US DOLLAR DETHRONED, CHINA'S NEW GAME PLAN---By Shan Saeed

U.S. Dollar Dethroned. China new game plan-----By Shan Saeed

Welcome to China. Enter the new great country called China. China holds more U.S. government debt than any other country in the world. They currently hold more than one trillion U.S. dollars. Beginning in 2007, China began to get worried.

What if the U.S. collapsed? What if dollars suddenly became worthless? Could they really afford to hold onto $1 trillion forever? If China was worried in 2007, they were downright panicky in late 2008, as it seemed a total financial collapse was imminent in America.

China held massive amounts of U.S. dollars, but they couldn’t sell them without causing a huge drop in the dollar’s value. What’s more, China still needed dollars to buy oil. Yet, China understood it was extremely risky to continue buying and holding dollars, so they began to diversify by buying up massive amounts of GOLD and other precious metals like SILVER. China bought 520 tons of gold in 2011—twice the amount they bought in 2010.

And their gold-buying binge doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. In the first six months of 2012, they’ve already bought 383 tons of gold. At that pace, they’d acquire 766 tons of gold by the end of 2012. More importantly, China is following in Iraq’s footsteps. Just as Iraq had planned to trade oil in euros, China began to explore the idea of bypassing the dollar by trading oil directly with oil-producing countries.

You see, while the U.S. was willing to attack a small country like Iraq, I don’t see any way that the U.S. would attack a country as large and powerful as China, especially when you consider that China produces most of the consumer products purchased in the U.S. However, USA is trying to play games in South China Sea through Australia, Japan and Philippines. USA has stationed 2500 troops in Australia and Naval ships in Philippines.  I have shared this with Pk Biz, Philip Sigglekow, Rola Ezzedine,Umaer Abid, Kate Otto Swann and Shaun Rein.

CHINA AND RUSSIA'S NEW GAME PLAN FOR THE MARKET

Let me be clear: China’s plans are no longer just plans. They are now reality. As of October 2012, China and Russia reached an agreement and formally announced that they would begin trading oil directly. Russia will provide oil to China, and China will pay for the oil—not with U.S. dollars—but with yuan. By trading directly with oil-producing countries, China would then be able to off-load dollars before they became worthless—and still have access to as much oil as they want.

While this announcement has not been widely publicized or came in the main stream newspapers LIKE Wall Street Paper, Financial Times, New York times or Washington post, it spells the end of the petrodollar. In other words, the U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency in name only for the next 25 to 30 years . Now that China and Russia have abandoned the petrodollar, other countries like Iran, India, Argentina, Jordan, South Korea, Venezuela, Luxembourg and Brazil are expected to soon follow China’s lead. And there is nothing the United States can do to stop it!... But it will get pretty severe going forward.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry a RISK.

PAKISTAN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR 2013----By Shan Saeed

PAKISTAN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR 2013----By Shan Saeed

ECONOMY

Pakistan economy will continue to remain in un-chattered waters due to political uncertainty, militancy, growing fear of unpredictable policies of the PPP government. 

GDP will stand at 3.2% by June 30, 2013. 

Fiscal deficit will remain 6.5% of GDP. 

Inflation will hover around 10% . 

Foreign exchange reserves will be $14 billion, 

Remittance will kiss $ 13 billion

COMMODITIES

Due to global upsurge in demand of commodities, Pakistan being the agriculture based economy will benefit from the international commodities boom. SUGAR, RICE, COTTON , WHEAT will benefit from rise in prices

CURRENCY

Due to election year,political and economic turmoil will keep the Pak Rs under pressure against USD. However, if Pk Rs does appreciate against USD it would be due to QE4 launched by the FED to keep the USD lower globally. Pak RS will stand at 98.5 against USD on June 30, 2013

PAK RUPEES OUTLOOK FOR 2013

There are 7 variable making an impact on Pak Rupees in 2013

A.    ELECTION YEAR

This year heralds an economic change whereby government will hold elections under the supervision of army and independent Election Commission of Pakistan. Most parties will get their funding from abroad and lobbies working locally. This election will be the bloodiest elections in the history of Pakistan. So most of the spending will happen in Pak Rupees and supply of PKR will be more in the market.DEMAND SIDE FOR PAK RUPEES

