Sold ConocoPhillips, Phillips66. Bought Exxon Mobil

So, I am officially out of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). This morning I sold out of my last shares of Conoco and picked up... Exxon Mobil... something I thought I would never, ever do. But I've learned my lesson from this bear market in crude, and I'm thankful that I could sell Conoco significantly above its low, and still pick up Exxon at a significant discount.

Conoco got caught with its pants down, and wasn't in a very strong position to weather much lower oil. In order to keep its dividend going, Conoco is now looking to sell its deepwater exploration business, which I don't think is a very good move. In this price environment, those assets are going to go at fire sale prices.

Exxon (NYSE: XOM), for its part, is buying assets down here, and that's the type of company I want to be with.

My sale of Phillips66 (NYSE: PSX) was purely strategic. I don't want to own two refiners. Also, selling Phillips66 offsets most of the yield difference between Conoco and Exxon right now. Selling both ConocoPhillips and Phillips66 and using all the proceeds for Exxon, I get a more-or-less even dividend yield, but one that is much more secure in this environment.

Opened a Position in Phillips66

Opened a position in Phillips66 (PSX) this morning. Shares are down over 5% with 'fresh' declines in oil (I hate how journalists constantly rely on that phrase). Phillips66 is all about differentials between US and global NGL prices and US and global oil prices. Big midstream projects are mostly geared toward NGLs as well. This is a great way to participate in the Gulf Coast petchem boom and collect a growing dividend. 2.9% now but the dividend is slated to grow for many years.