what is the energy sector 
the energy sector is a category of stocks that relate to producing or supplying energy the energy sector or industry includes companies involved in the exploration and development of oil or gas reserves oil and gas drilling and refining the energy industry also includes integrated power utility companies such as renewable energy and coal 12understanding the energy sector 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 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 the energy industry also includes secondary sources such as electricity 4 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 wild fluctuations in the price of oil some of the largest companies in the u s energy sector include exxon mobil xom and chevron cvx both of which are large international integrated oil companies in 2020 peabody energy btu was america s largest coal producer measured by tons of output 5in 2021 petroleum 36 was the most consumed energy source in the u s followed by natural gas 32 renewable energy 12 coal 11 and nuclear electric power 8 3types of energy sector companiesbelow are some of the types of companies found in the energy industry each has a distinct role to play in bringing energy to businesses and consumers these are the companies that drill pump and produce oil and natural gas production typically involves pulling oil out of the ground oil and natural gas must be delivered from the production site to a refinery to be refined into a final product such as gasoline companies within this portion of the energy sector are called midstream providers coal companies can be classified as energy companies since coal is used to power plants including nuclear clean energy has gained traction and investment dollars over the years and is likely to be a growing part of the energy sector in the future examples of renewable energy include wind and solar some companies specialize in refining oil and gas into specialty chemicals although many larger oil producers such as exxon mobil are integrated energy producers meaning they produce multiple types of energy and control the entire process the infrastructure investment and jobs act of 2021 provides support for parts of the energy industry in particular part of the 550 billion in funding will be allocated to electric grid infrastructure and power lines as well as expanding clean energy 6 examples of energy sector investmentsinvestors have numerous choices in the energy industry including equities of energy companies mutual funds and etfs as well as the ability to buy the commodities exchange traded funds etfs are a basket of investments such as stocks that track an underlying index mutual funds on the other hand are a portfolio of stocks or investments that are selected and managed by a portfolio manager there are a number of energy related etfs that can give retail investors exposure to the energy industry investors can choose which part of the value chain they want with any number of funds below are a few examples of energy etfs 