Brian Hicks - Angel Publishing

Utica and Marcellus Shale Natural Gas

For years, West Virginia has been the butt of jokes on the East Coast.

It was so bad that MTV filmed a "reality documentary" in 2009 called The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.

Today those jokes stop.

And as you read this, a conga line of Wall Street bankers, lawyers, and oil and gas executives wearing Armani suits and each carrying three Blackberry 9930s are flying into an obscure airport in West Virginia called the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport.

Luckily, I don’t have to take a bumpy ride in a puddle jumper over the Appalachians to get to Wheeling, West Virginia.

I can take a direct shot from my home on I-70.

A lot of people don’t know this, but Interstate 70 — which starts in Baltimore, Maryland, and ends in Utah — really started out as the “Old National Road.”

I’ve driven on I-70 hundreds of times without knowing its historic significance in the growth of the United States.

You see, the Old National Road was the very first major highway built by the federal government. Construction started in 1811 in Cumberland, Maryland.

By 1818, it had reached Wheeling, West Virginia, which sits on the banks of the Ohio River, a major shipping port.

By 1824, the “Bank Road” was constructed, connecting Baltimore’s large shipping port on the Chesapeake Bay to the National Road in Cumberland. Eventually, the B&O Railroad built a rail line to Wheeling to handle the growing commerce.

For the next century, Wheeling was a thriving shipping and manufacturing hub. The city saw its population grow from 7,885 in 1840 to 38,878 in 1900... and peak in the 1940s and 1950s at around 61,000, the height of the steel market in that region.

Now, the steel market in America has been dead for decades.

In 2010, the census reported Wheeling’s population had sunk to 29,000. Worse yet, the city had started off the year with a gut-wrenching 11% unemployment rate.

But a lot has changed — even in just two years...

Wheeling is experiencing a bona fide employment boom.

Take a look at this chart of Wheeling’s unemployment rate:

Wheeling, West Virginia, now has an unemployment rate lower than the national average.

The reason?

~~wd_nat_gas~~

You guessed it: A natural gas drilling bonanza, thanks to the Marcellus.

According to yesterday's edition of the Wheeling News-Register:

With local wells producing enough Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas to support an ethane cracker, industry leaders believe the city lies in the "dead center" of an economic boom.

"Right here in Wheeling, you are at the dead center of all the activity," said Rayola Dougher, senior economic advisor for the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute.

"Wheeling is becoming a very important hub in the oil and gas industry because of the nearby 'wet' gas," added Gastar Exploration (GST – AMEX) Rotruck Vice President-Northeast Michael McCown.

McCown continued: "In West Virginia, we have been drilling through the Marcellus for 80 years, but we didn't have the technology to get much gas out of it," he said. "The new (horizontal) drilling technology allows us to drill into it to retrieve the gas."

A small company with a market cap of $192 million, Gastar holds approximately 79,700 net acres in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.

For 2012, the company is planning to drill 24 to 29 operated horizontal Marcellus wells — and expects 20 to 23 additional wells to be brought online by year-end.

The natural gas drilling boom is in its beginning stages. In the years to come, there will be hundreds upon hundreds of producing wells in and around Wheeling.

"This region [Wheeling] should be able to rock and roll," said Scott Rotruck, vice president of corporate development and state government relations for Chesapeake Energy.

West Virginia has a unique and important part of the Marcellus Shale because it has the wet gas slice of the pie.

Wet gas (or natural gas liquids) consists of ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes, in addition to the dry methane natural gas. This is also known as NGL, which you commonly see it referred to.

In fact, you come in contact with these liquids almost every day. They’re used in:

Vehicle fuels
Commercial and residential heating
Camping stoves and grills
Lighter fluid
Refrigerants
Aerosol cosmetics, aerosol paints
Agents for developing foam insulation

And that’s not all. The other major use for NGLs — and perhaps the most significant — is as a feedstock for petrochemical cracking.

Petrochemical cracking furnaces, which operate at 2000°F/1150°C, turn complex hydrocarbons into less complex materials like ethylene and propylene.

This method is used at oil refineries to produce the raw material to make various solvents, detergents, adhesives, plastics, resins, fibers, lubricants, and gels.

So it’s significant. And it’s why a cracking facility in Wheeling would be a game-changer.

But there’s more.

Dominion Resources wants to ship the dry gas from this region to its LNG terminal in Cove Point, Maryland, which sits on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. From there, it’ll export LNG overseas to gas-hungry markets...

Dear reader, the Old National Road is open for business again.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Gold and Silver Are Headed for Record Highs

Gold and silver are on fire.

The yellow metal is finishing up the month of January with a gain of more than 10%.

But silver is the star... It’s going to double the performance of gold for the month.

In fact, silver is up 21.5% in January!

To put that into perspective, silver’s January gain has outperformed the Dow’s 2011 performance. It also outperformed last year’s gains in the NASDAQ and S&P 500.

You might think that since these metals are up so much for the first month of the year, they’re ripe for a pullback. And that may be correct.

However, the charts of both gold and silver — but especially gold — are insanely bullish...

This is a weekly chart of gold going back nearly three years:

As you can see clear as day, gold is forming an ominous double bottom technical formation, represented by the large “W” pattern that began forming last September.

This “W” pattern is so huge and so clearly obvious that I think we’re going to witness an explosive breakout to the upside in gold.

The top of the “W” is about $1,800 with the bottom being about $1,500. The difference is $300. Add that to the $1,800 if we get a breakout, and the target level is $2,100. And that’s the minimum price target for gold.

Who knows where it goes from there...

If gold breaks out from its “W” pattern and reaches $2,100 an ounce, then that would be a 21% gain from current levels.

The same chart pattern is forming in silver, too.

~~gold_signup~~

The Chinese Love Gold

The fundamentals of the precious metals market support the technical picture.

You see, regardless of charts, it’s still about supply and demand.

Last week, I told you that the Chinese New Year (the Year of the Dragon) is bullish for gold and silver.

Recent reports from China reveal they imported 85.7 tons of gold in October, a 40-fold increase from October of the previous year.

That’s a massive increase.

In fact, China may have imported as much as 500 tons of gold in 2011, double the estimated 245 tons purchased in 2010. The buying spree is continuing in the first month of 2012 — and not just by the Chinese.

According to Bloomberg and reported by Chris DeHaemer in yesterday’s Wealth Daily:

Gold traders are bullish for a fourth consecutive week, betting that the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates low until late 2014 will extend the metal’s best start to a year in more than three decades.

Nine of 15 surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to gain next week. The value of gold held in exchange-traded products jumped $3.9 billion on Jan. 25, the most since October, as the central bank laid the groundwork for a possible third round of asset purchases, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Lower interest rates increase the appeal of bullion because it generally earns investors returns only through price gains.

A third, fourth and fifth round of easing “lie ahead,” Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., wrote in a Jan. 25 Twitter post. The European Central Bank kept interest rates at a record low this month as the region contends with a spreading debt crisis.

The U.S. Mint sold 114,500 ounces of American Eagle gold coins so far this month, its website shows. Full-month sales would reach 143,125 ounces at that pace, the most since July 2010.

The 2,359.638 metric tons of gold held in ETPs backed by the metal is within 1.5 percent of the all-time high set last month and exceeds the reserves of all but four central banks.

One of Greg McCoach’s favorite phrases is that they call silver and gold "precious metals" for a reason — because it’s such a tiny market.

If you melted down all the physical gold that exists above ground into a cube, it would measure 20 yards by 20 yards by 20 yards.

And when the masses jump into gold — even a tiny portion — it’ll send the price of gold up dramatically.

That event may be coming soon. It’s a perfect storm for gold and silver.

The original bull on America,

Brian Hicks
Publisher, Wealth Daily

P.S. You'll want to be in a position to profit from gold's perfect storm, and that means getting up to speed on the nuts and bolts of the precious metals market. Our seminar at 6 o'clock tonight (EST) is designed to help you do just that. But you have to sign up to view it right now, because it begins in a few hours.

12 Shocking Facts about the Bakken

The extraordinary growth in oil production in North Dakota has been well-documented in Wealth Daily.

But I thought I’d change it up today and tell you about the law of unintended consequences regarding the hyper-speed growth in economic output in the Bakken.

Earlier this week, one of my sources sent me an article from Fargo, North Dakota radio station KFGO.

The article lists a number of new developments (some good, some bad) in Western North Dakota, where the economy is booming, the jobless rate is less than 1%, and there are bound to be some growing pains.

Here's the Top 12:

1. Traffic accidents, especially fatal traffic accidents, are of very high concern. At one location on Highway 85 south of Williston, a traffic count was conducted in October 2011. In one 24-hour period, there were 29,000 vehicles through the intersection — with 60% of the traffic being semi-trailer trucks.

2. Traffic is typically backed up for half to three-quarters of a mile. One person said he recently sat at an intersection on Highway 85 for 30 minutes waiting for an opening in the traffic to cross over.

3. Rent in Williston currently ranges from $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to $3,400 for a three-bedroom apartment.

4. Williams County allows three campers per farmstead; almost all of the farmers have three campers on their property — and are charging $800 per camper, per month for rent.

5. The Wal-Mart in Williston no longer stocks shelves; they bring out pallets of merchandise at night and set them in the aisles, and customers shop from the pallets.

6. On January 1, the Williston Wal-Mart had 148 campers parked overnight in the store's lot.

7. The Williston McDonald's just announced it will pay new workers $15 an hour — as well as a $500 immediate signing bonus and full medical benefits.

8. The local restaurants are full, and with limited staffing, they usually just have the drive-through open. The restaurants that have inside seating are now experiencing an hour-long wait at all times.

9. The local Motel 6 in Williston now rents rooms for $130 per night.

10. Trinity Hospital in Minot has just hired 115 nurses from the Philippines because they cannot get enough local nurses to apply.

11. The Williston General Motors dealership has now become the No. 1 seller of Corvettes in the upper Midwest.

12. The Williams County Jail has increased bookings by 150%, with a 100% increase in the inmate population. Bonds of $5,000 to $10,000 are typically paid with cash out of pocket. The Williams County Sheriff stated that a couple weeks ago, he received a $63,000 bond in cash, carried into the jail in a plastic Wal-Mart bag.

The dramatic growth in this region is only going to accelerate...

And the infrastructure needed to support this growth will be a boon, too.

~~wd_nat_gas~~

Last month, Canadian Pacific Railway and pipeline company Enbridge announced they will be investing heavily in rail shipping capacity for crude oil in the Bakken area of North Dakota and Saskatchewan.

Enbridge Energy Partners, Enbridge’s U.S. subsidiary, plans to move 10,000 barrels of oil per day by July 2012 through the planned railcar facility. A second phase would add an additional 70,000 bpd of transportation capacity by early 2013.