B.     POLITICAL TURMOIL

This economy is going through lot of hiccups and instability, fear and uncertainty, this will make entrepreneurs and people think to keep their savings in DOLLAR OR Canadian Dollar OR Gold. Political instability will have NEGATIVE impact on Pak rupees thus keeping money in FOREIGN CURRENCY attractive and rationale. DEMAND SIDE FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY

C.    REMITTANCES

The global economy is getting messier as Europe is deep in recession and US is struggling to come to terms with fiscal cliff i.e. raising taxes and reducing spending and deliberation of Debt ceiling continues. Many Pakistanis are sending their saving back home to avoid losing their funds in European and American banks. Swiss secrecy laws are outdated and authorities are sharing data with various countries as per their jurisdiction requirement. Most Pakistani will be routing their funds back to Pakistan for other destinations including Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Luxembourg. DEMAND SIDE FOR PAK RUPEES

D.    COALITION SUPPORT FUND

Pakistan is expected to get some inflows from the War of Terror support money. This will increase the Dollar inflow in the country. $700 million^ was expected. DEMAND SIDE FOR PAK RUPEES

E.     IMF DEBT PAYMENT

Pakistan need to make debt payment during the first quarter of 2013. This will put little pressure on PAK rupees since Dollar outflow will happen to meet the debt payment requirement. More than $800 million^ to be paid.  DEMAND SIDE FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY

F.      OIL PAYMENT

Pakistan imports huge quantity of oil to meet her domestic requirement. OIL payment needs to be made to keep the oil supplies running to meet the domestic demand. DEMAND SIDE FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY

G.    REGIONS IMPACT ON THE PAKISTAN EXPORT

Since our neighboring country India is witnessing a slower growth, she will continue to keep her currency and interest rates low in line with international STRUCTURED DEPRECIATION of currencies. Many countries globally are keeping low interest rates to boost domestic economy, increase exports, keep the growth momentum going in order to bring structural changes to move on the growth trajectory with sustainable economic returns for their people. DEMAND SIDE FOR PAK RUPEES.

NUTSHELL

In view of the above 7 variables, Pak Rupees will remain choppy in line with the strategies adopted by various countries of STRUCTURED DEPRECIATION to boost exports in the short run to compete with the region. SBP will supply more Dollars to keep the Pak Rupees away from a free fall. There could be capital controls imposed if the economy deteriorates if election results are not fair. Strikes, social unrest and anarchy situation cant be ruled out. CAUTION IS THE WORD FOR INVESTORS

CHINA STRATEGIC ENERGY GAME PLAN---By Shan Saeed

CHINA'S STRATEGIC ENERGY GAME PLAN----By Shan Saeed

A REAL ALL OF THE ABOVE ENERGY PLAN-----INSIDE STORY.

China accounts for more than 20% of the world's global energy demand. As it is known, the Middle Kingdom surpassed the U.S. to become the world's biggest energy consumer in 2009. Today the race is still neck and neck. And if the market has grave concerns over slower growth in China, somebody might want to tell China that..China's growth is the main reason the country is so interested in securing its future energy supplies. Luckily, China's real targets are much closer to home. It was seen how quickly they were catching up to U.S. oil consumption.

CHINA TO DUMB OPEC
Do you think China is dumb enough to trust in OPEC to keep them well supplied? Can Chinese really expect them to continue getting gouged by Russian fuel exports? The answer to both these questions is a resounding 'No.'
China's Energy Race Heats Up: To say that China is buying up the future energy supplies would be a gross understatement. Over the last few years, I have seen this time and again through their strong merger and acquisition activities. Things are heating up with two of China's latest deals: CNOOC's $15.1 billion buyout of Nexen and Sinopec shelling out $1.5 billion for Talisman Energy's stake in the North Sea. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, just throw a lot of money around.  What's interesting here isn't so much the amount of cash that China spent, but rather where they're spending it... Not only are they dishing out billions of dollars in the North American shale boom — but they're more than willing to go anywhere for these resources. In one fell swoop, CNOOC picked up operations in the North Sea (Nexen was one of the leading producers in the UK North Sea), the Canadian oil sands, and the rich shale gas resources in British Columbia. I have known for a long time this deal was in the making. China's newly acquired operations in British Columbia's Horn River Basin is a precursor for the LNG exports that will soon be sent across the Pacific. So, what's next on China's agenda? China will secure South China Sea for gas discovery.

