There are all sorts of catalysts that could send oil prices even higher. We are getting just a small dose of the action today and energy-related stocks are surging.

It must feel good to be part of OPEC these days. Now that the threat of $30 per oil is clearly in the past, the oil cartel is regaining some of the power it so quickly lost last fall.

The group of oil producers continues to claim $75 per barrel is its target price for crude, calling it “fair” for everybody involved. Who is to debate what is arguably the most powerful group of countries on the planet?

What OPEC wants, it gets. What are the alternatives? Wind, solar, tides? Doubt it.

As an oil-burning American with a propensity to drop a few Franklins into the gas tank on a weekend adventure, the thought of oil climbing to the cartel’s target range is frightening.

But as an investor, I welcome it with arms wide open. Bring on the profits.

One oil-industry company worth taking a look at is Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), a $28 billion producer that is up by close to 5% today. The action is merely a continuation of a 50% surge over the last 90 days.

Profit while nobody is looking

In case you have not peered into the energy sector today, oil prices are surging on word that American supply inventories took a stronger-than-expected dip over the last week, with crude levels plunging by 5.4 million barrels. Most analysts were expecting a reading of just a 700,000-barrel decline.

Today’s report is proof the nation’s crude consumption is far more extensive than the doom-and-gloom predictions we saw in March. The news gives OPEC all the reasons it needs to sit on its hands and wait for the revenues to come rolling it.

The cartel’s decision to keep production quotas at current levels was not enough to hold prices down. As I write, a barrel is trading for just over $65.

The pricing action will remain bullish as the global economy recovers and starts slurping oil at a record pace once again. Even better for the bulls, the further the dollar drops, the higher the greenback-denominated commodity will soar.

Companies like Devon Energy, Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) will be strong benefactors as the markets fix their recent oil-industry miscalculations.

As long as crude prices stay below the demand-zapping level of $80 per barrel, I am extremely bullish on the industry. Look for some of the year’s strongest profits to come from companies like those mentioned above.

Of course, Hot Stock Confidential readers are well aware of my favorite energy-industry pick. Its shares have tacked on just about another 5% so far today.

With moves like these, it is hard to tell there is a “green” revolution trying to take place.

Source: Oil at $65: A Glimpse of What’s to Come

Last 5 posts by Andrew Snyder

• Before I go… - January 21st, 2010
• The great turnaround of 2010 - January 20th, 2010
• Is Obama a closet capitalist? - January 19th, 2010
• What about tomorrow? - January 18th, 2010
• Don’t get fleeced with the rest of them - January 15th, 2010