The development would increase Enbridge’s existing railway system, which began in 2010. The total increase in capacity will be about 145,000 barrels per day, which will be essential in allowing the increasing production of Bakken oil to get to market.

Canadian Pacific plans to spend $89 million to increase railway transportation of crude oil by five times the amount moved last year.

The company recently opened a rail-loading facility 25 miles from the U.S. border. This facility allows railcars to be loaded directly from trucks coming from the Bakken oil fields.

Once constructed, the pipeline will connect existing Enbridge facilities to the Enbridge main pipeline system, which transports the products to the U.S. Midwest, Eastern Canada, and Midcontinent.

This development is pushing Bakken stocks to new highs.

As you read this, the largest Bakken producer, Continental Resources, is sitting at a multi-year high:

In the wake of the Keystone XL Pipeline delay, North Dakota once again confirms why its unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation.

~~wd_options2~~

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Proof Obama Loves Gas and Oil Shale

Last night Obama delivered his 2012 State of the Union address.

It sounded unusually similar to what I’ve been writing in Wealth Daily and Energy and Capital...

Create millions of jobs by opening up our vast oil and gas shale formations.

On November 18, 2011, I outlined my plan to get Americans back to work.

In my "Roadmap to Prosperity" article, I wrote:

It’s very simple: Open up our resource-rich oil and gas shale regions to exploration and production.

In the Bakken, 18,000 jobs are unfilled. This figure is only going to grow.

You see, right now there are more than 3,000 wells that have been or are being drilled in North Dakota.

By the end of the decade, 50,000 wells will be drilled.

I’ve owned and visited oil and gas drills in the past. Typically, 10 to 12 men are needed to run the drill.

Do the math...

North Dakota will be an employment bonanza.

Drill, Baby, Drill

But the Bakken is just one of many shale formations we can tap into.

A recent report by Bloomberg quotes New York Commissioner of Environmental Conservation Joe Martens that the Marcellus could add more than 13,000 jobs — direct and indirect to his state.

“That’s our most conservative estimate. The higher estimate is nearly 54,000 jobs,” Martens said.

And it’s not only right-leaning media outlets that are promoting the benefits of our shale resource. Last Friday, the liberal New York Times had this to say:

The U.S. now seems to possess a 100-year supply of natural gas, which is the cleanest of the fossil fuels. This cleaner, cheaper energy source is already replacing dirtier coal-fired plants. It could serve as the ideal bridge, Amy Jaffe of Rice University says, until renewable sources like wind and solar mature.

Already shale gas has produced more than half a million new jobs, not only in traditional areas like Texas but also in economically wounded places like western Pennsylvania and, soon, Ohio. If current trends continue, there are hundreds of thousands of new jobs to come.

~~wd_nat_gas~~

During his State of the Union, Obama directly addressed natural gas shale drilling, stating that his administration “will take every possible action” to safely expand shale gas drilling efforts.

Obama went on, “The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy.”

In his speech, the president emphasized the economic impacts of drilling: “We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.”

And remember, this is just natural gas development...

Oil shale production in the United States is also booming and creating jobs.

Two days ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expects oil shale production to increase 20% in ten years.

To put that into perspective, America produces 5.5 million barrels per day. By 2020, the EIA expects that number to jump to 6.7 million barrels a day — an increase of 1.2 million barrels.

That 1.2-million-barrel increase alone is nearly more than the combined oil production of Australia and India.

That’s how significant this is.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: This is greatest investment event of the century.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Gold and Silver are Breaking Out

Before I get into today’s Wealth Daily, let me wish you a happy Chinese New Year.

My wife is Chinese, so I’m obliged to participate in the celebration and customs… even the ones that go against my hygiene, like not bathing the first day of the New Year (bathing washes away the good luck for the coming year).

2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

According to this year’s Dragon prediction, investments will do well “with a steady income throughout the year.”

Gold and silver will do well, too.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

The year of the dragon is breathing new life into gold prices.

The Chinese have been loading up like never before on gold ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 23 this year. It is a time of gift-giving that takes place during family dinners, with the older generation giving money to younger members. And as the Chinese have gotten richer, gold—in the form of jewelry, coins and even bars—is becoming the gift of choice.

In preparation for the festivities, China imported a record amount of gold in November…

In fact, recent reports suggest the Chinese have become gold bugs.

According to a January 19th Reuters article:

The explosive growth in the number of investors that have signed up is a symptom of the wider demand for the precious metal.

For Chinese shipping executive Ping buying gold is the best way to protect his family's wealth and give his 10-year-old son a head start into adulthood.

"For my son, the idea is that he will get a nice stash of gold that he can cash out when he turns 21 or when he gets married," said Ping, one of over 2 million people that have opened accounts in the past two years to accumulate gold at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

As a sign of surging demand for bullion, China's gold imports from Hong Kong in the first 11 months of 2011 more than tripled on the year.

China has one of the world's highest saving rates, and the public faces few investment options. A volatile stock market and a property market under government crackdown are driving investors to seek alternative investment choices.

"Chinese investors are looking for ways to protect their savings from negative real interest rates," said Nick Trevethan, Senior Commodity Strategist at ANZ in Singapore.

But here at Wealth Daily, we don’t rely on superstition to make investment decisions — we have charts!

On January 13th, I laid out my investment thesis for gold going to $1,950 this year. Here’s what I said...

Take a look:

Gold is setting up a double-bottom formation after selling off late last year.

You see, this pattern formed before — in 2008-2009.

In fact, it’s almost the exact same formation:

Gold broke out perfectly from the “W” formation… and hit the precise price target is was supposed to hit.

The current chart suggests a breakout to $1,950 — almost exactly what Goldman is predicting.

~~silver_signup~~

As I write this, gold is breaking out — reaching $1,681 an ounce. And silver is already having a monster year, hitting levels of $32.77 an ounce. Silver, in fact, is up 17% since the start of the year.

But the best is yet to come… and my optimistic prediction for gold and silver prices might be too low.

Despite the September 5, 2011 historic-high gold price of $1,895 an ounce, and despite the multi-decade-high silver price of $48.70 an ounce, gold and silver prices have yet to take out their 1980 historic levels, adjusted for inflation.

The earlier all-time high of $850.00 would be $2,466 an ounce, based on December 2011 CPI-U-adjusted dollars.

In like manner, the all-time high price for silver in January 1980 of $49.45 an ounce still has not been hit since 1980, including in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars.

Based on December 2011 CPI-U inflation, the 1980 silver price peak would be $144 an ounce.

With demand still high for gold and silver — particularly in Asia — these two precious metals could hit those highs in the next 12 to 24 months.

Gong heefotchoy!

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

P.S. On January 31st (next Tuesday) at 6 p.m., we will be hosting a webinar on silver and gold. I recommend tuning in. It's free — and will include a 2012 gold forecast, the best ways to buy, and how to avoid taxes. But don't wait until next week to sign up... spots are filling up quickly.

Obama's Hydraulic Fracturing Pledge

For all of Obama's flipping and flopping, it looks like he got one right.

Last week, the White House released a report entitled, “Investing in America: Building an Economy that Lasts.”

Amidst tensions between state governments, energy companies, the EPA, and a self-appointed panel of scientists and college professors, the White House sent a clear message when it credited hydraulic fracturing and the Marcellus Shale formation with fueling an economic boom in the United States.

This represents a major deviation in policy by an administration which just yesterday denied approval of the Keystone Pipeline, a transcontinental delivery system designed to carry 500,000 barrels daily from Canada to consumers in the U.S. — creating 20,000 jobs in the process.

More significant, however, is that the White House is making this policy shift at a time when hydraulic fracturing is under more scrutiny than ever...

And this is the reason why:

Despite the fact that the EPA — as well as numerous private environmental groups, activists, and scientists — has been trying to demonize the process as inherently dangerous to the environment, specifically citing threats to groundwater, the Obama administration is left with no choice but to accept that this relatively new industrial process is largely behind the recent resurgence in domestic oil and gas production.

Efforts to block (or at least discourage) federally-mandated regulations are finding broad support as U.S. natural gas production hits an all-time high and prices touch 10-year lows.

However, what's good news for the job market and for the economy is still seen as a negative development for special interest groups:

"The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday for the first time that fracking — a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells — may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution." — USA Today, December 2011

With isolated reports of groundwater contamination reported in several areas around the country, environment groups spent much of last year calling for increased regulations and transparency in drilling and fracturing practices...

Specifically, chemical residue from the hydraulic fracturing process has spurred groups to call for full disclosure of industry secrets that energy companies have spent decades perfecting.

But even with this pressure, the power of economic development has finally proven to be too much...

In an article published on Wednesday, January 18th, analysts at BP stated fracturing will transform the global fossil fuel industry as we know it in as little as 20 years.

Natural gas drilling rig in the Barnett Shale field in Fort Worth

Already the world's top ranked natural gas producer, the U.S. could become a net exporter of all major fossil fuels by the year 2030.

“Growth in shale oil and gas supplies will make the US virtually self-sufficient in energy by 2030, according to a BP report published on Wednesday. In a development with enormous geopolitical implications, the country's dependence on oil imports from potentially volatile countries in the Middle East and elsewhere will disappear.” — The Guardian, January 2012

Obama's apparent change of heart in the matter of clean energy has, predictably, not found much support from special interest groups.

~~wd_nat_gas~~

In August of last year, an independent panel of scientists from 22 universities and institutions sent Secretary of Energy David Chu an open letter urging him to modify the membership of the U.S. Energy Advisory Board committee

Dubbed the 'fracturing panel', the Energy Advisory Board — which was appointed to study the effects of fracturing on the environment — was openly criticized by environmental groups for consisting only of biased, pro-fossil fuel members who suppressed scientific testimony in an effort to block further scrutiny and potential regulation.

Critics claimed the fracturing panel failed to invite any external reviewers or independent experts, and was openly accused of having strong financial and political ties to the gas industry.

Of course, one man's controversy is another man's opportunity...

And as far as opportunities go, few have ever been as big — or as fast-moving — as this one.

Clearly, D.C.'s mainstream political machine is now waking up to the realities of the American fossil fuel renaissance...

And it's about time.

In 2010 alone, total U.S. proved natural gas reserves increased by an all-time annual record of 11%, with crude reserves surging by 9%.

All of this, though, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hydraulic fracturing represents such a paradigm-shifting change in the way we mine for fossil fuel that even the famously indecisive Obama administration has no choice but to accept the realities unconditionally.

According to geological projections, an estimated 4.36 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — worth over $10 trillion, even at today's deflated prices — resides in the Marcellus Shale formation alone...

And as much as 24 billion barrels of total crude resource lies in wait in the Bakken.