OIL OFF THE RADAR.
Here's a little-known fact about these buyouts: Sometimes it's not just the new oil fields the buyers are after. Truth is the Chinese are also benefiting by gaining access to the technology being used to reach these new oil resources. Take their interest in the various U.S. shale plays, for instance. The real prize isn't production, but rather learning how to extract the oil and gas from the shale formations.
It is no coincidence the Chinese are spending billions of dollars here while trillions of cubic feet of natural gas lie trapped in Asian soil. The next leg of this energy race may not come from new, huge oil field discoveries — but rather from pumping oil it is already known to be there. Don't forget that conventional drilling methods can only produce a small percentage of the total resource. (In the United States alone, there's an estimated 430 billion barrels that are still obtainable.)

CHINA IS HUNGRY FOR SHALE GAS
China's huge thirst for shale gas, a new way to transport gas. Why the U.S. will remain the top spot for shale…China's thirst for natural gas around the world continues unabated. As I have shared before… the U.S. is producing incredible volumes of natural gas… Once she starts exporting her massive new supplies, the market for natural gas will become a global one – with consistent global prices – just like the oil market. And it looks like China will become one of the largest customers. China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports could make up 35% of its needs by 2015.

According to contracts already in place, China could purchase as much as 93 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2015. China's economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), estimates the country's domestic production will equal 176 bcm by the same year. [That number is likely high, more on than reported). The NDRC says consumption will increase 20 bcm every year to 230 bcm by 2015.

Natural gas represents only 4.6% of China's current energy consumption. That is far below the global average of 24%. China's government has pledged to increase the natural gas share to 10% by the year 2020. Through the end of Mid November [the most recent available figures]… China had spent $6.9 billion on gas supplies via pipeline from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It spent another $6.6 billion on LNG shipments – the majority of which arrives from Qatar and Australia.

And a report from petroleum giant BP estimates China accounted for around 22% of Asia-Pacific gas consumption and about 4% of global demand. China's demand for natural gas will grow to massive proportions over the coming decades. And it's not the only Asian giant with a thirst for gas… India is the second-most populous country on the planet. Today, gas only makes up 7% of its energy consumption. (Again, the global average is 24%.) And India only produces about one-third of what it consumes.

The biggest boon for China will be the technology to produce the billions of barrels that are currently unattainable using today's techniques...Just imagine what will happen when China catches wind of this technology and starts digging around in its deep pockets of Asia, East Africa and USA. Happy investing with Chinese oil companies. I am bullish on China's energy needs.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry risk. 

HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH POLITICIZED ECONOMY------By Shan Saeed

HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH POLITICIZED ECONOMY------> By Shan Saeed,

BACKGROUND
I am writing from an american perspective that holds water in the international economy. It's not likely to happen until US reach much higher levels of inflation and she has something approaching financial repression – but that's exactly where the direction is pointing towards. The mania is likely to be fear-driven much more than greed-driven. Fear is a depreciating asset that hurts the economy badly. Gold is still in the climbing-the-wall-of-worry stage. Mania is still in the future. It's going to happen. I feel confident of that. There's going to be a rush to Gold/Silver. The economies need to learn how to survive and profit in a market bogged down by crippling government regulations, billion-dollar bailouts, excessive money printing, and cronyism; that's how the markets are manipulated at present.

INVESTOR VS WEALTH

But to be frank, it's very hard to be an investor in a highly politicized macro-environment. Investors need to look for real, productive wealth and consistent growth. Speculators, on the other hand, try to capitalize on the chaos that is caused by the myriad of destructive government regulations, taxes, and, of course, currency inflation. That's why I look at all markets, in all countries. But right now there are very few bargains. At some point, for instance, real estate is going to be of interest again. Not right now because governments everywhere are going to raise taxes on it. I believe investors should re-position their portfolio audit for wealth preservation. REAL ASSETS ARE GOLD, SILVER, OIL, LITHIUM, NATURAL GAS, CHINESE YUAN, SHALE GAS, TECHNOLOGY, BIOTECH, HEALTH CARE. I've always been kind of a boy scientist; technology interests me from an intellectual, as well as a financial, point of view. Technology is the real mainspring of human progress. No question about that...I read science magazines sometimes. There are more scientists and engineers alive today than in all the history of the world put together. Hopefully, with the continued blossoming of India and China – where students are generally going into science and engineering as opposed to things like gender studies, political science, and English literature, which students idiotically are doing in the West – there will be even more scientists and engineers 20 years from now. What areas are they going into? Nanotechnology, microbiology, robotics, Stem Cells, Tissue Culture – these things will blossom the way computers have over the last few decades.

