?A poll of institutional investors attending the SMU Cox Executive Education Oil & Gas Investing seminar recently in Dallas shows that the majority continue to see an upside potential in the energy market.


More than half (55%) expected to increase or significantly increase their oil and gas holdings in the next 12 months.


Seventy-five percent of those see upstream E&P as the most attractive energy investment climate, while 14% prefer to focus on the service and supply sector. Midstream and retail petroleum segments did not fare as well, each receiving low single-digit percentages of favor.
At this year’s seminar, 70 institutional investors representing a global cross-section of firms and institutions learned about the petroleum industry and how to evaluate investment opportunities within it, in addition to meeting industry leaders.


The conference was capped off with a site visit to a drilling operation in the nearby Barnett shale.


“Until you actually see first-hand what it takes to find, produce, process and deliver oil and natural gas products, it’s almost impossible to understand the colossal risks and rewards this industry represents,” says Bruce Bullock, director of SMU’s Maguire Energy Institute. “Mix in the environmental, political, technological and cultural challenges of global petroleum, and you have a very complex landscape for investors to navigate.


“There’s no substitute for hearing from industry pros who have spent literally their lifetime getting prepared for today’s critical and highly dynamic oil and gas marketplace.”


David Miller, partner for energy private-equity firm EnCap Investments LP, a sponsor of the two-day program hosted at SMU’s James M. Collins Executive Education Center, says, “Institutional interest in oil and gas investment has grown rapidly over the past decade.”
A common theme among presenters was the importance of selecting companies led by experienced management teams with proven track records of success.


“Leadership is of utmost importance in any industry,” says Frank Lloyd, associate dean of executive education at SMU’s Cox School of Business. “Nowhere is this truer than in today’s global petroleum industry. It is only with capable leaders in place that companies can hope to navigate the turbulent waters of price volatility, shifting alliances and ownership, skilled talent shortages, supply and demand uncertainties and political risk.”

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