Well, I'm no analyst... but I disagree with anyone who says Brazilian ethanol
production is more harmful than beneficial. Why? Because they use sugarcane -
not corn as Mr. Cramer suggests. Sugarcane is abundant and does not require
deforestation or the burning of crops to cultivate - that is the downfall of
corn-based ethanol. They have to burn scrub brush and woodlands to plant the
corn. Burning equals greenhouse gases and scrub brush and woodlands are natural
carbon sponges that clean the environment of airborne toxins. But that is
neither here nor there in the investment world - the idea is to make money and
PBR (Petrobras) will do just that. There is a massive uprising in sugarcane
based ethanol and the U.S. is poised to stake a claim in the exporting of this
miracle fuel. As demand for alternative fuels grows globally and as it becomes
clearer and clearer that corn-based ethanol can scarcely provide the product for
the demand, sugarcane will be the end of the road and Petrobras will be the
controlling supplier and Brazil will be the next OPEC. The other energy
companies listed here have no potential for the kind of earnings you could
generate from sugarcane-based ethanol production. Making money in oil is over -
the wave of the future is bio-fuels and more specifically, sugarcane.

Each of these companies has it's strong point. CEO and PTR are energy companies
in an emerging market where China is expected to be the lead petroleum consumer
in the next 5 years. Regardless of how alternative energy works in the US,
China and India do not plan on using alternative energy anytime soon, so any
company that does business with these two oil consuming giants will stand to
make money. PBR is a solid company based in Brazil with a lions share of their
oil market. They are also involved in ethanol production, which I think the
world will find to be more harmful than beneficial when commodity prices for
corn drives the price to create it higher than the demand for the oil it costs
to produce it. Along with PBR, RIO is another Brazilian company that often gets
overlooked, with a share price now of about 34, good EPS, PE, cash reserves, you
name it, this is another Brazilian oil company to watch out for. RIG is an
incredible company because they actually provides the boats, equipments and rigs
to drill offshore. They have more business than they can handle for the
forseeable future and with demand in oil continuing, their business will only go
up. With EPS project at 14.07 for 08 and a current P/E of 9.6 this is another
strong company that stands to do well no matter what other companies are doing,
because they will always find contract work. XOM is another strong US company,
I have never been a fan of this company but they are dealing with a commodity
and since they have ventures all over the world, can always find customers who
demand oil.

Independently of the oil prices, Petrobras is the better pick, Brazil has 180
million people and Petrobras is running alone on that market, Brazil has all oil
they need and now a great surplus is coming. Brazilian economy is groing 5% per
year and ethanol is strong enough there to run 95% of the fleet, if prices goes
crazy, and the ethanol business is also managed by Petrobras in Brazil. Now tell
me, what company can have a better scenario than that?

RIG may be #1 due to their ability in accessing deep sea oil reserves but PBR is
a close second with the abundant amount of reserves they have yet to begin
drawing (with the assistance of RIG, DO, FTI & CAM).

oh yeah forgot my pick RIG

the most levered to higher oil prices in my opinion is RIG because its rigs cost
the most to rent and they only get higher rates is oil keeps going higher.

PBR(BRAZIL),PTR(CHINA), XOM(US) - intergrated oil, nat gas, gasoline companies;
CEO(CHINA) - offshore oil/gas company no refining, RIG - offshore oil driller,
SLB - drill,equipment,service provider. go to each website and you can see the
difference