MONEY PRINTING OUT OF THIN AIR

Its at the end of the story, not the beginning. More QE – I prefer not to call it that because it's really just printing money. I dont prefer euphemisms, words that are intended to make something sound better than it really is. Euphemisms, like exaggerations, are the realm of politicians and comedians. Anyway, the next round of money printing is going to result in radical and rapid retail price rises. There is no prosperity possible from this; rather the opposite. The Strategic Intent of QE is to discourage people from saving and encourage them to invest tin Stocks and Housing to create artificially high prices.
USA is a completely free market economy, prices would constantly be dropping. That's a good thing, because as prices constantly drop, it means money becomes more valuable. That induces people to save money. When people save, it means that they are producing more than they are consuming – that's a good thing. The way governments have it structured today, however, prices are always going up. That discourages people from saving because their money is constantly worth less, which encourages them to borrow. Inflation induces people to try to consume more than they produce, which is unsustainable over the long run.

HARVARD ENDOWMENT FUND IS INVESTING IN AGRICULTURE------By Shan Saeed

STRATEGIC INSIGHT ABOUT THE ENDOWMENT WORKING

It would be surprising for many investors/readers/people in general. Harvard Management Company, the endowment fund of Harvard University is investing in farmland in New Zealand and other Real Estate projects globally. The total fund stands at $30 billion in which 10% portfolio has hit the Real Estate allocation in farmland. For some people Harvard University endowment works in secret environment and nobody knows the amount of investment it is making globally.  Indeed, the entire crew at Harvard Management Company is routinely described as “secretive” and “tight-lipped.” It uses its status as a non-profit to keep its dealings as hush-hush as possible.  Not even the students know how it operates or where it invests. But I got this information from my networking who is an alumni of Harvard Business School with strong inside connections. The school's student magazine, The Crimson, recently noted: “The managers operate behind a veil of secrecy under the pretext of losing competitive financial advantage.”

They certainly have an advantage. The fund has tens of billions more under management than the next closest fund over at Yale. It raises more money than any other non-profit in the United States. And it does so with zero fundraising expenses, so people are literally throwing money at it. Why not? It's returned an average 12.9% for the past two decades — far better than the average return of the Dow, S&P, or NASDAQ. However, Harvard Endowment lost the highest money among the major endowments during the financial market crisis running from 2007 to 2009.  In the modern era of information, nothing stays secret for long. And if you look closely enough, over the past few years, some of this fund's secrets have started to be revealed...

Endowment has become Land Barons: New financial investors

HARVARD ENDOWMENT IS GOING TO NEW ZEALAND------INSIDE STORY

Harvard Management Company bought over 400,000 acres of the Kaingaroa forestry estate in New Zealand in 2003. Though the price wasn't disclosed, it's rumored to have sold for over $800 million. The question is why New Zealand. Since one of the alumnus who is a Kiwi and handles the funds has taken this position in the farmland in New Zealand. It helped that Andy Wiltshire was from New Zealand and had worked for the New Zealand Forest Service, which originally developed the Kaingaroa Plantation. He also went to school with the CEO of Kaingaroa Timberlands. After that investment, Harvard set its sights on Maniototo's Big Sky Dairy Farm, New Zealand's first “superfarm” with 6,000 cows on 4,000 acres. Financialization of commodities is happening now as big financial investors are taking position in this new asset class for wealth preservation and protection  

RATE OF RETURN FOR ENDOWMENT

The bets have paid off nicely: Last year the portion of Harvard's portfolio that owns real estate posted an 18.8% return. Meanwhile, major market indices only posted a 5% return. Already this year, the fund has made a $4.0 million profit on the dairy farm alone. And the party is just getting started. Under Wiltshire's watch, forests, farms, and other real estate have grown to 10% of Harvard's portfolio, over $3 billion. Of course, making lucrative profits on billion-dollar investments isn't hard when you run in the same circles as Harvard alumni.