To understand just how big a deal this is, think of it this way:

By 2018, Williston, North Dakota — a town of less than 15,000 and the heart of the Bakken formation industrial complex — will produce as much crude oil as the entire nation of India.

Before recent progress in the implementation of fracturing technology, however, the bulk of these reserves were inaccessible.

As the potential wealth is finally unlocked, and as traditional oil wells across the world peak out and go into decline, even the most green-leaning administration will have trouble ignoring reality.

Put simply, it's here to stay... and eventually, to dominate the world energy industry.

In the coming years, fracturing will become as commonplace as "strip mining" and "off-shore drilling" were in the 20th century.

In fact, thanks in large part to the widespread acceptance of this process, Obama's 2008 campaign commitment to cutting U.S. fossil fuel imports by one-third by the end of the decade could very likely prove to be the biggest promise he doesn't break.

None of this is news to industry insiders, of course. Professional investors have been tracking and profiting off this burgeoning sub-industry since the end of the last decade.

And at least for the next 20 to 30 years, things will only be ramping up as Uncle Sam heads toward energy independence for the first time since the 1960s.

Make no mistake about it; decades from now, American economic history will be separated into the pre-fracturing and post-fracturing periods...

Everything that comes after will rewrite everything that came before.

Stay ahead of the curve.

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

The Shale Boom is Giving Birth to Other Bull Markets

On March 27, 1998, the FDA approved erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.

The drug was a game-changer. A revolution in society. A miracle for once-boring marriages.

Millions of men around the world bought the drug in droves.

I watched it closely, and nearly recommended Viagra manufacturer Pfizer to my readers.

But what most investors didn’t notice was that Viagra had given birth to bull markets in smaller stocks...

Here’s what happened.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of older men were ready to reclaim their manhood. Their wives had to get up to speed. And fast.

That’s when a small pharmaceutical stock called Bradley Pharmaceuticals started to rally.

At first glance, nobody knew why Bradley was taking off, making record high after record high...

But when you dug down into the company’s business, it was clear as day: Bradley was a leading provider of, ahem, sexual lubricants.

The same thing is happening today in the American oil and gas shale boom.

North Dakota Hits a Milestone

Last week, Bloomberg reported that North Dakota oil production had increased 42% to 510,000 barrels a day in November 2011.

Yes, this is huge news.

But we need to put it into proper context.

You see, that amount of oil production exceeds the production of OPEC member Ecuador.

According to the Bloomberg report:

The state’s daily crude output topped a half-million barrels for the first time during the month, North Dakota’s Oil and Gas Division said in a statement. North Dakota’s 6,300 wells produced enough oil to displace imports from foreign suppliers such as Iraq or Colombia, Lynn Helms, division director, said in the release.

Oil producers including EOG Resources Inc. and Continental Resources Inc. have spurred a fivefold increase in North Dakota’s oil output by using intensive drilling practices to tap the Bakken, a geologic formation that stretches from southern Alberta to the northern U.S. Great Plains. It’s estimated to hold as much as 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil in North Dakota and Montana, according to a 2008 report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

“This is big news for the state and the country,” Helms said. “Oil production in the state has increased anywhere from 8,000 to 40,000 barrels a day every month since June.”

The projection is that North Dakota will be producing between 700,000 and one million barrels of oil in a few years.

Remember, the Bakken is just one of several oil shale formations in the United States...

If North Dakota reaches that production level, it’ll overtake more OPEC members. And if we open up more oil shale formations in the U.S., America could rival the production of Saudi Arabia.

~~vix-box~~

Lubricant of a Different Nature

On January 5, 2012, USA Today ran a story titled, “Fracking for oil, natural gas spurs sand mining in Midwest.”

The piece was about how the fracking boom in the U.S. has given birth to a bull market in sand — yes, sand.

According to the article:

The rolling hills and scenic bluffs of western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota hide a valuable resource that has sparked what's been called a modern-day gold rush.

The object of desire is not gold but a soft sandstone needed by drilling companies to unlock underground natural gas and oil supplies in a controversial practice called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

U.S. frac sand producers sold or used more than 6.5 million metric tons of sand worth $319 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey The tonnage likely will have doubled when 2010 data is released, said Thomas Dolley, a USGS mineral commodity specialist who follows the silica mining industry.

"It's huge," Dolley said. "I've never seen anything like it, the growth. It makes my head spin."

Sand isn’t the only beneficiary of the oil and gas shale boom...

Westport Innovation is a Canadian company that manufactures natural gas engines for trucks. Trucking fleets are increasingly switching from diesel engines to natural gas due to the annual cost savings in fuel.

As you might expect, Westport’s stock has been one of the big performers ever since natural gas fracking took off.

Take a look:

Jeff Siegel was one of the first analysts to cover Westport, and his members made a fortune.

As I write this, Westport has made another all-time new high...

Mark my words: North American oil and gas is the place to invest for the next ten years. Fortunes will be made.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Hibernating Gold Stocks Guarantee Springtime Gains

“Gold will recover from its current malaise and hit a new record high in excess of $2,000 a troy ounce in 2012, according to an annual survey of industry predictions.”

— London Gold Bullion Association

For serious gold investors, the London Gold Bullion Association is like the Farmer's Almanac of price forecasting.

Their annual report, published in the first week of January, pools together dozens of predictions from fund managers, analysts, brokers, and speculators to boil down a single unified number. For years, it's proven to be a reliable oracle of things to come in the precious metals universe.

This year, the LGBA is putting per-ounce averages at $1,766, with lows touching $1,500 and highs exceeding the magical $2,000 mark — slightly underwhelming, given all the wild-eyed analysts calling for $5,000/ounce by winter and $10,000/ounce by 2014.

But don't lose hope just yet... because getting rich from the gold market has never been a better possibility.

And it isn't just a matter of catching that historic price explosion for a one-time, retirement-making cash-out...

"It Could Completely Kill China's Solar Industry!"

It's the new, American-made solar window...

And it could put every Chinese solar manufacturer out of business in less than five years.

Don't believe it? Check out this American ingenuity for yourself!

Click here.

In fact, if gold did hit $10,000/ounce anytime soon, you can be assured thoughts of retirement would be moot, as it will likely mean a general collapse of the dollar — and the global economy right along with it.

Thankfully, making a fortune off gold won't require a worldwide calamity or a two-decade hold time while precious metals reach those historic highs by more controlled means.

The best investors out there — those who know the business inside and out — will be making triple-digit gains by the summertime.

And they'll be doing it even if gold does exactly what the LGBA says it will, and only appreciates to $2,000 per ounce or slightly higher.

What I'm talking about has nothing to do with major changes in the gold market, but everything to do with the seasons.

Here's what I mean...

As anyone who's ever visited the Yukon Territories, watched the Discovery Channel series Goldrush, or tried to invade Russia knows all too well, when it comes to operating in sub-Arctic climates, there's one element which trumps all others...

Weather.

In the far-northern latitudes where winter lasts for approximately half the year, everything happens according to a very predictable annual cycle.

It starts in November, quickly turning the ground to ice as the temperature falls to an average low of -22° Fahrenheit.

Combine low temperatures with an average snowfall of close to five feet, and you have the perfect scenario for frozen diesel engines, rock-hard earth, frostbitten limbs, total cut-off from supplies and support, and a general breakdown in any mining operations.

Of course, extreme weather is only half of the equation.

This is the part that makes it interesting...

114-year-old Gold Secret Finally Exposed

After more than a century of lying dormant, gold is being discovered in the Yukon once again...

We're talking upwards of $160 billion in one of the largest finds in the world!

The thing is, the mining process is just beginning — meaning an easy 127% gain as drilling starts to take off.

To learn more about becoming an early investor, simply click here.

Since the first Gold Rush of 1848, over $80 billion in bullion (at modern prices) has emerged from this region.

And with every dollar that the price grows today — with every dollar that the explorers and miners can tack onto their profit margins — more companies, conglomerates, and individual prospectors are returning to the industry which first tamed these territories over 150 years ago.

Today, hundreds of private operations and dozens of publicly-traded exploration and mining outfits are expanding activity in the Yukon.

The problem remains that every November, winter still puts an effective lock-down on every pick, shovel, drill, and set of hands at work in the field...

For publicly-traded companies, the results can look something like this:

Like clockwork, when production shuts down each winter, investors start to lose interest and walk away from the market to seek fortune elsewhere.

In turn, Yukon gold exploration and mining stocks start to stagnate... then decline... then collapse.

Today, more of them than ever go through this annual transition.

But it's not a permanent collapse, because as soon as operations start back up — and the fertile Yukon soil begins giving up more and more of its estimated 39 million ounces of unharvested gold resources — the stocks awaken like a hibernating bear.

You see, the only event that could ever break this pattern would be a collapse in gold prices, something which no reputable authority on the matter expects to happen in the next two years.

The pros will time their buy-ins to coincide with the winter dips — and will be making 30%, 50%, even 100% each year, year after year, even if gold prices themselves plateau.

And if prices do rise (or skyrocket) as many claim they will... well, then the profits will be incalculable.

Only time will tell.

Here's what you need to keep in mind right now:

As you read this, the Yukon Territory is pretty much at the peak of its frozen season.

Stocks have been moving slowly, some losing as much as half of their paper value since the production season came to a halt a few months back...

But by March, as sure as the rise of the sun and the tides of the moon, these stocks will come roaring back as the industry reawakens.

Yours in wealth,

Brian Hicks
President, Angel Publishing

What China is Buying Now: AK47s, Rhino Horns, and Black Gold
Andarko Petroleum (APC), the $40 billion dollar Texas oil company, recently found between 15 and 30 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Mozambique Channel. It might be the biggest gas field found in the last decade... and as good a reason as any to buy the wildcatters.

Youngstown Fracturing Earthquake: Did Fracturing Really Cause 11 Earthquakes in Ohio?
Editor Jeff Siegel discusses how recent earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio, will shape the future of fracturing.

Investors Can Find It All in the Bakken: A Little Oil Rivalry Goes a Long Way
There's a piece of Bakken profits for every type of investor.

Natural Gas, the New King of Energy: "It's Essentially Free Energy"
"Everything we do now is based on natural gas. Everything. It's a major shift that'll last for decades..."

Ron Paul's Gold: What Ron Paul's Buying
In his book, End the Fed, Ron Paul says: "Nothing good can come from the Federal Reserve. It is the biggest taxer of them all. Diluting the value of the dollar by increasing its supply is a vicious, sinister tax on the poor and middle class." Plus, what Dr. Paul has in his portfolio...

Invest in What You Know: Stay Away from the New Dot-Com Stuff
If you don't understand it, don't invest in it. Nick Hodge explains how to stick to the stuff you know best.

North American Oil Production On the Rise: OPEC Isn't Cutting It
As demand for oil increases, once-dominant oil-producing nations are producing less while North America picks up the slack.

