The energy sector is a large and all-encompassing term that describes a complex and interrelated network of companies, directly and indirectly involved in the production and distribution of energy needed to power the economy and facilitate the means of production and transportation.
The companies within the energy sector are involved in various types of energy. For the most part, energy companies are categorized based on how the energy that they produce is sourced and will typically fall into one of two categories:
Non-renewable
-Petroleum products and oil
-Natural gas
-Gasoline
-Diesel fuel
-Heating oil
-Nuclear
-Coal
Renewable
-Hydropower
-Biofuels such as -ethanol
-Wind power
-Solar power
-Hydroelectric
The energy industry also includes secondary sources such as electricity.
Energy prices—along with the earnings performance of energy producers—are largely driven by the supply and demand for worldwide energy.
Oil and gas producers tend to perform well during periods of elevated oil and gas prices. However, energy companies earn less when the price of energy commodities falls. Oil refiners, on the other hand, benefit from the falling cost of feedstock to produce petroleum products like gasoline when crude oil prices drop. Furthermore, the energy industry is sensitive to political events, which historically have led to volatility—or wild fluctuations—in the price of oil.