Many of the funds it manages come from wealthy graduates — a list that includes countless heads of state, congressmen, governors, Nobel and Pulitzer winners, and chief executives. Names like Obama, Romney, and Bernanke are all on the list.

IN THE HARVARD CLUB, OUT OF THE MARKET PLAYERS.

The Harvard Management Company ['management' and 'company' certainly aren't nonprofit words] is definitely “in the club.” It shares an office with the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston — the same building from which Jane Mendillo, head of the fund, gave a rare interview this year that offered some insight into their strategy...According to her, what is she looking for in property deals that produce something that the world is going to want more of, and the increase in the supply is difficult. Makes sense to many potential investors.

NETWORKING IS THE KEY IN THE END:

Harvard endowment fund people rub elbows gives it a distinct advantage. A lot of other investors don't have the expertise, don't have the team to go out and look at individual [real estate opportunities]...”Armed with that expertise, Harvard is the first endowment fund to directly buy real estate outside of the United States.

After it became one of the largest foreign landholders in New Zealand, it bought the majority of a company that's one of the largest landholders in Romania, with over 86,000 acres. Most recently, it bought three huge farms in Brazil. And here's the most important thing in all of this: These are investments you and I typically can't be a part of. These investments are for Ivy League people only. There's an Ivy League/Insider velvet rope. They aren't delivering monster returns by investing in publicly-traded land ETFs or real estate funds. They know that stuff's for us underlings. No, they buy the assets directly and manage them themselves...And this is their key to success: They play the insider game.

JIM ROGERS FAMOUS WORDS: FUND MANAGERS WOULD BE ACTING LIKE FARM MANAGERS

I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Rogers in Singapore and London who shared an investment advice for the next 5-10 years. Become a FARMER. I have penned down in one of my articles published in Investors Guide Magazine: http://investorguide360.com/aig/press-release/agriculture-is-the-best-investment-for-the-next-5-10-years-by-shan-saeed/

BLOOMBERG REPORTED

According to Bloomberg in September-2012, “It was Harvard’s early and enthusiastic embrace of alternative assets such as private equity and hedge funds that turned it into one of the top performers among endowments.” For too long, surefire investments like these have been off the table for everyday folks, reserved instead for Ivy League graduates and their cocktail party buddies. In recent years, there have been thrown some scraps as similar funds, like The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), Blackstone (NYSE: BX), and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (NYSE: KKR), have taken a portion of their assets public.

But you don't get to profit directly from their deals. You still have to buy a stock and be at the whim of the market. While the heads of those firms and the people they make deals with have undoubtedly made billions this year, each of those stocks is only up between 5% and 15%.

The key to investing and profiting like these funds is not to own a piece of the fund — but to do the same kind of deals they do on your own. It's something I've spent a great deal of time researching lately. And I have found a way for people like us to do it without having been introduced to a senator or private equity billionaire...You see, there's an overlooked way you can make real estate investments just like these top-notch people do — without buying a single share of a public company. They are private deals with extraordinarily high returns and they are available to people now It may not get you in their club, but it will allow you to similarly profit without touching the actual stock market.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry a RISK

CHINA IS THE GOLD POWER HOUSE----------By Shan Saeed

WEST VS EAST MIND SET. INDEPTH ANALYSIS

People are selling Gold and Silver in the west. In the east, investors and people are only buying Gold and Silver for wealth protection. Recent views and market indication, all reveal, investors have built their trust in Gold and Silver for wealth preservation and financial repression. China is the world’s largest gold producer. Align your strategy with Chinese yuan and PAGE i.e. Pan Asian Gold Exchange set up in June 2012 to make sustainable revenues going forward. Gold is a classy strategic asset for the rich people to stay rich. Gold is not for every investor.