Protect Yourself Against Higher Gasoline Prices: Chart Suggests Oil Going to $125 a Barrel
Some energy analysts are predicting a 50% jump in the price of oil if the situation in Iran turns into an armed conflict or an oil blockade... As a technical analyst, I'm starting to think that either scenario is baked in the cake, according to one oil chart.

Our Natural Gas Investments for 2012: Alaska's Last Chance at Redemption
Why Alaska is about to turn its back on the United States...

Gold Going to $2,200?: Morgan Stanley Predicts Gold to Hit $2,200 in 2012... Maybe as High as $2,464
I’ve been long gold for several years. I’m still long this year. Here's why...

Gold Going to $2,200?

This is the time when all the Wall Street houses come out with their yearly predictions for the markets.

It’s also the time when Wealth Daily does the same.

Last week, I came out with Wealth Daily’s oil forecast.

If you remember, I said oil would hit $125 a barrel.

Whether or not it ends the year at that level, I don’t know. But at some point in 2012, I believe oil will hit $125 based on the technical pattern I’m seeing in the oil chart. And that will be the high for the year.

Interestingly enough, the pattern I’m seeing in oil is the same chart pattern I’m seeing in gold.

But before I get to that, let me tell you what Wall Street houses Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are predicting for the yellow metal...

Morgan Stanley is predicting gold will be the best-performing commodity in 2012 — and may make a new record high as investors look to secure their wealth against European uncertainty and slowing economic growth.

Their price target is $2,200 an ounce… with the potential to reach as high as $2,464.

Goldman Sachs is less aggressive, but bullish nonetheless.

Their price target for gold in this year is $1,940 an ounce:

We’re staying overweight on commodities as a rebound in demand revives speculation of shortages, with gold a favorite for 2012 as investors seek a hedge against Europe’s debt crisis.

Demand for gold strengthened most of last year as Europe’s debt crisis widened and the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero until at least mid-2013. Low interest rates increase the appeal of bullion because they generally reduce the prospect of returns on bonds.

Our view on gold is driven by our view on underlying real interest rates. It is the sharp drop in price that makes it more attractive.

One of the things I do to gauge the gold market is I go to coin and bullion dealers.

Before coming to the office today, I stopped in to see my favorite coin and bullion dealer. And I can tell you business in his shop is still booming.

Then came this little tidbit over the wire...

~~gold_signup~~

Hong Kong reported this past Wednesday that their gold imports reached record heights this month as investors rushed to the precious metal before the Luna New Year — a weeklong holiday beginning on January 23 — in order to "hedge against financial turmoil."

According to Bloomberg:

Demand for gold is climbing in China as investors seek to protect their wealth against slumping property prices and equity markets amid an inflation rate above 4 percent. The nation overtook India in the third quarter as the largest gold jewelry market, according to the World Gold Council.

The country is also the biggest producer. Bullion rose as much as 0.9 percent to $1,647.45 an ounce today, the highest since Dec. 13.

I usually read Wall Street predictions with a skeptical and suspicious eye.

But I actually think they’re spot-on with their call — especially after reading the Chinese story.

And the chart of gold suggests they’re right.

Take a look:

Gold is setting up a double-bottom formation after selling off late last year.

You see, this pattern formed before — in 2008-2009.

In fact, it’s almost the exact same formation:

Gold broke out perfectly from the “W” formation… and hit the precise price target is was supposed to hit.

The current chart suggests a breakout to $1,950 — almost exactly what Goldman is predicting.

I’ve been long gold for several years. I’m still long this year.

Go Ravens!!
~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Natural Gas, the New King of Energy

“Everything we do now is based on natural gas. Everything. It’s a major shift that’ll last for decades,” he said.

“There’s so much supply coming to the market that there’s not enough storage capacity. It’s insane. The numbers I’m seeing are staggering. At a price of $3 per M, it’s essentially free energy.”

That’s what the guy sitting next to me on my flight home from Vegas this weekend told me.

Ninety percent of opportunity is timing, location, and showing up...

And it just so happened I was on the right flight, sitting in the right seat.

You see, the guy sitting next to me is an energy trader for a major utility company headquartered here in Baltimore.

The company does about $14 billion in annual revenue, provides energy in several states in the U.S., and has over 1 million retail customers. It’s a big player, for sure.

He continued, “What I do is buy generation, or heat. I don’t care where it comes from — as long as I get the lowest price... and right now, nothing can compete with natural gas.”

Not even nuclear.

Then I asked him the $64,000 question: What about renewable energy?

I will not tell you what he said. But he answered in an almost remorseful way, apologetic for telling me what he truly thought and what he was experiencing in the trading pit.

After his explanation, he said, “I’m sorry for being so pessimistic.”

Last week, NPR ran a story that seemed to be incongruent with its stigma of being a Left-leaning media outlet. Whether or not that’s an accurate assessment of its political leaning, it caught a lot of attention for its stark honesty.

The headline of the piece was “Solar Panels Compete with Cheap Natural Gas,” and it recounted the story of Barbara Scott, a resident of Pennsylvania, where the natural gas boom is front and center:

Barbara Scott had 21 solar panels installed last March on her house in Media, Pa. Scott's family was the first in the community, and she was prepared to evangelize, "We can have open houses and write newsletter articles and promote the idea of solar," she said. But that was before the economics changed.

With government rebates and tax incentives, Scott says, her family spent $21,000 to install the system. She figured it would take eight years to recoup that investment.

A lot of other people had the same idea at the same time, which sent the price of solar energy credits down sharply in Pennsylvania. Scott says that added another seven years to the payback period.

On top of that, Scott says, electricity rates aren't going up as quickly as she thought they would, thanks in part to low natural gas prices.

"So that, again, adds another two years to our payback period," she says. "We're up to 17 years, which is, essentially, the life of the system. And we haven't even considered what happens if the system breaks or what it's going to cost to take the system off the roof and dispose of it. "

Despite this, Scott says she's still happy to have the panels on her house.

"But now, knowing it's — at best — a break-even proposition, we're not so comfortable telling other people to do it," she says.

This NPR article — coupled with my conversation with the utility company energy trader — confirmed what I’ve been thinking for months...

Natural gas is the new king of energy.

~~gold_signup~~

The Headlines Tell the Tale

The past two weeks have seen a flood of activity in the natural gas space in America. Take a look:

Total invests billions in shale gas
Total is banned from developing “unconventional” hydrocarbons in France, its home market, but is plowing billions of dollars into the US as it seeks to tap booming demand for oil and gas extracted from shale rock. — Financial Times, Jan. 6
Exxon Gets 13,200 Acres
Exxon Mobil has acquired about 13,200 acres in leases in Monroe County as the oil and natural gas giant continues expanding its Utica Shale footprint. — The Intelligencer, Jan. 8
China's Sinopec buys stake in five shale projects in the U.S.
Devon Energy Corp announced Tuesday the sale to China’s Sinopec of a one-third stake in five shale projects in the United States. The terms of the deal call for China’s No. 2 oil company to pay 900 million dollars in cash to the US firm and contribute 1.6 billion toward the cost of drilling. — Bloomberg, Jan. 4
Shale Bubble Inflates on Near-Record Prices
Chinese, French and Japanese energy explorers committed more than $8 billion in the past two weeks to shale-rock formations from Pennsylvania to Texas after 2011 set records for international average crude prices and U.S. gas demand. As competition among buyers intensifies, overseas investors are paying top dollar for fields… — Bloomberg, Jan. 9

The natural gas race in the United States is moving so fast, it makes your head spin.

And it’s starting to spread globally, just like the flu...

In Asia, natural gas costs around $17 per M, a near 600% premium to the cost of natural gas in the States.

So it makes sense that Asian energy explorers would take stakes in shale gas formations in the U.S. Not only will they enjoy the production benefits, but they’ll learn the technology of hydraulic fracturing so that they can exploit their own shale fields.

Think about this for a second: The U.S. holds an estimated 2,543 trillion cubic feet of gas — enough to supply America’s demand for more than a century, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Shale gas like that found in the Marcellus accounts for 862 trillion of that total.

In China, it’s estimated the country's shale gas formations contain 1,275 trillion cubic feet of gas. So it’s in China’s best interest to learn everything it can from American hydraulic fracking.

Regardless, the U.S. has a major head start in shale gas production.

And just as they have in the Bakken, early investors will make fortunes riding this gas wave.

Bottom line: America is going to be swimming in an ocean of natural gas and natural gas profits. And that will help the American consumer.

So, how did I end my conversation with the utility energy trader?

I asked him for a prediction.

He thinks natural gas is headed to $2.50 per M. That’s beyond free.

As we go to press, natural gas is trading for $2.82 per M.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

P.S. Last night I watched coverage of the New Hampshire primary. With the exception of Ron Paul, it reaffirmed for me just how full of crap politicians are. They’re all busybodies.

And just in case you think Republicans are vastly different than Democrats in their views on the proper role of government, I give you simply a shocking quote from Rick Santorum:

One of the criticisms I make is to what I refer to as more of a Libertarianish right.

They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down, keep our regulations low, and that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. That is not how traditional conservatives view the world.

There is no such society that I am aware of, where we’ve had radical individualism and that it succeeds as a culture.

Now I ask you, how is that different from what Bill Clinton said in a 1993 speech in Philadelphia?:

"If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees. The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people."

... whatever.

Protect Yourself Against Higher Gasoline Prices

Back in 1997, I enrolled in the Market Technicians Association.

The MTA is a school for professional investors who want to become experts in technical analysis.

The designation awarded after successfully passing three years of rigorous chart studies and tests is the CMT, or Chartered Market Technician. (Think of it as a Chartered Financial Analyst, but for stock charts, etc.)

Every brokerage house and money management firm in America either has an in-house CMT, or consults with one.

That’s how important it is.

During my studies at the MTA, it became quite clear to me that all the sophisticated technical patterns like Fibonacci retracements and death stars didn’t hold a, ahem, candlestick to the most basic of technical analysis...

I’m talking about support and resistance levels, fifty-day and 200-day moving averages, and ominous chart patterns like “head-and-shoulders” and “double-bottoms,” which look like a giant “W”.

I recently came across a “W” pattern in the chart of WTI oil.

Take a look:
The price of oil began to sell off in May of last year after reaching nearly $115 a barrel.

After a couple unsuccessful rebounds to get to the old high, oil sold off in earnest in both August and October, bottoming both times around $75 a barrel.

$75 a barrel was the bottom.

~~wd_dividend~~

During this period oil was testing its bottom (support), crude created a very noticeable "W" pattern.

I’ve circled the pattern for you in the chart above, but it’s easy to recognize.

Now, in technical analysis, they teach you to predict the price move from a breakout of a “W” formation.

