Topic: How To Invest

My work does not permit me to invest in oil and gas companies operating in Alberta. Consequently, I need to look for investments in other jurisdictions. What is your quick view on the following U.S. companies: Kodiak Oil & Gas and Triangle? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp., $8.87, symbol KOG on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 263.5 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; www.kodiakog.com), develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas in North Dakota’s Williston Basin. The basin is part of the Bakken formation, which covers parts of Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan, and could contain over 500 billion barrels of oil. The first oil discovery at Bakken was made in 1951, but it has always been hard to extract the oil from the rock. Kodiak continues to increase its production and reserves. The oil and gas it’s drilling for are hard to reach, but today’s more advanced drilling techniques are boosting its production. The company could also be a takeover candidate; it owns about 155,000 acres that are next to leases held by ExxonMobil. Exxon has been aggressively expanding into the area with its recent takeover of XTO Energy. The prospect of a takeover is not reason enough alone to buy Kodiak shares, but it adds…