Oil Companies

[Obadobadope]

I am interested in your thoughts on oil companies as investments. From a geopolitical and economic perspective, do you think these companies will be able to continue their extraordinary profits past peak oil and into the future?
Will they be able to defend their reserves against government nationalization? Will they be able to maintain growth as price increases and production declines? Will they be able to maintain high margins despite increased competition over decreasing remaining reserves? How long will world oil reserves last when factoring in price increases (which will inhibit usage rates)?
I'm a bit of an amateur at such things, but when I factor it all together, it seems like oil companies are still going to be solid for the next 50 years at least.
Final question... what is the best way to profit from what seems to be an inevitable and meteoric future increase in oil prices? Currently I own XOM and COP, but I hope for a better way. I know nearly nothing about trading options and futures. Is there a way to take a leveraged position in oil price that I could renew on a rolling basis?
Thanks.

[George the original one]

The major oil companies do not always have profitable years. They have huge political risks (country nationalizes their assets or doesn't allow them to operate) & operational risks (spills, drilling rigs sinking, wars destroying assets, piracy, etc.). Recognizing this, buy them when they are historically underpriced (like COP was a couple months ago).
Oil pipeline trusts (BPT, MVO, CRT are examples). Buy when the price of oil dips.
Pipeline & Distribution Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). MLPs have been discovered in the past 1.5 years, so I don't think they offer the best deals today.