Basically, you take the highest level reached in the formation (in this case, it’s about $100) and the lowest reached (in this case, it’s $75).

You subtract the lowest number from the highest. The result is $25.

You then add $25 to the highest level reached in the “W” formation, which as you know, is $100.

You now get a price target of $125.

In this past Saturday’s Wealth Daily, I told you that some energy analysts are predicting a 50% jump in the price of oil if the situation in Iran turns into an armed conflict or an oil blockade.

As a technical analyst, I’m starting to think either scenario is baked in the cake, according to that oil chart.

The market believes something is going to happen.

And historically, if the market thinks something will happen, it usually does.

Let me be clear: If the price of oil fulfills its technical destiny and reaches $125 a barrel, it’ll hurt Americans as it’ll jack up the price of gasoline.

However, you can hedge this by buying domestic oil and gas stocks.

You can offset the price you pay at the pump with the capital appreciation you get in American oil and gas stocks...

~~vix_3~~

But if you’re looking for dividends, my favorite oil dividend stock — Petrobakken — recently broke out to a five-month high of $13.42.

That’s a 133% gain from its October 4th low.

At current levels, it pays a hefty 7% dividend.

And remember, those dividends are paid monthly.

Had you bought at or near the October lows, the dividend yield on your position would’ve been 16%...

If only we could go back in time!

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

As Iran Situation Deteriorates, Europe Throws Fuel on the Fire

"Energy analysts say the price of oil would start to soar and could rise 50 percent or more within days." — New York Times

In a development that has edged the world closer to full-scale war in the Persian Gulf, European powers stated Wednesday that a tentative ban would be placed on exports to Iran.

The European announcement comes on the heels of three very publicized long-range missile tests conducted by the Iranians earlier in the week.

It marks an escalation of sanctions against Iran for continuing to pursue a nuclear materials enrichment program which many experts and government officials believe can only be aimed at the production of weapons of mass destruction.

Iranian Navy runs exercises in the Strait of Hormuz

With more than 16% of the world's oil supply passing through a key shipping lane just two miles wide in certain places, Iran's threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz has already met with international outrage.

Some of the worst criticism has come from Iran's own neighbors, among them the world's largest oil producers who depend on the Strait of Hormuz for access to the Persian Gulf on a daily basis...

“To close the Strait of Hormuz would be an act of war against the whole world,” said Sadad Ibrahim Al-Husseini, former head of exploration and development at the world's largest and wealthiest oil company, Saudi Aramco.

“You just can’t play with the global economy and assume that nobody is going to react.”

A Massive Solar Glut Destroyed Solar Stocks in 2011

Well, except for one...

It's a tiny little engineering firm in D.C. that developed a new technology that's
300% more powerful than regular solar panels... can be sprayed onto any surface... and it doesn't even need direct sunlight to work.

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The response from the U.S. State Department has been no less stern.

In a recent interview, David L. Goldwyn, former State Department coordinator for international energy affairs, said: “If the Iranians chose to use their modest navy and anti-ship missiles to attack allied forces, they would see a probable swift devastation of their naval capability. We would take out their frigates.”

5th Fleet Flagship, USS John C. Stennis, docked in Bahrain

In total, 15.5 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day — including crude from Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran itself.

Almost 90% of this daily volume winds up in Asia, with China being the most ravenous consumer by far.

Although some military analysts have dismissed these threats as "empty talk," Iran does have a history of leveraging international influence by disrupting or outwardly attacking shipping passing through the Strait...

In the 1980s, the Iranian Navy mined the Strait and attacked Kuwaiti tankers hauling Iraqi oil into the Persian Gulf, a move that led the Reagan administration to intervene by escorting and, in some cases, re-designating Kuwaiti ships under the American flag.

A modern repeat of what happened during the Reagan administration, however, would likely lead to far worse consequences.

Given the level of tension in the Persian Gulf, any military engagements would likely lead to widespread hostilities that could disrupt global oil prices in ways not seen since the 1970s Arab Oil Embargoes.

Energy analysts have already predicted a 50%+ jump in oil prices, even if a partial blockade were to be imposed by Iran's 250-plus vessel navy.

According to Helima Croft of Barclays Capital and Lawrence J. Goldstein of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, such a radical shift in price could send average gas prices past the $4 mark in the space of a few days.

Of course, the problem with situations like this one isn't so much the disruption in commercial traffic as it is the trickle-down effect of the panic to all levels of business and industry...

Oil price spikes have been blamed for entire recessions, including one that lasted for most of the 1970s when the Arab world closed the valve on U.S. exports in protest of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Are we due for another one?

It's impossible to say what this standoff will lead to in the long term, especially given that the Iranian Government is making no friends in their own region.

What we can say with almost total certainty is that as long as sanctions against Iran are on the table, oil prices will be creeping upward...

As they have been in the last week, since this heightened level of tension took hold:

This could mean one of two things for you as we move further into the winter months...

It could mean higher heating bills, more money spent on gas, more money spent on air travel, even more money spent on food and water, as shipping costs go up across the board.

For a majority of Americans, this is will be the greatest lasting effect of a gradually deteriorating diplomatic climate.

For some, however, an increase in oil prices — during a season when energy costs are already astronomical — is a predicament that spells profit.

Every Time This Ohio Fracking Well Causes An Earthquake...

These 3 stocks rally.

— Click Here —

You see, thousands of miles away from the Persian Gulf, a brand-new generation of energy companies is laying the groundwork for a massive industrial resurgence, right here on American soil.

Taking advantage of the Bakken Oil Shale formation — a massive crude reserve which remained untouched during the first golden era of American oil — these energy companies represent the vanguard in fossil fuel production.

With at least three decades of upward production on the horizon, North American shale oil will still be growing many years after the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the Iranians, and everyone else in the region has pumped their last drop.

But don't wait for OPEC heavyweights to start running dry...

Because while we're definitely heading in that direction, it won't happen until the end of the decade (at the earliest).

Instability like the kind we're seeing escalating in the Persian Gulf at this very moment promises to shift the balance of the oil market back to North America long before the Arab oil empire goes into full-scale decline.

Which means finding tomorrow's industry leaders right now has never been more important.

Keith Kohl is Angel Publishing's resident oil industry insider and one of the world's foremost authorities on oil shale exploration and development.

He has spent the last several months analyzing which of these aggressively-expanding companies presents the best opportunities today.

In his latest special report, Keith has cut this list of dozens down to just three stocks that represent the best in terms of share structure, real estate holdings, production statistics and most importantly, future plans.

To get the full report with detailed explanation and analysis, click here.

Get the latest investment strategies in this week's articles, below.

Yours in wealth,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Energy Investments for 2012: Where to Invest in 2012
Editor Jeff Siegel offers his take on the future of energy investing.

Investing in Oil and Gas Infrastructure: Pipeline Stocks with a Kick
There's a safer way for investors to find oil profits...

The Gold/Platinum Ratio: Indian Mother-in-Laws Turn to Platinum
Platinum jewelry is expected to make up to 25%-30% of total Indian jewelry sales in 2012. This comes in a market in which total jewelry sales in India are growing about 12% a year.

Oil Price Forecast for 2012: Why I Think Byron Wien is Wrong on Oil
Yesterday legendary market strategist and forecaster Byron Wien released his Top 10 Predictions for the coming year. He went eight for ten last year... a solid reason you should listen to what this guy has to say for 2012.

The Two-Faced God of Money: Old Gods, New Funds, and Doves at the Fed
As ruler of Latium, Janus was said to have invented money and ruled over a golden age. He solved the problem with the Fed in a simple manner: His money wasn't based on gold, nor on the full faith and credit of Latium, but rather was gold.

U.S. New Top Natural Gas Destination: All Hail the Shale King
The advent of fracturing and the discovery of shale formations mean proven reserves of natural gas could be several times more than once thought.

6 Stocks that Outperformed the Dow in 2011: This Baby Boomer Stock Even Beat McDonald's
This stock's performance underscores a major trend that will be here for the next two decades...

Putin Resigns, Gold Goes Down, and More: Putin Out, Poland Up, Brent Jumps
There is support around $1,497 an ounce. If the price falls through that level, we are getting to $1,000 real fast.

Let the Chinese Invasion Continue: Fueling an Energy War
Why China is scrambling to secure its future energy supplies now... while they still can.

International Oil Investments: Put Global Events to Use for You
No one is going to capitalize on the opportunities for you. You have to do it yourself.

Oil Price Forecast for 2012

Yesterday legendary market strategist and forecaster Byron Wien released his Top 10 Predictions for the coming year.

Byron is the Vice Chairman of Blackstone Advisory Services LP and has made a living making prescient calls on the market. This is the 27th year he has produced the list, which he started in 1986.

On CNBC yesterday, he noted that any given prediction has only a 50% likelihood of occurring.

Last year, eight of his ten predictions came true. That’s pretty darn good — and a solid reason you should listen to what Bryon has to say for 2012.

For 2011 he predicted an improved housing picture and gold topping $1,600 an ounce...

His forecasts run the entire spectrum of the global markets — from the Arab Spring to a rebound in the American economy.

Without further ado, here are Byron’s Top 10 Predictions.

1. Oil falls to $85 a barrel

The extraction of oil and gas from shale and rock begins to be a game-changer. The price of oil drifts back to $85 a barrel and the United States becomes less dependent on Middle East supply. Deposits in Poland, Ukraine, and elsewhere prove promising as well. Increased production from Libya and Iraq and reduced demand resulting from the slowdown in worldwide economic activity contribute to the price decline.

2. The S&P 500 moves above 1,400

Earnings for American corporations continue to move higher, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 above 1,400. Raw material prices continue to be soft and business leaders successfully adjust to slower economic growth by using technology to reduce the labor and logistical component of goods and services sold; profit margins stay high.

3. The U.S. economy rebounds

The U.S. economy gets its second wind. Real growth exceeds 3% and the unemployment rate drops below 8%. Recession fears and even “the new normal” view of prolonged slow growth are called into question. Capital spending, exports, and the consumer drive the economy, overcoming fiscal drag. The drop in the price of oil and the rise in the stock market improve both consumer confidence and spending patterns.

4. Obama wins reelection?

The recovering economy and the declining unemployment rate help President Obama convince the voters that he didn’t do such a bad job in his first term after all. He is viewed as a good speaker — but a poor leader who is running against Mitt Romney, viewed as uninspired and whose positions on many issues are unclear. Democrats take back the House of Representatives, but lose the Senate in an anti-incumbent wave.

5. The EU survives

Europe finally develops a broad plan to deal with its sovereign debt problem and moves closer to fiscal cohesion. The European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the European Union band together to keep all the countries within the Union and to continue the euro as the Continent’s currency. Greece has a major restructuring of its debt. Spain and Ireland strengthen their finances during the year. But Italy suffers a “voluntary” restructuring... A meltdown of the banks is avoided, but imposed austerity causes Europe to suffer a recession.

