Chesapeake (CHK), GeoResources (GEOI), Abraxas (AXAS) Jumping as Oil Prices Rise

For consumers, the return of $100-a-barrel oil is nothing but bad news. But investors see an opportunity: They're piling into unconventional energy stocks, betting that high oil prices could translate into big profits for some smaller U.S.-based oil companies.

In fact, companies that specialize in extracting crude from oil shale and oil sands are posting the biggest gains among energy companies this year.

212Email Print Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) has seen its stock jump 30% this year. Shares of small-cap GeoResources (NASDAQ:GEOI) are up nearly 40%. Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ:AXAS), which pulls oil out of the shale in the Rocky Mountains, has had a 27% runup.

"These [oil shale] companies basically start printing money once oil is above $90 a barrel," said Fadel Gheit, an oil industry analyst with Oppenheimer & Co.

Analysts and investors think these unconventional energy outfits could benefit the most if oil remains in the neighborhood of $100.




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