Money in the Ground: Oil and Gas Investments Explained

This book serves as an excellent all around introduction to the ground level basics of the oil and gas industry - particularly for novice investors. I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering investing in private or small oil and gas projects before investing. Note, that this book is geared around what I would call the production side of the business. It is also implicitly about smaller, private investments. If you are looking for a broader overview of the whole global industry and the dynamics therein and how the big boys operate, this may not be the book for you. Although the book seems pricey, given the typical minimum investment dollars required for such deals, this book is a bargain. Having said that, anyone seriously considering investing considerable sums of money should start with this book - but look into others that may be more specific given your needs. This book covers a lot of ground with many jewels of information. But only enough to get you started on any particular topic. If you are more familiar with O & G investing, much of the information presented may seem trite. I would bet however you would still learn a few tidbits you didn't know. This book is chock full of illustrations, charts and footnotes. It has plenty of resources - websites, recommended readings, bookstores, periodicals and most importantly, a good glossary. What I like about this book that is very easy to overlook it has numerous bits of wisdom tucked in. Anyone who is reading this for investing should read it more than once and read it closely, highlight, dog-ear and mark it up. There are too many excellent recommendations that, if overlooked, you will be kicking yourself later (like hiring an independent geologist to review the prospect before investing). My only beef with this book is that each chapter got me interested in a specific aspect I wanted more information on that it didn't get into - which quite frankly couldn't be done without bogging the book down. It does provide a balanced view overall of the process, but like I said before, there are sage hints of brutal wisdom very easily overlooked if not read closely and reflected upon.

Oil and gas well investing is risky and very profitable. This book provides a great detailed over view of the industry, gas well geology, the risks associated with investing and the science behind successful investing. Don't tread into the oil and gas patch before reading this book.

Mr. Orban has penned a very useful guide to the oil business. He covers all the important aspects of the industry and packages it especially for the investor. After reading this book, you'll know most everything you'll need to know in order to enter an intelligent, informed discussion with most anyone on the subject of oil & gas. The book is particularly helpful in directing you to ask the right questions of the right people to evaluate any deal or project. If you're new to oil & gas investing, this book is a must.

I bought this book to evaluate an oil investment opportunity. Prior to reading this book, I knew nothing about the oil business. After reading the book, I felt comfortable enough to invest. The book gave me the knowledge I needed to ask the right questions and to evaluate the fundamental assumptions upon which the investment was based. I'd recommend this book to anyone who knows little about the industry, but wants a good overview to evaluate a potential investment opportunity.

Being a newly acquired employee of the oil and gas industry this has really helped me out in a number of ways. It puts things in very basic terms on what goes on in an oil deal and how all the components of downstream and upstream work together. It has a great section in the book about the tax benefits related to the oil and gas industry. It really should be called "The oil business for dummies" book. I would suggest this book to any one that is a mineral owner or just some one that is interested in investing in an O & G Fund or O & G company.