~~vix-box~~

6. Cyber warfare is the new battleground

The computer replaces conventional armaments as the principal weapon of terrorists and geopolitical adversaries. Eastern European and Asian hackers invade the data banks of major international financial institutions causing temporary bank closures. An alarmed G-20 meets to address the problem.

7. Bullish on solid currencies

Concerned over rapid money supply growth in the developed world, investors buy the currencies of countries that seem to be managing their economies sensibly. Scandinavian currencies, the Australian and Singapore dollar, and the Korean won benefit.

8. National deficit gets cut by $1.2 trillion

Congress decides its dysfunctionality is harmful to both parties and acts before the November election to deal with the failure of the Super Committee to develop a program to reduce the U.S. budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years. Both defense and Medicare are cut significantly; subsidies for agriculture are reduced; and tax deductions for oil, gas, and real estate partnerships are modified. Obama pledges to let some aspects of the Bush tax cut program continue if he is reelected.

9. Regime change in Syria

The Arab Spring finally overcomes Bashar al-Assad, and his family’s rule over Syria ends. While Assad’s fall might have been inevitable, it has important ripple effects throughout the region weakening Hamas, Hezbollah, and further isolating Iran.

10. BRIC reemerges as a market force

After two years of poor stock market performance while their economies came through with high single-digit real growth, the emerging markets finally have a good year. Growth slows somewhat, but favorable valuations enable China, India, and Brazil indexes to appreciate 15%-20%.

I think Wien’s predictions are pretty spot-on.

However, I think his first prediction — oil will drop to $85 a barrel — will not come true.

Yes, it’s true that oil production from shale is a game-changer, particularly in the Bakken in North Dakota...

But if the U.S. economy is headed for a rebound — and if the emerging markets are heading for a rebound — demand for oil will remain high.

Wien’s prediction assumes the new supply coming from domestic oil shale will be sufficient to absorb demand.

Remember, oil from shale is unconventional. So the price has to remain high to make it economical.

Regardless of Wien’s oil price prediction, oil shale is a long-term trend that investors need to be positioned in.

North Dakota is approaching 500,000 barrels of oil per day. And it’s estimated that within 10 years, ND will be producing 700,000 to 1 million barrels per day.

If it reaches that milestone, North Dakota would become a member of top 20 oil producers in the world, just below the United Kingdom.

To give you an idea of the dramatic growth in Bakken drilling, check out this interactive Bakken map.

~~wd_dividend2~~

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

6 Stocks that Outperformed the Dow in 2011

My parents, Jerry and Darlene, have been married for over 40 years.

They both recently retired in 2009.

My father was a union carpenter for over 30 years. My mother spent nearly two decades working for the Boy Scouts of America.

When they retired, they were given lump sum payouts from their retirement plans.

It wasn’t a fortune, but if properly structured, it would comfortably last them for the rest of their lives.

Having been through two financial crises in 2008 and 2009, I didn’t want their retirement funds in just anybody’s hands. So I helped them.

Prior to 2008 and 2009, I had the bulk of their money out of the market and into cash.

But in 2011, we started looking for yield...

The first stock they purchased was Pfizer.

Pfizer is was one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with some of the best drugs on the market in Lipitor and Viagra. Both of these drugs target a significant market: the baby boomers.

The baby boomer generation is going to have a major impact on the economy — especially health care.

Nearly 80 million strong, baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day. And that will be 10,000 per day for the next 20 years.

Pfizer has a market cap of about $170 million. It does $68 billion in annual sales, has $29 billion in cash in the bank, and its stock is cheap. Its current forward P/E ratio is 9.

Maybe more importantly, its current dividend yield is 3.7% with a trailing five-year dividend yield of 4.7%.

This was a great investment. Pfizer’s stock finished 2011 up 22%.

The next stock they purchased was Verizon.

Peter Lynch says to buy stocks that you know. Both my parents have smartphones and use Verizon as their service provider.

Verizon is one of the largest communication providers in the world with almost 300 million customers. That’s nearly the population of the United States.

This stock is the epitome of safety.

Verizon’s market cap is roughly $115 billion with over $108 billion in annual sales. The stock pays about a 5% dividend. So every quarter, my folks received a decent dividend check in the mail.

But it gets better...

Verizon finished 2011 up 11%.

So not only did my parents receive a steady income stream in the form of dividend checks, but they also enjoyed capital appreciation.

~~wd_dividend~~

They also purchased Home Depot.

Home Depot was tough to stomach during the summer months as it crashed in late July/early August. But the stock rebounded strongly.

We chose Home Depot because it’s still larger than its nearest competitor, Lowe’s. And as a result, it has a better safety profile.

Home Depot currently trades at a market cap of $65 billion on annual sales of $69 billion.

HD finished the year up 19% and paid a 2% dividend in 2011.

The last stock my folks bought was Intel.

The tech giant was coming off a lackluster 2010. It was a bit of a gamble, but we wanted to lock in the yield — which, at the time, was 4%.

Intel finished the year up 19%.

All four of these stocks dramatically outperformed the Dow for the year, which ended 2011 up just shy of 6%.

But that’s nothing compared to what McDonald’s and GNC achieved in 2011...

McDonald’s was the best-performing stock in the Dow for 2011, posting a gain of 31% for the year:

In fact, while the broader markets were experiencing gut-wrenching volatility, McDonald’s stock was rallying to new record highs.

But even mighty McDonald’s took a backseat to supplement retailer GNC.

GNC finished the year up 83%!

GNC IPO’d in April, and they never looked back...

And this performance underscores a major trend that will be here for the next two decades.

GNC reported strong supplement sales to the baby boomer demographic. GNC stores are popping up everywhere to cater to millions of customers looking for better health.

To make money in 2012, you have to go where the market is...

Right now, it’s baby boomers and energy.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Bullish on America in 2012

It appears the Dow is going to eke out a gain of about 6% for 2011.

Not bad, but not great...

Comparing that to all the bad news this year, that’s akin to a raging bull market.

There were many bright spots during the year.

Gold started the year at $1,404. It’ll close around the $1,570 range for a YTD gain of about 12%.

Not too shabby — and it will have outperformed the broader market.

Gold made a record high the week of September 6th, reaching levels above $1,900 an ounce.

Since that time, gold has sold off as a tsunami of fund managers sold gold positions end of year to lock in and to show profits for the year. However, ending the year gold rebounded more than $50 in the last two trading sessions.

Gold has been in an 11-year bull market.

It’s been a perfect storm as gold started off the millennium below $300 an ounce.

At some point, the gold bull market will end. And it will end badly, as all bubbles do.

But it won’t end until the uncertainty in the global market subsides — and “mom and pop” retail investors jump back into equities.

My prediction for the yellow metal in 2012 is that it will continue its rise as the ultimate safe haven. Look for gold to breach its September 2011 highs of $1,900 an ounce.

This American Sector Will Lead the World

Just three short years from now, the United States will reclaim something it lost years ago.

This isn't just some title or bragging right — but perhaps the most important factor affecting modern economics and politics today...

By mid-decade, the U.S. will once again be the world's top oil producer.

It will create more new millionaires in the next couple years than we've seen in the last two decades...

If you want to know exactly how it will be done, click here.

The Other Precious Metal

Silver was in a true mania in 2011:

It started the year around $30.85. It reached its high in the last week of April at $49.82. It will close out the year around $29 an ounce — pretty much where it started.

With all the gains pretty much erased for 2011, I believe silver will attract precious metals investors in 2012.

Don’t look for the mania rally we saw this year, but I think silver will end 2012 up more than 10%.

Black Gold and the Champagne of Fuel

It’s no secret that oil and natural gas stocks are our favorite investments...

I see no change in our investment thesis heading into 2012.

The Bakken, Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Utica, Piceance, and the Greater Green River Basins will be the buzzwords in energy for 2012 — and quite frankly, for the years to come.

The United States is literally swimming in an ocean of natural gas thanks to hydraulic fracturing.

In fact, four years ago, the U.S. was the ninth-largest global producer of natural gas.

Today? Thanks to formations like the Marcellus, the U.S. is now the #1 global producer of natural gas.

Natural gas now trades near a decade low, and I see no change in that in the foreseeable future.

Oil started the year trading around $91 a barrel. It’ll close out the year around $100 a barrel for a gain just shy of +10%. Take a look:

In 2012, we will continue to bring you our favorite names in this space...

And we’ll bring you delicious oil and gas producers that pay hefty monthly dividends.

Corporate America

Like I said earlier, the Dow will end this year with a slight gain of about 6%.

However, I think 2012 will be gangbusters for American stocks.

Corporate America has been incredibly efficient during this crazy market. Their balance sheets are stellar and they are sitting on mountains of cash...

At some point, American corporations will deploy that cash through higher dividends, R&D, and industrial production. All of these things point to a bullish scenario for 2012 — and beyond.

And more importantly, these stocks are safe.

Wealth Daily will continue to be on top of these positive developments. So stay optimistic.

Here’s to a prosperous New Year.

The original bull on America,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

What's Really Behind the Solar Sell-off...

In the past month, the world's greatest living investor stunned the markets by acquiring 2 solar projects.

Last week, MidAmerican -- the utility component of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway -- said it would acquire an interest in the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente project in Yuma County, Arizona.

The solar plant is being built by First Solar.

The $1.8 billion project is expected to be completed by 2014. California utility Pacific Gas & Electric will buy the project's electricity output.

The announcement comes a little over a week after MidAmerican said it would buy First Solar's 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm power plant in California.

At first glance, you'd think that Buffett has become a diehard "greenie," especially since he helped block the construction of the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline through his home state of Nebraska.

However, when you look at this acquisition, it's true to form to Buffett's "buy when people are panicking" investing strategy.

At a trailing-twelve-month basis, First Solar stock is down a staggering 82%. You're reading that correctly... down 82%!

True believer shareholders who've held for that entire period are puking up blood.

It's true.

First Solar started the year valued at $22 billion.

Today?

$3 billion.

No wonder it caught the eye of Buffett.

The trailing p/e multiple on First Solar is 5.7. Its forward p/e is 8! Assuming the "e" in the estimate remains solid, this is the very definition of buying a stock at dirt cheap levels.

And it's not just First Solar that's been crushed this year. The entire solar stock complex has been taken to the woodshed. Take a look:

Solar Stock	YTD Performance	Current TTM P/E
Trina Solar	-77%	3
LDK Solar	-68%	7
Yingli Green Energy	-71%	3.6
JA Solar	-85%	2
Canadian Solar	-84%	n/a
SunPower	-75%	n/a

Do solar stocks at current valuations represent a good investment right now? Well, if it's good enough for Warren Buffett, it's probably good enough for you and me, right? I wouldn't be surprised to see a tsunami of takeover activity in the solar space.

