The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

What I'm looking for is a place to invest some money based on the belief that natural gas prices will not stay at this level for very long, and that the demand for energy from the emerging nations will be insatiable.

If your focus is the latter (i.e. The Global Demographic Tailwind), then companies that produce LNG for consumption in Asia are probably a better bet than North American NG specialists. (This could change if LNG export facilities in North America are established with a lot of capacity, but don’t hold your breath.)

In my own portfolio, I don’t have any “pure” NG plays. However, XOM and CVX (two companies you mentioned) have gotten into shale gas in a big way. Also, CLB benefits from the increased technological demands imposed by shale drilling (for both NG and liquids). So, all told, I like the exposure my portfolio has to the rising importance of NG.