Motley Fool: At first glance, the future may look pretty bright for the large Western integrated oil companies like ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron collectively known as Big Oil. Oil prices have risen dramatically over the past decade and continue to hover just above $100 per barrel, while US natural gas prices have rebounded nicely since hitting a low of under $2 per Mcf in the spring of 2012.
But despite relatively high commodity prices, there are some very serious threats facing Big Oil...