But dear reader, I think there's something bigger at work here. For years, these solar stocks were high-flyers. Investors tripped over themselves to get a stake in this booming sector. And solar expert Jeff Siegel was able to position his members for some hefty gains.

I mean, First Solar soared 1,195% within 17 months of its IPO. That's "dot.com" mania style gains.

But what a difference four years make.

You see, 4 years ago, the United States was the ninth largest global producer of natural gas.

Now?

It's #1.

Hydraulic fracturing has completely changed the game. With this drilling technology perfected... and getting better everyday, vast natural gas formations in the U.S. are now open.

So much natural gas is being produced in the United States, that the price of the "champagne of fuel" has dropped to a near decade low.

But that's only half the story. Booming shale gas formations like the massive Marcellus shale are currently producing thousands of jobs.

In fact, the boom is so big, the first steel mill in decades is being built in Youngstown, OH.

This steel mill will supply natural gas drillers in the Marcellus with pipes.

A friend of mine who's a salesman for a truck strapping company in Williamsport, PA (a few hours from the Wealth Daily office) says he can't keep workers because they're all heading off to the gas drillers, where they can make double the wage.

If Obama wants to get re-elected, he should open all the oil and gas shale regions in the U.S. for production. Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be created in an instant. He would be hero to average working Americans.

But if he doesn't, I can guarantee the Republican nominee will. You can take that one to the bank.

The original bull on America,

Brian Hicks

Yes, American Oil Is Coming Back

With all the recent brouhaha about America’s oil and gas resurgence, I want to remind you that Canada is still the largest foreign supplier of energy to the United States...

More than Saudi Arabia…

More than Brazil and more than Mexico...

And that trend will continue, as part of the prolific Bakken formation resides in Canada.

As you know, I love Canadian oil and gas stocks that pay hefty dividends.

Last August, I recommended you buy my favorite oil dividend stock, Petrobakken.

Petrobakken is a Canadian Bakken producer that has consistently paid a $0.08 dividend per share, per month, for the past 27 months.

At current levels of $11.62, Petrobakken yields 8% in steady income from oil production.

A couple of months ago — when everything sold off — Petrobakken reached a low of $5.75.

Hindsight being 20/20, it was a once-in-a-lifetime buying opportunity.

Had you picked up shares of Petrobakken on October 4th (the day it hit that low), you would’ve already doubled your money through capital appreciation.

And of course, the dividend yield from that price would’ve been over 16%!

But Petrobakken is just one of many Canadian stocks that pay hefty monthly dividends.

And still, that’s only part of the story...

You see, one of the benefits of buying Canadian-based oil and gas companies is that they pay their dividends in Canadian dollars, which is natural resource-backed. (Think of a gold standard, but with oil, gas, gold, silver, timber, etc.)

Over the past several months, the Canadian dollar weakened versus the U.S. dollar, as many commodities dropped in price.

However, the Canadian dollar has been strong against the greenback since the 2008 financial crisis because its natural resources remained stable in price.

~~eac_nat_gas~~

EU concerns have led investors to get out of a whole host of currency, commodity, and equity investments... and into the perceived safety of U.S. dollars.

As a result, several of these asset classes are now at or near their recent lows.

Any future U.S. dollar weakness or oil demand strength should move oil prices back up.

This would benefit Canadian stocks involved in the production and distribution of oil and gas, with assets and dividends in Canadian dollars.

In addition to Petrobakken, some of the Canadian oil and gas stocks I like are Crescent Point Energy, Baytex Energy Cenovus EnergyEnbridge, Enerplus, Pengrowth Energy, Provident Energy, and Penn West Petroleum.

I would accumulate these companies on weakness.

Profitably yours,

~~EAC_brians_signoff~~

Publisher’s Note: An avid listener and one-time guest on his radio show, I learned Monday night that popular Baltimore radio host and political and social agitator Ron Smith passed away.

On Nov. 28, after continuing on-air for more than two months despite having been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had metastasized throughout his body, Ron signed off from the 50,000-watt news talk station for the last time in his signature straightforward, no-nonsense radio style.

"I'm retiring," the former Marine said in a live broadcast. "I basically can no longer do it. I'm getting weaker every day, and it's time to pull the plug. I'm just not up to it. So, you have to face that kind of thing. Basically, the curtain is coming down right now. I'm bidding everyone a very fond farewell."

Ron, a true conservative in the libertarian sense, won my undying loyalty when he came out against the Iraq War during the run-up to the invasion.

Called the “voice of reason,” he took a beating by much of his audience for his stance — and even lost some of his loyal listeners. But he never wavered in his opinion that invading Iraq was imperialistic and would ultimately drag down the United States...

The day before his death, the last U.S. convoy quietly left Iraq.

America has lost a hero. R.I.P. Ron Smith.

Yukon's Fabled 'Source Deposit'

You've probably seen it dozens of times in movies, old photos, and most recently, the Discovery Channel's reality show, Gold Rush Alaska...

An old man with a big white beard sitting on a riverbank with a ridged tin pan in his hands, diligently sifting through sediment from the riverbed to produce a few precious flakes of gold.

Called panning, it's what most of us think of when we think of gold prospecting — a slow, arduous process requiring patience and mental stability, the likes of which just doesn't come around very often anymore.

To specialists in the field, however, it's called placer mining.

Derived from the Spanish word meaning "to please," this method was named for the relative ease with which one can actually produce gold.

The preferred and often only method early North American prospectors had available to them, it's this ease that made the gold rushes of the 19th century accessible to individual dreamers as well as organized mining operations.

But things have changed since the 1800s.

By the end of the 20th century, easy-to-reach gold had largely been harvested from the places where it's most common...

Which means the image of a single prospector holding a pan of grainy river water is largely a thing of the past.

But that's not where the story of placer gold ends.

Just recently, the study of placer gold made a comeback unlike any the gold industry has seen before.

You see, according to modern geological analysis of North America's great gold deposits, it has been determined that placer gold — those little flakes of eroded gold which can actually be carried by the current over riverbed sediment — represent, at the most, 10% of the gold located within any gold-bearing chunk of land.

To many, this didn't mean a whole lot.

But to one man by the name of Shawn Ryan, it wasn't the actual gold flakes that were valuable so much as the information these flakes could reveal about that other 90%...

~~gold_signup~~

Shawn is no ordinary gold bug. A twenty-year veteran of Yukon mining, he spent half of that time analyzing soil samples from tens of thousands of individual points around the Yukon.

His goal: To find the source of the placer gold based on patterns he found in the soil concentrations.

The results of this unprecedented body of work have been spectacular.

Not only was Mr. Ryan named Prospector of the Year by the British Columbia Mineral Exploration Industry, but his studies have almost single-handedly kicked off the second Yukon Gold rush.

In fact, the very first piece of land he determined as containing bits and pieces of this source deposit was purchased by Kinross Gold for $138 million. And it was the first of many to be vended to major mining outfits.

Today, any Shawn Ryan property that comes on the market immediately causes bidding wars between potential buyers.

Two of the richest properties, however, are already off the market...

Located next door to the block recently bought-out by Kinross (which already yielded investors 970% gains, making many of them first-time millionaires) one of these properties has recently returned what I can legitimately claim to be unprecedented results from a 72-hole drill test.

When I say unprecedented, I mean that every one of the holes contained gold — literally 100% of them.

Here are images of just two, with visible gold mineralization present:

Translating this into numbers that will mean something to you, the company which now owns this property — with a market cap of just over $200 million — is sitting on upwards of $160 billion in gold.

It doesn't take a mathematician to see the disparity between the value of the resource and the current market capitalization of the company which owns it...

Even more exciting, though, is the second of these two properties.

Also next door to the Kinross operation, this Shawn Ryan property was acquired by an even smaller company.

Based on the results of the surrounding land parcels — and on Shawn's own analysis — Yukon gold fever has put this undeveloped piece of real estate into the crosshairs of a major buyout.

But this is still only the beginning...

With winter upon us, this is the quietest time of the year for the entire region. As the Yukon territory moves into spring and these properties become more active with drill testing and production, more and more attention will be centered on these two Shawn Ryan centerpieces.

That's the reason I've decided that right now is the time to release our special presentation on these two companies sitting on what could well be the nucleus of the Yukon's "source deposit."

And because this is such a unique situation, I'm not going to release the report in our usual manner...

I've deemed it important enough to schedule a special event.

Our resident gold guru, bullion broker, and thirteen-year veteran investor Greg McCoach will relay every last detail you need to know about these two amazing properties — and the companies fortunate enough to have snapped them up.

By the time it's over, you'll have every bit of information you need to do exactly as early Shawn Ryan investors have already done with the current Kinross project.

The conference starts promptly 6 p.m. (EST) this Wednesday, December 21st. Don't be late.

To get your exclusive pass, sign up here.

Yours in wealth,

~~WD_brians_signoff~~

Exposing the Bakken Boom

I met Jack Heinz at a hotel bar in DC's Dupont Circle about 10 years ago.

At the time, he was a law-student at George Washington University and I was a managing editor at Agora Financial.

A couple things struck me about Jack during that first encounter...

He just seemed a bit out of place for a by-the-book kind of town that DC was and is.

He had a thick beard and wore a suit and shirt that appeared to have been tailored to accentuate his bulging belly, making him look 40 even though he was only 28 years old when we had our first drink together.

Mostly, though, it was the lengths to which Jack went to hide his gruffness and lack of refinement: absolutely none.

He drank hard, swore hard, and tended to let people know exactly what he thought the moment he thought it... definitely my kind of guy.

Our first meeting at the bar ended up a bit fuzzy — but also resulted in a lasting friendship between two guys who couldn't have come from more different backgrounds.

You see, Jack was the son of a truck mechanic from a corner of the Northwest most Americans wouldn't be able to find on a well-labeled map. He hunted, he listened to country music, and during his return visits, he rode around town with a Dirty Harry-sized revolver stashed in the glove compartment of his Ford F-150, just as he had since high school.

Of course, he was quite proud of all this, telling me in what became a sort of Jack-catchphrase, “Come to Williston, and you'll see for yourself.”

Back then, those words meant very little to me.

In fact, until a few years ago, they still meant nothing — just some friendly smack talk between drinking buddies from very different parts of the country.

That was then. Things have changed over the last decade, to put it mildly...

Jack's a white-collar criminal defense attorney in Philadelphia now. He's got a mortgage in the suburbs; a mortgage on the shore; a couple cars in the garage; and two weeks paid vacation every year.

In short, my old friend is living the American dream.

If you were to ask me about my concept of the American dream, however, I wouldn't talk so much about Jack as I would about his father, Bill...

