A: I don’t really like the sector and can’t yet see any reason to go long oil/lng stocks. If I had to choose, I prefer Woodside in the short term (less risk), and for the long term, probably Santos. In regard to the latter, I am wary that the market might yet force Santos into a capital raise.

For a collected opinion, here is what the brokers say. According to FN Arena, on a sentiment/discount scale, Santos is most preferred, and Woodside the least. Here is how the stocks stack up:

• Origin (ORG) – sentiment +0.3, target price $6.69
• Santos (STO)– sentiment +0.9, target price $8.03
• Woodside (WPL) – sentiment -0.1, target price of $32.14

(Sentiment – scale -1.0 is most negative, +1.0 is most positive)