by Michael Volta

Created on: July 15, 2009   Last Updated: June 16, 2010

To win in the stock market you have to take a risk sometimes, which is the case for Big Oil. I have invested in BP and Shell and if anybody has noticed there dividends have skyrocketed. If both those companies can manage to keep up this steady flow of cash then now is the time to invest in Big Oil. Trust me I've had my fair share of losses in oil companies but now is the time to buy.

The only higher dividend right now than oil is the tobacco department but even tobacco is riskier than oil. I highly suggest buying Shell or BP if you're in it for the short term gains but if you trade with the big boys a safer trade would definitely be Exxon Mobile. They are paying 3% dividends as Shell and BP are paying 7% so XOM definitely has a bit more cash and they are prepared for a recession.

Maybe you have stock in Murphy Oil and if you do I suggest selling shortly. Murphy's main oil reservoirs are in the Gulf of Mexico and now as hurricane season approaches their rigs could get hit and their stock could head down right with the rigs. Conoco Philips and Chevron are both good investments with mediocre dividends.

The safest stock now in my opinion is Sasol, a South African Petroleum company. I have been studying there stock for the past months and it basically has been a straight line with a 4% dividend yield. Whatever you do stay please just stay away from all Middle Eastern oil companies. I don't trust any of there CEOs which are basically a bunch of terrorist funders.

There are many unfound and unknown oil companies out there that have big potential gains in the market such as one of my favorites, Woodside Petroleum out of Melbourne, Australia.

Australia has many unfound oil reservoirs just waiting to be rigged and Woodside is on track to discover them. Another hidden gem to Americans is Total, a French Petroleum company on the rise. Total, Sasol, and Woodside only have stocks in their market but with a Merrill Lynch account you can have access to many of the international markets and their brokers will help you understand the currency exchange.

Oil is making a comeback and nobody can deny it. But if you're new to oil I suggest you stick with Wall Street. Your only worry with these European and African Countries is how can we trust theses people. That should be a big deal to you before you buy stock in oil. The CEO makes many choices in the company and potentially can help raise the stock or possibly just allow it to hit rock bottom. A big factor in me buying stock in BP is because of their new Scotish CEO Anthony Hayward. You know how it is with the British; they can be a bit wacky. Thank God for the Scotish. In the end though it's all down to you and want You want to do as a investor. So make a choice. Oil or not?

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