Oil is back in the news as it went back up to 75$ in yesterday’s trading. Not too long ago, I had gone into the top oil stock picks for 2010 and it is now already a good time to see what is working and what isn’t. It might be early but this provides with opportunities to look at what has been working and what hasn’t in this first month of 2010. The good plays have not been around the major players as both Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) have negative returns so far in 2010.

One of the interesting trends in my opinion is that the best performers have generally been local US companies instead of those major international ones. Exxon has been awarded a contract in Iraq but there continues to be so much uncertainty involved when dealing in such regions that investors have preferred buying companies that are exploring in or close to the continental United States.



With oil at 75$ or so, there have been some good opportunities and that is especially true for McMoran Exploration Company (MMR) which explores and produces oil and natural gas offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in theGulf Coast area. The stock is up over 90% so far this year after new oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico.

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