This year's dramatic price swings in the energy sector may have investors wondering more than ever about the long-term fundamentals of coal, natural gas, and oil. Based on analysis provided by a recent McKinsey and Co. research report, it looks to me like energy investors will do just fine in coming years. And those invested specifically in oil may do best of all.

Recession or not, energy demand will rise
Before we profile individual fossil fuels, let's take a look at the report's take on global energy demand in the next decade. I used an interactive table that accompanies the report to construct two energy demand scenarios, both of which incorporate specific parameters for the following economic and policy factors:

The two scenarios are presented below.

Global Energy Demand

Quadrillion BTUs in 2006

Quadrillion BTUs in 2010

Quadrillion BTUs in 2015

Quadrillion BTUs in 2020

% Change, 2006-2020

Low-Growth Scenario

463.9

466.3

476.4

499.9

7.8%

High-Growth Scenario

463.9

494.9

555.1

622.3

34.1% Continued...