My portrait of the American dream comes from Jack's hometown, Williston, North Dakota: the cradle of the American oil shale revolution.

In the last few years, Bill — the truck mechanic who did some crop dusting on the side (perhaps the most interesting juxtaposition of talents I've ever encountered) — has expanded his business interests. And I should mention the word expansion does little justice to what this man has accomplished in such a short time...

He started off in the early 80s repairing 18-wheelers as they passed through town, which back then was little more than a regional depot for interstate commerce.

By 2008 — thanks to the rapidly growing local oil shale operations — there were so many big rigs heading in and out of Williston that Bill moved up from a simple mechanic's shop to a shop and truck stop.

When he noticed that the local lodging industry was hopelessly overloaded, he added a motel. A couple months later, oil companies made the concept of a vacancy a distant memory when they started leasing the rooms in batches for their workers. Bill responded by doubling the occupancy.

When downtown Williston became too congested with interstate truck traffic, he decided to cut out the middleman and bought his own line of vehicles to bring in much-needed supplies from out of state. And because he was locally-based, he was able to save money on fuel costs and quickly drove most of the competition out of town.

When Jack first talked to me about his father's heavy drinking and smoking, he mentioned that he was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy (mostly due to the aforementioned vices)...

~~rare-earth-box~~

Today, Bill makes close to a quarter million dollars per month from his various business interests.

For his most recent project, he's buying up land for development in what is becoming one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.

But most of his time is spent on his hobbies.

Besides drinking and smoking, Bill Heinz enjoys golf, fishing, and flying. He's recently put in a landing strip on his 500-acre ranch just outside of town. He's got three airplanes and two helicopters in the hangar.

To make it all a bit more real, here are a couple of snapshots Jack sent me last Friday:

Doesn't look much like a truck mechanic's garage, does it?

Ironically, the one business that's suffered as the boom took hold in North Dakota is Bill's crop dusting operation — not because the farmers left town; but because Bill prefers to fly "for fun" now.

“He got one of the choppers from some Wall Street guy at a discount, 200 grand or something like that,” Jack told me once over vodka tonics.

“The Wall Street guy was still making payments on it. Dad bought it for cash.” No college education, no formal business training, and this guy — who was on the verge of ruin just a few years back — is now collecting $200 thousand toys.

Not to diminish Jack's own accomplishments, but you can see why Bill Heinz truly is the embodiment of the American dream.

And in Williston, he's far from alone.

Everywhere you look, the boom is evident: Waiters making $25/hour... teenagers with no work experience getting out on the rigs and pulling in six-figure incomes after a week of training... single-wide trailer homes selling for a quarter million and up...

“If you are willing to work on a rig,” Jack said to me over the phone last week, “you’ll be making six figures by sunset. It's that easy. Every store and business has "Help Wanted" signs. Fifteen-year-olds are making more money than paralegals back East.”

Four bedrooms, ranch-style, just outside of town: $3.6 million

It's a situation not seen in this country since the first oil boom of the early 20th century — and it's only getting started...

You see, the key to Williston's incredible rise is what's underneath it.

I'm talking, of course, about the massive Bakken Formation — a 200,000 square-mile sheet of shallow-lying oil shale that contains anywhere from 24 billion to half a trillion barrels of crude.

At current market prices, this resource would have a gross resource value of anywhere from 2.4 to 50 trillion dollars.

Even when taking the smallest possible estimate, a capital infusion of that size wouldn't just change the local or even state economy, but — as Bill Heinz has already proven with his own experience — would spread to every support industry... cross state lines... and eventually trickle down to every aspect of our national economy.

The implications are so profound that this single resource is on pace to put the United States back at the top of the list of global crude oil suppliers as early as 2017.

And to the American people, it would translate to millions of new jobs.

But as I said, things are only getting started for the folks in North Dakota...

Today, the desolate Northwestern state — with a population of just 640,000 (ranking 48th of 50) — produces almost one barrel of oil per person per day, about equal to the national production of Australia.

Within four years, that figure will grow by at least 80% to almost 800,000 barrels... which means a state with a population the size of Baltimore City will be producing as much oil as India.

Men like Bill Heinz, who reside in what could be the most valuable zip code on the North American continent, have already become millionaires many times over...

And years after they're gone, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will still be growing richer from America's second fossil fuel boom.

Is this enough to cause a broad-spectrum resurgence in all major American industries as the military buildup during WWII did?

Quite possibly, but that will take years to determine.

What matters most is what's going on today — right now — as daily production marches toward that million-barrel-per-day milestone.

Forward-thinking investors who can't open businesses or buy land in Williston are doing something just as good: They're finding ways to invest in this boom, years before it hits full steam.

In fact, they may have it much easier than Bill Heinz ever did, because instead of putting time and sweat in support industries like he did, today's investors have the option of going right to the source of the money...

Keith Kohl, senior editor of Angel’s Energy Investor, is one such person.

Several weeks ago, Keith uncovered a perfect way to grab a piece of this runaway bull market while it's still in its early stages.

Trading at between $5 and $8, the three Bakken small-to-mid-cap oil producers Keith has zeroed-in on are local powerhouses — but still virtual unknowns in the global energy-producing community.

But this will all change in short order as these companies drill and tap new wells around the clock in one of the most abundant oil shale formations anywhere on the planet.

With the cost of foreign oil starting to drive the international market back to the States, further acceleration in production will be the only answer.

In the next 12 months alone, I expect all three to at least double in value as production ramps up.

Perhaps most important of all is that with the sheer size of the Bakken, this kind of growth will continue for decades after OPEC and the rest of today's global oil giants have pumped their last drop.

As for my buddy Jack Heinz? Well, he sleeps easy at night...

Because no matter what happens to his law practice — or to him — he knows with dead certainty that his daughter Ashley, who turns three in March, will enjoy a life with all the comforts, privileges, and opportunities the world can offer.

As a parent, I can't think of a truer portrait of the American dream than that... Can you?

~~vix_3~~

To your wealth,

Brian Hicks
President, Angel Publishing

Get Long on Bakken Oil Stocks

A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I have hillbilly blood running through my veins.

It’s true. My grandfather was a country bumpkin from the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee.

He grew up in a small town called Rockford.

If you don’t know where Rockford is, it’s not too far from the tourist attractions of Pigeon Forge, Dollywood, and Gatlinburg.

Pop-pop was 6'4" and very thin. But even as a teenager, his wiry frame belied his strength...

The story goes he got his nickname “Buck” (as in a male deer) after a customer at the general store where he worked saw him carry a bunch of 75-pound bags of potatoes without straining or ever breaking a sweat.

For the most part, he lived a quiet and comfortable life of a young country boy.

But that ended on December 7, 1941...

The day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, my grandfather joined the Army.

Naturally, because of his strength, he was chosen to haul and operate the .30 caliber machine gun for his platoon, which was part of the Red Bull Division.

He fought in North Africa, Sicily, and then to Anzio, where he was wounded by German artillery. He visited more nations in three years than I probably ever will in my lifetime.

Although he never served in the Pacific Theatre, the attack on Pearl Harbor resonates with me because it was the official start of America’s involvement in World War II.

The Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history, a watershed event for America.

A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion.

America, unprepared and considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese aggression, as they badly needed oil and other raw materials to continue their imperial ambitions.

Japanese access to oil was gradually hampered as its conquests continued...

In July 1941, the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable.

By late November 1941 — with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end — U.S. officials fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya, and probably the Philippines.

On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

And 70 years later, the world is still fighting over oil.

Whatever happened to my grandfather?

Well, he came back from the war, married his high school sweetheart, and promptly had a son — my father.

Life wasn’t easy, not even for a WWII veteran. You see, back in those days, unemployment was super high in Tennessee.

But my grandfather was never one to bitch and moan about his predicament. He was proactive.

He packed up his family and moved to Baltimore, where he worked for the next three decades in a textile mill.

He wasn’t alone. Many people from Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia migrated to Baltimore.

Why? Because that’s where the jobs were.

Today we are seeing the same phenomenon. Old industrial and agricultural states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Dakota are seeing their populations swell because of oil and natural gas drilling.

In fact, a report published yesterday by IHS Global Insight says the oil and gas shale boom in the U.S. will produce “870,000 jobs and $118 billion to economic growth in the next 4 years.”

The report further states:

Gas from shale, which accounts for 34 percent of U.S. output, also will contribute $57 billion in federal, state and local taxes by 2035, or $933 billion in the next 25 years…

The forecast excluded potential drilling in New York, which has placed a moratorium on fracking while it develops drilling regulations, or the impact of U.S. service companies supplying drilling in Canada, Larson said.

Given those sort of factors, we feel that what we’ve presented here is a very conservative estimate...

The shale-gas contribution to U.S. gross domestic product will triple to $231 billion in 2036 from $76 billion last year, the report found. Lower natural gas prices as shale boosts supply will cut U.S. electricity costs by an average of 10 percent, the report found. Lower prices will raise industrial production 2.9 percent by 2017 and 4.7 percent by 2035.

Now, on the same day this report was released, Obama (who I now call Obummer) told an audience in Kansas about jobs:

"This isn't just another political debate. This is the defining issue of our time. This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement."

Just remember that Obummer delayed the approval (or disapproval) on the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline for a year.

The Keystone is estimated to create tens of thousands of high-paying UNION jobs.

How’s that for a Merry Christmas.

Regardless of Obummer’s decision, America is moving ahead.

Last month, North Dakota passed legislation and set aside money to sue the EPA if the EPA tried to regulate or halt hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken.

I love the way North Dakota thinks: "Screw the Federal Government — stay out of our way, we can take care of ourselves, thank you very much..."

North Dakota has the fastest income growth of any state over the past five years. Almost all the gains are due to the boom sparked by drilling into the Bakken shale.

Take a look at this chart of oil production growth of the top four oil-producing states:

As I reported in these very pages, even the most liberal governor in the Union has gotten the message. California Governor Jerry Brown recently fired the state’s top two environmental regulators because California’s drilling permits have dropped more than 70% over the last few years.

Every state with oil or gas shale will follow the Bakken model, because they know more drilling means more jobs and more tax revenue.

Moreover, oil stocks involved in the Bakken are seeing their net income and per-share price rise dramatically. Some are experiencing record profits and all-time highs in their stocks.

Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR), the largest landowner in the Bakken, has seen its revenue skyrocket: In 2006, Continental did $484 million in revenue... in 2009, $626 million in revenue... for the last 12 months?

$1.6 billion in revenue!

This is a long-term trend that will provide many investors like you with a steady stream of capital appreciation and dividends.

Stay tuned for more Bakken profit opportunities.

In memory of the Americans who fought and died in World War II,

Brian Hicks
President, Angel Publishing