GOLD PRODUCTION CHART OF 2011

Countries                    Gold production in Metric Tons

China                                       355

Australia                                  270

USA                                        237

Russia                                      200

South Africa                           190

Peru                                         150

Canada                                                110

Indonesia                                100

Ghana                                      100

Uzbekistan                               90

Mexico                                     85

Papua New Guinea                   70

Brazil                                         50

Chile                                          45

Mongolia                                   27

Sources : US Geological Data -2012,   

World Gold Council, 

 IMF  & Economist magazine

ROMANCE IN LUXEMBOURG

China has made her intentions very clear after she did not get a good response from London financial center to trade its transactions to choose Luxembourg as the next best destination for economic growth and emergence of the new Chinese era of financial innovation with European pioneers.  According to Financial Times and Wall Street Journal newspapers, British regulators are not impressed by Chinese way of accounting and style of leadership in banking industry. So many big chinese financial institutions are relocating to a new found love in Luxembourg. Luxembourg would provide an ideal platform to execute Chinese presence and make China’s next financial hub globally. China will trade Gold, Oil, Silver, Copper, Agri –commodities and everything under the sun in the heart of Europe i.e. Luxembourg.

GOLD BULLION MARKET

And yet – according to some experts and reliable sources – gold bullion brokers have not seen any gold coming from China. In other words, China is producing more gold than any other country, but isn’t exporting any of it.  In addition, china is importing huge quantity of Gold from Africa, Australia and Indonesia. As such, China is quietly becoming a gold superpower. China has an excellent habit of being quiet for several years at a time, and then announcing big increases in gold holdings. So quoting old numbers will only mean that one is caught flat-footed as to China’s current holdings. Happy investing in the Gold market.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry a RISK. 

BREAKTHROUGH IN OIL TECHNOLOGY IN USA

By Shan Saeed

NEW TECHNOLOGY: STRATEGIC INSIGHT ABOUT THE OIL INDUSTRY

Major breakthrough has happened in the oil industry. The main players are excited with this cutting edge technology which heralds a new boom in the energy market. With all the talk about the fracking boom under way in the Bakken, Marcellus, and Eagle Ford, investors have not forgotten there are other earth-shattering drilling projects and technologies going on around the world.

NEW TECHNOLOGY: WELL PAD DRILLING

I have been sharing with my investors and people who are following me about this new technology coming 7 months back that's emerging in America's oil and gas-rich shale formations...It's called "well pad drilling," or "multi-well pad drilling. Multi-well pad drilling allows companies to drill four to ten wells on a single pad site.

Historically only one well was drilled on a pad site, but with the revolution in horizontal drilling, companies can spread out their drill bits from a single pad site — almost like tentacles of an octopus. It's estimated that multi-well pad drilling can double the recovery rate of oil in North America.

As American companies perfect horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing with multi-well pad drilling, another technology is quickly emerging on the scene. And it's being utilized by "old oil" companies... In fact, this method — called "extended-reach drilling" — recently helped Exxon destroy a record for drilling depth. From the Russian island Sakhalin (just north of Japan), Exxon drilled onshore wells to a depth of 12,376 meters. That's over 7.5 miles down into the earth.

MEDIA HYPED THIS TECHNOLOGY AS WELL

According to some media reports: Exxon, the world's largest oil company, has completed drilling the world's deepest well in the Chayvo oil field on the Sakhalin Shelf in the Russian Far East. The shaft of well Z-44 is 12,376 meters deep — the equivalent of 15 times the height of the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. This is a remarkable achievement, which furthers the successful implementation of the successful project.

Six of the world's ten deepest wells, including Z-44, have been drilled in Russia for the Sakhalin-1 project using ExxonMobil drilling technology — the so-called "fast drill," Russia companies are also moving forward on this very quickly.

Chayvo is one of the three Sakhalin-1 fields and is located off the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island in eastern Russia. The Sakhalin-1 project is being developed by an international consortium led by ENL, which holds a 30% stake, the Japanese SODECO (30%), India's ONGC Videsh Ltd (20%), and subsidiaries of Russian oil major Rosneft, RN Astra (8.5%) and Sakhalinmorneftegaz Shelf (11.5%). The total project is estimated to cost $12-$17 billion. The fields of Chayvo, Odoptu, and Arkutun-Dagi are estimated to yield 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The total resource value of these three fields is estimated to be above $350 billion. But this is just the beginning...

Extended-reach drilling allows companies to go after reserves that were previously too costly and out of the reach of traditional drilling methods [sound familiar?]. In other words, oil reserves that have been known about for decades — but weren't produced because of economic and technology constraints — are now open for business.

Disclaimer: This is just a research piece and not an investment advice. All financial transactions carry a RISK