR), Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG), Range Resources Corp. (RRC), Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN), Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL), Forest Oil Corp. (FST), Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (CWEI), Berry Petroleum Co. (BRY)

In the following excerpt from the Oil & Gas: Refining, Independent and Major Integrated Report, an expert analyst discusses the outlook for the sector for investors:

TWST: What is your general advice to energy investors on how to play the space in 2013? What kinds of names should people be looking for and which might they want to avoid?

Mr. Coleman: My coverage universe is 21 E&P companies, primarily U.S. based, some as large as Anadarko (APC) down to my smallest company PetroQuest (PQ). Given the uncertainty in our view on where commodities are going, I tend to like folks that have a bigger, more diversified asset base, better execution track record and lower leverage, so like EOG Resources (EOG). I'd love to see a catalyst on the short-term side of things, just to underpin what the company has been doing operationally, so a name like Anadarko is very topical right now.

But looking the oil and gas sectors, respectively, EOG is probably my favorite gas name because of its great balance sheet, good growth and very technically respected operational and management teams. There's potential takeout there as well, given the size of the firm and the breadth of the asset base, but it would be a huge transaction for someone to digest.

On the oil side, I'd look at someone like Continental Resources (CLR). Short term, they'll grow almost 60% in 2012. Their forecast for 2013 is north of 30%. They have the balance sheet to withstand outspending by about $1 billion next year by our model. And if you want to go a little bit longer term...

For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.